ABC and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC) signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the two organizations to work jointly to ensure that all contractors have a fair and equal opportunity to compete for and win contracts to build federal, state and locally funded construction projects. The agreement was signed by Chuck Goodrich, ABC 2017 chair, and CEOs Mike Bellaman and Susan Au Allen, respectively, during ABC’s board of directors meeting on June 21.

Speaking to a sell-out crowd, Vice President of the United States Mike Pence thanked the “Marine Corps of American politics—the first on the beach for freedom in the workplace—the Associated Builders and Contractors of America” for their service to the nation and the communities where they live and work. Pence headlined the association’s annual Legislative Day in Washington, D.C., June 22, addressing more than 400 members before they swarmed Capitol Hill to tell members of Congress the merit shop story.

Industry executives, suppliers and stakeholders joined ABC members for the third annual ABC Diversity & Inclusion Summit in Washington, D.C., on June 19-20. The program was headlined by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and included sessions on diversity and inclusion success stories, the Tuskegee University architecture and construction science program and the impact of ABC’s Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) on MBE companies.

ABC recently hosted a golf tournament to benefit Folds of Honor, a charitable organization that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service-members. The event, held the week of May 8, just outside Washington, D.C., brought in more than $200,000 from ABC and nearly 20 member companies.

Construction Executive is seeking input from ABC member construction firms that have built a company app geared toward internal staff or external customers. If your company has been through (or is in the midst of) the app development process, email Senior Editor Joanna Masterson, or drop CE a comment on Facebook or Twitter. CE will follow up with interview questions on why the company wanted/needed an app, how the development process worked, challenges encountered, how employees/customers have responded, etc. The article will appear in CE's September issue.

ABC was saddened by the news that former ABC President Lawrence Hogan Sr. suffered a stroke and passed away on April 20. A man of integrity who served his country and community for many years, he will surely be missed by those who knew him.

CII’s Annual Conference is the nation’s premiere capital projects conference, bringing together the brightest minds in academia, industry experts and innovative researchers. Discover how CII can help develop your capital projects and build shareholder value for your company. You will hear from a great line-up of some the industry's most dynamic leaders, industry panelists, and keynote speakers. This is an event you can’t afford to miss.

A new report released by the Empire Center for Public Policy on April 24 found that prevailing wage requirements inflate the cost of publicly funded construction projects in New York by between 13 percent and 25 percent. The varying percentages are based on the area or region of the state. Taxpayers can expect to pay billions in extra costs, given the tens of billions the state plans to spend on public projects over the next five to 10 years.  

On April 7, Arkansas Gov.Asa Hutchinson signed a bill repealing the state’s prevailing wage law. The legislation, SB 601 (Act 1068), was approved by the Arkansas House of Representatives on March 30 by a vote of 70-24; the Arkansas Senate passed the bill on March 21 by a bipartisan vote of 28-5. Arkansas is now the 22nd state without a prevailing wage and the second state to take significant action on the issue this year. Kentucky signed a prevailing wage repeal bill into law in January. In 2015, Nevada made significant reforms to its prevailing wage law, while Indiana and West Virginia joined the list of states without a prevailing wage. 

ABC thanked Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad for signing legislation into law to ensure the government cannot mandate PLAs on public construction projects. The bill, SF 438, codifies Gov. Branstad’s previous executive order, which prevented state and local governments procuring state and state-assisted construction projects from encouraging or prohibiting PLAs in contract solicitations, preventing a future governor from mandating PLAs through executive order. It also extends government neutrality toward PLAs to projects