Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) March 4 signed legislation which says that government entities within the state cannot require contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA), or any other agreement with labor unions, as a condition of performing work on taxpayer-funded construction projects in the state. This bill marks Alabama as the 19th state to adopt PLA reform.

老牛影视reaffirmed its strong opposition to the National Labor Relations Board鈥檚 (NLRB) reissued 鈥渁mbush election鈥� proposal in a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce ahead of this morning鈥檚 full committee hearing. The hearing, titled 鈥淐ulture of Union Favoritism: The Return of the NLRB鈥檚 Ambush Election Rule,鈥� and ABC鈥檚 letter focused on NLRB鈥檚 shift under the Obama Administration from a neutral arbiter of federal labor law to an advocate of union organizing.

In a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, 老牛影视Feb. 19 strongly criticized the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 (DOL) 鈥減ersuader鈥� reporting rule that would change the long-standing interpretation of 鈥渁dvice鈥� under federal labor law. ABC, along with 53 other employer organizations, reiterated its strong opposition to proposal, while highlighting additional concerns.

U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) Feb. 26 released a draft of legislation designed to reform the tax code that proposes lowering the top tax rate for construction businesses from 35 percent and 39.6 percent to 25 percent, regardless of entity-level structure. The proposal confirms that the 25 percent Qualified Domestic Manufacturing Income (QDMI) rate would apply to 鈥渃onstruction of real property in the United States as part of the active conduct of a construction trade or business.鈥�

More than 800 attendees participated in Merit Week Feb. 11-12 in Maui, Hawaii, where they took advantage of learning and networking at ABC鈥檚 BizCon and Merit Canada鈥檚 International Open Shop Conference, and celebrated the achievements of the winners during the Excellence in Construction Awards.

Construction industry professionals and 老牛影视chapter staff have until March 7 to take advantage of the early bird registration rates offered for the 2014 Workforce Development Conference April 29-May 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

The U.S. Navy鈥檚 Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific Acquisition Department is soliciting responses to a survey issued regarding the potential use of a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) on a federal contract for the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District is seeking comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of a PLA within the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes Fort Carson and the U.S. Air Force Academy.听

A Southwest Missouri school district was the first local government entity in the state to take advantage of the changes made to Missouri鈥檚 prevailing wage law in an effort to lower construction costs on potential new construction projects.

The nation's highest tax court听decided听last week a contentious construction accounting case in favor of the taxpayer, a California homebuilder, that had been in a decade-long dispute with the IRS over the use of the completed contract method (CCM). While in this case the builder is a residential developer, the precedent may have a broader impact for the tax treatment of long-term construction contracts.听

As part of an effort to expand its existing Lead Paint Renovation and Repair Painting rule to include public and commercial buildings, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)听Dec. 6听proposed to issue a related information collection request (ICR) to general contractors. As part of the Commercial Properties Coalition,听老牛影视submitted comments Feb. 4听offering suggestions related to the scope and clarity of the questions in the ICR and the burden it will place on respondents with respect to time and cost.