Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) President and CEO Michael D. Bellaman released the following statement after Congress passed The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: 鈥淭his is a historic day for the construction industry. For too long, ABC鈥檚 21,000-plus members have paid the highest effective tax rate of any sector of the economy. We are a capital-intensive, cash-flow challenged, domestically oriented industry comprised mostly of small, family owned and closely held merit shop construction companies employing hardworking Americans. Our members have waited for Washington to let them keep more money in their paychecks, which would enable them to invest

Over the last year, the Trump administration has taken major steps to roll back burdensome rules and regulations issued by the Obama administration. In his first two months in office, President Trump signed Executive Order 13777, 鈥淓nforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,鈥� and Executive Order 13771, 鈥淩educing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,鈥� which create regulatory reform task forces to remove burdensome regulations and prevent agencies from issuing unnecessary regulations with a so-called 鈥渙ne in, two out鈥� policy.听

On Dec. 14, the Trump administration released its Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to release through the end of the year and in 2018.听

On Dec. 19, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued several fact sheets that provide guidance on the respirable crystalline silica standard for construction. The fact sheets include an overview of the silica standard as well as provide information to help employers comply.听

The National Labor Relations Board recently issued听decisions that are favorable to the employer community. On Dec. 14, the Board听overruled both the 2015 decision in Browning-Ferris听Industries as well as the Lutheran听Heritage Village-Livonia case. On Dec. 15, the Board overruled the decision听in Specialty Healthcare, which allowed for the formation of so-called 'micro鈥櫶齜argaining units.

On Dec. 18, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in a press release that they will continue accepting 2016 OSHA Form 300A data through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) until midnight on Dec. 31, 2017. OSHA will not take enforcement action against those employers who submit their reports after the Dec. 15, 2017 deadline but before Dec. 31, 2017 final entry date. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the ITA will no longer accept the 2016 data.

Chuck Goodrich, president of Gaylor Electric, Inc., explained the Trump administration鈥檚 regulatory rollback is giving construction companies more efficiency and they don鈥檛 feel like they are 鈥渦nder attack鈥� from the federal government. According to Goodrich鈥檚 presentation, experts say President Trump is on pace to put out fewer rules than the 鈥渞eigning deregulation champion,鈥� President Ronald Reagan.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu predicts stability for the construction industry鈥檚 economy and expanding nonresidential construction spending in 2018. While construction project backlog and contractor confidence remain high heading into the new year, Basu warns there are risks to the 2018 outlook as a number of potential cost increases could come into play.

A study released this month by the Illinois Policy Institute found that repealing the state鈥檚 prevailing wage law would help boost the state鈥檚 economy by lowering the cost to taxpayers on publicly funded construction projects and spurring job growth in the construction industry.听

Under the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule (also known as Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses) certain employers are required to electronically submit the information from their completed 2016 Form 300A by Dec. 15. Information on electronic reporting is available on the DOL's website.