The first week of what is scheduled to be three weeks of lame duck session was successful for the heavy construction industry. A few issues that MITA has been working on over the course of a year or longer are coming to fruition and some are expected to pass prior to the end of the year.
State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund
Legislation that will make it easier for communities to invest money into their underground water and sewers is moving through both the House and Senate and will only need concurrence votes before it is presented to the Governor where he is likely to sign. This will mean good news for our underground members and we anticipate that many communities will begin as early as next spring to start applying for loans or even grants to help fund asset management programs.
The legislation specifically expands the current state-based Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Loan Program and establishes a new state-based grant program.
Additionally, it would expand the pool of eligible communities to allow for more access to funding for disadvantaged communities.
Indemnification Legislation
Legislation that would prohibit certain requirements for indemnity on public construction projects has recently passed Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits passage from the full Senate. House Bill 5466 has already passed the full House and was amended to exempt public universities from the legislation in the Senate Committee. It is anticipated that the legislation will soon be taken up in the full Senate and concurred on in the House before the end of the year. The outcome will be a win for the industry and lessen liability for contractors working on public projects for mistakes make by other parties.
Misload Legislation
An issue being debated in the Senate and passed the Senate Committee on Transportation is one that many MITA members have raised. Several members have contacted our office regarding egregious fines given for axle misloads. One area that MITA is attempting to fix is when transporting equipment with a special over weight permit and a misload occurs. Currently, local enforcement agents can void the special permit in the case of an axle misload and charge a fine that reflects the total weight over per axle, sometimes resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
It is still early in the process for the legislation and there is an uphill climb to complete the task before the end of the year; if not passed this year, we will certainly carry the momentum gained into 2013.
Right to Work and Prevailing Wage
The topic getting the most attention throughout the lame duck session is undoubtedly “Right to Work.” Although the Governor has said that the issue isn’t on his list of priorities, the defeat of Proposal 2 during the November election that sought to protect the right to collective bargaining in the Constitution has opened the door for those who support Right to Work legislation to put pressure on leadership to take the measure up.
Thoughts that there would be movement on the legislation in the first week of lame duck brought union groups to make preparations for several large-scale rallies at the Capitol. On Thursday, however, leadership in the House and Senate met with Governor Snyder and ultimately decided that the fate of Right to Work legislation would wait for another week.
Similarly, legislation repealing prevailing wage has had many discussions throughout the capitol during the lame duck session. New legislation was just recently introduced, Senate Bill 1387, that would repeal prevailing wage requirements for construction projects at educational institutions including K-12 facilities, community colleges and public universities. It appears that this legislation could see hearings in the Senate as early as next week and MITA will continue to monitor this and the Right to Work legislation.
As with any lame duck session, the legislature is a very volatile place where anything can happen. As we work on all of the above issues that are moving through the process we continually remind lawmakers that our infrastructure system continues to be underfunded and gets worse by the day under our current funding structure.
If you have any questions regarding the above issues or any other legislative matter please do not hesitate to contact Lance Binoniemi at the MITA office at (517) 347-8336.
