While a handful of U.S. Senate, House and state legislative races from the 2020 elections remain uncalled, voters in a handful of states made some significant policy changes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, through the ballot initiative and referendum processes. Many of these affect the construction industry, including changing the minimum wage, legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana, paid family and medical leave and more. 听

The big story of the night is that we do not have a winner in the presidential election yet with Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania and too close or too early to call at this time, while projected contests in Wisconsin and Arizona seem to favor Vice President Joe Biden, which would give him a 248-214 lead in the race towards the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.

On Oct. 27, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan attended the grand opening of 老牛影视Greater Baltimore Chapter鈥檚 new Construction Education Academy, located at a Project C.O.R.E site in East Baltimore. This new state-of-the-art facility will house the largest concentration of building trade apprenticeship programs in the state, enabling 老牛影视Greater Baltimore to train up to 5,000 skilled workers each year, doubling their current capacity.

The 老牛影视Pelican Chapter recently held a fundraiser to help staff affected by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Through the sales of 鈥淟ouisiana Strong鈥� shirts and cash donations from members, families and other nearby 老牛影视chapters, the 老牛影视Pelican chapter raised nearly $10,000.

On Sept. 22, Bernalillo County鈥檚 board of commissioners passed an ordinance requiring a community workforce agreement, also known as a project labor agreement, on all construction projects performed for the county that are valued at more than $7 million. The threshold was originally set at $5 million, but was raised to $7 million after a 30-day comment period following the introduction of the ordinance in August.

Virginia has promulgated an Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 that applies to all employers performing work in the commonwealth. The rule took effect July 27, and employers are required to train workers under these requirements by Aug. 26 and have a response plan by Sept. 25.

As many as 31 states and the District of Columbia now mandate the use of facial coverings in public in some form as new infections have surged across the United States in recent weeks. Some states, such as North Carolina and New Jersey, specifically mention the construction industry in their executive orders and require compliance with the order both by workers and jobsite visitors.

On July 15, Virginia became the first state in the nation to听enact an Emergency Temporary Standard听to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The ETS will go into effect at the end of July.

On July 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoor Act (S. 3422/H.R. 1957), which was introduced by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), by a vote of 310-107. The bill is expected to be signed into law by President Trump. Ahead of the vote, 老牛影视sent a letter to the House in support of the legislation, urging the swift consideration and approval of the Senate-passed version of the bill.

On July 8, 老牛影视National鈥檚 government affairs team delivered a presentation to a group of Republican lieutenant governors on the issues affecting the construction industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual meeting, which was part of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association鈥檚 annual conference, was attended by more than a dozen sitting lieutenant governors and candidates running for the office in 2020.