The 2013 Year in Review uses ABC’s value proposition to take a look back at what ABC accomplished throughout the last year to support its goals, including political victories, safety and productivity initiatives and community involvement.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and CNA March 19 announced that during their third year as strategic partners, the groups will collaborate on driving the construction industry toward world class safety by targeting specific safety issues each quarter. Their outreach and education efforts will include webinars and CNA safety resources for ABC members to use to promote workplace safety industry-wide.

On March 10, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final rules on information reporting by applicable large employers on health insurance coverage offered under employer-sponsored plans and information reporting of minimum essential coverage. The final regulations relate to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer and insurer information reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code sections 6055 and 6056.

More than 900 ABC members joined ABC in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw a proposed rule that would require employers to electronically submit detailed injury and illness records to the agency that would be made available to the public through an online database.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed two ABC-supported regulatory reform bills with bipartisan support. The Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency (ALERRT) Act (H.R. 2804) passed the House on Feb. 27 by a vote of 236-179 and the Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development” (RAPID) Act (H.R. 2641) passed the House on March 6 by a vote of 229-179.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is requesting comments from the construction industry in response to the potential use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLA) on two projects covering Mississippi, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

ABC and the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) signed a joint resolution March 7, expressing a commitment to promoting fair and open competition on taxpayer-funded construction contracts. The resolution formalizes a long-standing partnership between the organizations who will remain focused on providing value to taxpayers and opportunities for the contracting community by battling government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) March 6 issued a final rule on the Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category.  Under the final rule, which goes into effect May 5, EPA dropped the numeric discharge limit for turbidity in stormwater and implemented best practice management to prevent erosion at construction sites.

Under the proposal, OSHA would require establishments (worksites) with 20 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year in construction and other high-hazard industries to submit their injury and illness records (Forms 300, 300A and 301) annually. The proposal also would require quarterly submission for establishments with 250 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year.

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.