Bulletins

Engineering

Price Adjustment Provisions – An Update

Over the course of the last several months, MITA has received a number of calls and inquiries concerning the industry’s position on price adjustment (escalator) provisions, particularly as it related to fuel.  In response to those inquiries MITA held an open meeting in it’s Okemos office to hear and learn
Legislative

LANDMARK MITA VICTORY: Legislature Approves MBT Materials Deduction

MITA celebrated a major victory this week with passage of the critical MBT (Michigan Business Tax) materials deduction fix at 1am on Saturday morning—the last day of session before summer break.  The MITA MBT fix was a major accomplishment because it was the only one allowed this year, despite many
Legislative

Michigan’s Minimum Wage Set for Increase

Michigan employers employing 2 or more employees who are at least 16 years old are required to pay the Michigan minimum wage of $7.40 per hour beginning July 1, 2008. The Federal Minimum Wage is set to increase to $6.55 per hour July 24, 2008, but is less than the
Legislative

Water Withdrawal Agreement Reached in Legislature

After months of wrangling and debate, lawmakers have come to an agreement on water withdrawal legislation, quickly passing new water protection legislation and sending it to the governor. MITA has been tracking the legislation closely for the past year, ensuring there would not be any new regulations to hamper the
Engineering

Certified Payroll Submittal – MDOT Form 1955

As you should be aware, effective with all projects starting with those let in the May 2, 2008, letting MDOT has implemented revised prevailing wage oversight procedures that define new roles and responsibilities for the engineer (owner representative) and the prime contractor.  These roles and responsibilities are defined in the
Legislative

MITA-Initiated ‘Prompt Pay’ Bills Pass House Committee

Contractors would be paid by governmental units in a more timely manner, in legislation passing House Committee this week. The package of bills known as “prompt pay” legislation (HB 6173-6176) is a MITA initiative that has been in the works for two years.  The legislation also cracks down on the
Membership

Beware of Email Scams

Many of you are aware that scam artists have and continue to circulate fraudulent letters that appear to be from the USDOT
Legislative

Legislature Moves Two Important MITA Initiatives

Legislature Approves Airport Funding After months of political wrangling, the House sent a bill to the governor’s desk that will provide over $160 million to Michigan’s airports to upgrade their infrastructure. The money was federal dollars that needed to be appropriated by state legislators in order to be used. Final
Membership

BEWARE: Fraudulent USDOT Letters

As we have advised you in the past to beware, recently several MITA members have received what appears to be official letters from the USDOT requesting specific bank account information. Although the fax letters are very official looking on USDOT Procurement Office letterhead, we have confirmed with the USDOT’s Office
Labor

2008-2013 Contract with Operating Engineers has been Ratified – for Road Construction

The 2008-2013 Contract with the Operating Engineers has been ratified by MITA Power-of-Attorney Contractor Members. Please note that the fringes as noted here differ somewhat from the Table Agreement.  The only difference is a shift of three cents (.03¢) from the Labor Management Fund to the Retiree Benefit Fund.  This
Engineering

Fuel Escalators – “Do we need and want them?”

As the price of fuel continues to climb with no price down turn projected anytime soon, fuel escalator provisions and fuel price adjustment clauses have become a frequent topic of discussion throughout the industry. Historically, owner agencies like MDOT have been amenable to fuel escalator provisions or price adjustment clauses
Legislative

Legislative Update: MITA Visits Washington, Testifies Before State Legislative Committees

MITA staff and select members led a delegation of the Michigan Transportation Team to Washington to lobby for more federal road dollars. Currently, our state receives only 92 cents of every transportation dollar we send to the federal government and the Federal Highway Trust Fund is scheduled to be insolvent