Bulletins
Efforts in Washington to block a requirement that some Michigan companies pay interest on their unemployment taxes have failed. Now some 54,000 companies in the state, including many construction companies, will have to pay the additional tax beginning this year. Michigan is the first state that has to pay the
On Tuesday, the House Republican Conference met to consider a rules package that will govern how issues can be addressed in the 112th Congress (2011-2012). Among the proposed rules is a repeal of the guaranteed funding requirement for annual federal highway investment and the House point of order that enforces
Conflict over industrial personal property tax exemptions and confusion over who should get such breaks has spurred thousands of court and administrative appeals and moved the elimination of the personal property tax to the top of the agenda for many business and political leaders Taxing authorities have said only property
As the sun slowly began to appear on the horizon this morning, the state House and Senate ended an all-night marathon session and concluded their work for the remainder of 2010. A valiant push by MITA members and staff in the last few months to spur Lame Duck action on
Progress is being made… We’re hopeful, you noticed the new Notice to Bidder document (titled “NTB Addenda Markup”) that appeared on a few advertised projects for the November 2010 lettings. MITA members should recall from previous engineering updates, that the highlighting of addenda changes has been a hot topic of
Tuesday night’s election returns are something we may not see again in our lifetimes. Republicans swept all statewide offices including Rick Snyder being elected governor, Bill Schuette being elected attorney general and Ruth Johnson elected as secretary of state. Republicans gained a supermajority of as many as 26 seats in
Op Engineers Ratification of Table Agreement for Underground Construction: Delayed until September 9
Operating Engineers Ratification of Table Agreement for Underground Construction: Delayed until September 9th The Operating Engineers ratification meeting for the recently negotiated agreement between MITA and Operating Engineers, Local 324 for underground construction will not be held until September 9, 2010. Although the leadership of the union does anticipate an
Poor infrastructure is not just a Michigan problem. On the national level, at least 33 percent of our nation’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 26 percent of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. At the national level, a campaign was recently kicked off by Dirty
At the September State Transportation Commission meeting, MDOT leadership announced they would invest $1.38 billion in their 2011 Highway Program. This investment level represents roughly a continuation of the $1.44 billion 2010 Highway Program that was supplemented with $148 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. In breaking
According to MDOT’s Frequently Used Special Provision for Temporary Concrete Barrier, all temporary concrete barrier (TCB) in service after December 31, 2011, must be NCHRP 350 compliant. MDOT currently allows the use of “old” TCB sections manufactured prior to September 1, 2006 that meet the requirements of Standard Plan R-52 and
Many MITA members and legislators have asked in recent weeks exactly what transportation funding bills the association is pursuing during lame duck session. Although bills are likely to be amended and added as the process moves forward, MITA staff wanted to share with you the bill numbers and concepts that
The Michigan Department of Transportation budget was approved today and sent to the governor for her signature. The bill assures that Michigan will not lose our $475 million in federal match money by borrowing $40 million for one year, but the Legislature has once again kicked the can down the
