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Archived |
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From NECA Legislative Update - July, 2004:
Congress is trying to clear its table of legislation so it can
get back to its real full time work
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campaigning for re-election. However, with complex political
undercurrents, economic uncertainties and the daily
revelations and changing policies on the Iraq conflict
creating distractions, legislative action has slowed to a near
standstill. Fourteen major bills have passed either the House
or Senate
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or both bodies
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action.
Legislation
1. Permanent Repeal of Estate Tax
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House easily passed permanent estate tax repeal a year ago
on June 18,2003.
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Senate action is expected this year, but no timetable for
action has yet been set. However, this is a highly political
issue so some action before the end of summer is extremely
likely.
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The last unofficial vote count shows us still two to three
votes short of the 60 votes needed to halt a filibuster.
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The Senate last month tried, but failed, to speed up the
complete, if temporary, repeal of the estate tax in current
law by one year, to 2009 instead of 2010.
2. Energy Policy and Cross-Subsidization
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Last year the House and Senate each passed their own
versions of an Energy Policy Act, but were not able to iron
out differences between the two versions. NECA barely lost a
narrow vote to include protections against unfair utility
competition in the Senate version of the measure. The longer
the delay, the less likely a compromise appears - which, at
this point, is to NECA' s benefit.
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This year, as costs of the tax cut and the war in Iraq come
home to roost, efforts are underway to slim down the
original $30 billion-plus costs of the bill to around $17
billion. "Energy-lite" as it is called is still in final
development stages. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), who with
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) had championed our language
during the last Energy Policy Act debates, has indicated
interest in trying to include our language as the revised
bill is developed.
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Both Senators remain committed to helping us with
alternative approaches to combat cross subsidization if the
energy bill fails again.
3. Prevailing Wage Law
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"Innovative financing" for infrastructure funding projects
under consideration in the House; joint labor and management
effort continues to see these don't move without Davis-Bacon
language included. House leadership says bills won't move
until Davis-Bacon language is removed.
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There is growing sentiment among some Davis-Bacon opponents
to move these much-neededmeasures despite inclusion of
Davis-Bacon provisions.
4. Multi-employer Pension Funding
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Language was included in the Senate-passed version of a
much-needed pension reform measure that would give
multi-employer pension plans a means to avoid punitive ERISA
action due to temporary under-funding. The House measure
does not contain similar language.
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The Administration expressed strong opposition to the
multi-employer language in the Senate bill. As a result, the
final Conference report which the President signed into law
contained a minimalist provision of no real help to
seriously underfunded plans. NECA will continue to work to
include our language in an overall pension law reform
measure, which is expected to emerge in the next Congress.
5. Contractors Accountability Legislation
6. Anti-Bid Shopping and Internet Reverse Auctions
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House bill by Rep. Paul Kanjorski won't move in this
Congress. However, NECA has been successful in using the
Marco Consulting proxy voting service, subscribed to by the
NEBF and many local plans, to bring about negotiations with
a number of large corporations over their use of this
ethically-questionable procedure.
7. Highway and Mass Transit Re-authorization
8. Construction Industry Insurance Cost and Availability
and Tort Reform
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Skyrocketing insurance rates and greatly
restricted availability of some types of insurance are
causing great problems in the construction industry. Initial
evaluation of the cause of the problem leads back to
outrageous claims, lawsuits and settlements which have
caused insurance companies to raise rates and restrict their
product lines. NECA and several industry associations have
formed a new coalition to investigate the problem in hopes
it will lead to remedial legislation at the federal level
and model legislation for enactment at the state level,
including the possibility of construction-industry-specific
tort reform.
From NECA Capitol Current - May 24, 2004:
FOUR
OSHA RELATED
BILLS
PASS HOUSE WITH SUPPORT FROM
NECA;
BILLS
REDUCE BURDENSOME REGULATORY RED TAPE FOR EMPLOYERS
Four NECA-supported bills making commonsense improvements to
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
passed the house floor on May 18th.
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H.R.2728 gives the Occupational
and Safety Health Review Commission(OSHRC) additional
flexibility to make exceptions to the arbitrary 15-day
deadline for employers to file responses to OSHA citations
when a small business misses the deadline by mistake or for
good reason, insuring appropriate disputes will be resolved
based on merit rather than legal technicalities.
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H.R.2729 ensures important
workplace safety and health cases are reviewed in a more
timely fashion by increasing the membership of OSHRC from 3
to 5 members to address the common situation in which the
commission does not have a quorum ans as a result
adjudication of cases is delayed.
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H.R.2730 restores the original
system of checks and balances intended by Congress when it
enacted the OSHA law and ensures the Commission, and not the
OSHA, would be the party who interprets the law and provides
an independent review of OSHA citations. Courts and judges
also would have to defer to the Capital Review Commission’s
decisions when interpreting the OSHA law.
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H.R.2731will make it easier for
small employers to recover attorney’s fees when they
successfully defend against an OSHA citation.
NECA was involved in the OSHA Fairness Coalition to advocate
these bills, stressing that these changes will not have a
negative impact on current workplace safety and health
protections. The reforms will only serve to help business with
the regulatory burdens of dealing with OSHA. No word on when
the Senate will take up the bills.
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Government
Affairs Committee Discusses Legislative Strategies
The
Government Affairs Committee met in Washington, DC on April
23. Committee members spent time discussing NECA's current
legislative activities and possible items for focus in the
near future. Committee members offered district reports on
issues important to the states in their districts.
The
Committee continued work to revitalize NECA's Action Team
program as well as to build upon the success of ECPAC. ECPAC
has raised about $250,000 in the first four months of the
year. That money has been raised mainly through regional
meetings. Over $310,000 must be raised through the rest of
this year if we are to reach our goal of a million dollar
PAC.
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MEI Courses
Expand
MEI held
a special Southern Region Level 1 Train-the-Trainer class in
April in New Orleans for its Electrical Project Supervision
(EPS) program. Sixteen representatives from NECA Chapters
and companies attended the four-day training program.
Registration numbers reflect an improvement in participation
for this area.
MEI
continues to investigate the possibility of offering courses
online in the near future. Last month, MEI brought in a
consultant to discuss options for providing online
educational courses and met with a company that provides
online courses with a large concentration of construction
industry courses.
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State of
the Industry and Workers Comp Surveys Go Out
The
annual State of the Industry Survey (calendar year 2003) and
a short Workers Compensation Survey were electronically
distributed to all NECA Chapter Managers.
Labor
Relations staff are attending the “Advanced Certificate in
Employment Law” course sponsored by the Institute for
Applied Management and Law and the SMACNA Industry Week
featuring labor relations, partnering and LMCC issues.
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NLMCC
Continues Outreach to High School Students
Several
meetings were held to discuss options for getting material
about the benefits of a union trade education to high school
guidance counselors, teachers and students in the form of a
curriculum. The IBEW-NECA NLMCC will have a booth at the
Transmission & Distribution World Expo in Indianapolis on
May 25-27. Work continues on a Safety CD to be added to the
NLMCC “Marketing Kit” which was recently distributed.
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New CIR Web
Site Goes Live
May is
always the heaviest session for cases, and this year appears
to be no exception. The CIR information site, advertised in
the recent CD entitled “The CIR Experience: Preparation –
Procedure – Presentation,” is live at www.thecir.org and the
sample request form/letter is available for all parties.
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NECA Audit
Committee Meets for First Time
In a
proactive response to the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act the first ever meeting of the NECA Audit Committee took
place last month in Washington, D.C.
The
Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted on July 30, 2002 to improve
the quality and transparency of financial reporting and
encourage corporate responsibility. Although it does not
apply to nonprofits many are moving, like NECA, to adopt the
Act in some form. As this trend gains momentum, nonprofits
will need to consider voluntary compliance.
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First CSTAR
Exams In the Works, New NCSB Holds Organizational Meeting
The
Certified Systems Technician Accredited and Registered (CSTAR)
board is currently coding exam questions for submission to
Pearson VUE. The process will be complete by the end of May
and Pearson VUE expects to have the first set of exams
formatted by the beginning of August. The next formal
meeting of CSTAR will take place on Sunday August 1st
at the NJATC National Training Institute in Knoxville,
Tennessee.
The North
American Board of Certified Energy Practitioner (NABCEP) has
approved nine courses for its re-certification program. A
listing of the courses along with contact information can be
found at
www.nabcep.org. Holders of the NABCEP Certificate are
required to obtain 18 credit hours within a 3-year period to
maintain Solar PV Installer Certification.
The
National Cable Splicing Certification Board (NCSCB) held its
organizational meeting on April 1, 2004 in Austin, Texas.
Officers of the Corporation and a Board of Directors were
elected. James Cole, Esquire, reviewed the By-Laws with the
Board and stated that, once they have been approved, he will
incorporate the
corporation. The NCSCB shall be incorporated as a non-stock
corporation organized under the laws of the State of
Maryland (and tax exempt under Section 501(c)(6) of the
Internal Revenue Code).
The NCSCB has been founded to support and
work with the electrical
cable splicing and terminating companies,
cable manufacturers, professionals, and stakeholders to
develop and implement quality credentialing and
certification programs for cable splicers.
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Michigan
Chapter NECA Opens Dialogue With DOE On Energy Efficiency
Partnerships
Congressman Bart Stupak’s (D-MI 1st) office provided an
opportunity for representatives from the Michigan Chapter
NECA to meet with Department of Energy (DOE) officials and
other Michigan Congressional legislative staff on April
16th. The meeting's purpose was to investigate a possible
partnership between the agency and the Michigan Chapter. Ron
Lindberg and Michael Crawford represented the chapter and
were accompanied by Rob Colgan, NECA marketing director. A
member of Congressman Fred Upton’s (R-MI 6th) staff also
participated in the meeting. Both congressmen sit on the
Energy and Commerce Committee.
The group
discussed two DOE programs, Rebuild America and EnergySmart
Schools, that present potential partnership opportunities by
advancing DOE’s goal of improved energy efficiency in public
buildings and NECA’s goal of increased business
opportunities and profits for NECA members.
DOE
representatives were enthusiastic about partnering with NECA,
both in Michigan and nationally. Since the meeting, the DOE
has initiated discussions about workshops for Fall 2004 that
team NECA, Rebuild America, and state energy offices.
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Marketing
Committee Meets at CQC Issues Conference
Several
members of the NECA Marketing Committee held an informal
meeting on April 20th, prior to the Campaign for
Quality Construction Issues Conference. The Committee used
the occasion of the legislative conference to work on the
NECA Brand.
Implementation activities and newly instituted pilot
projects were discussed, and members provided input to staff
and branding consultants. Chapter managers Don Campbell from
Northern California Chapter and Cindy Austin from Cascade
Chapter also attended the meeting and contributed their
unique perspectives to the discussion.
Committee
members were provided copies of a fact sheet promoting NECA
and NECA Contractors to give to their legislators when they
met with them on Capitol Hill.
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ECF Selects
Ten Proposals for New Research Projects
The
Electrical Contracting Foundation's (ECF) Program Review
Committee met by conference call on May 6th. They chose 10
proposals for new research studies from the 75 that were
received. The 10 selected will be asked to submit eight page
proposals and formally present their project idea to the
ELECTRI'21 COUNCIL meeting in July in Chicago. The selected
proposals are:
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Grounding Mobile Construction Equipment for Safety
- Market
Share "Develop a Standard Format to Calculate the Market"
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Measuring Labor Productivity of Electrical Contractors
- Lawsuit
Assessment & Impact Analysis on Insurance & Availability for
Electrical Contractor Businesses
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Enabling Horizontal Integration Throughout a Capital
Facility's Life Cycle
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Collectively Bargained Workers Compensation Making NECA
Chapters a Player
- ID of
Ethical Issues & Building Trust Among Industry Segments in
Horizontal Integration Model
- An
Innovative Learning System for Electrical Contractors
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Outsourcing Management of Public Facilities
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Emerging Photovoltaic Market
ELECTRI'21 members at July's meeting will vote to select
which projects, out of the 10 finalists, are to be funded in
2005. Those recommendations will then go to the Foundation
Board of Trustees in October for final approval.
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NEBF In
Sound Financial Shape
The
National Electrical Benefit Board of the NEBF met on April
22 in Washington, DC. The Board is comprised of the NECA
Executive Committee and the International Executive Council
of the IBEW. Rod Borden serves as Co-Chair and NEBF Trustee.
The Board reviews the operations of the NEBF including
reports from the auditors and actuaries. The NEBF is in
sound financial shape. A change in benefits is not
anticipated. A printed report of the trustees will be sent
to all chapters in the next NECA Alert.
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