March 2, 2011

Legislative Alert: Support HB 1115

ACEC/CO supports the bill HB 1115 – that sets retainage on state and local public projects at a flat 5 percent and requires release of the retainage 60 days after final acceptance or occupancy. ACEC/CO is part of the Building Jobs for Colorado Coalition (BJ4C) which has sponsored this bill. It will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, March 8, at 1:30 p.m., room SCR 354. Opposition from local governments has grown substantially, as local school districts and other cities and counties have joined the City of Denver and Colorado Municipal League in lobbying against the bill.

We need your help. Please send a quick email to Senators on the Finance Committee asking them to support the economy and jobs by voting for HB 1115. Click here to view fact sheet/talking points.

Senate Finance Committee:

 

 

EEA Panels Displayed at State Capitol

We are proud to announce that the ACEC/CO Engineering Excellence Awards panels are on display this week at the state Capitol. You can view them on the first floor of the building outside of the Governor's office. We have notified all legislators of the display.

 

ACEC/CO Tracks Legislation:
ACEC/CO is tracking many bills that impact our members:

HB11-1238: Job Quality Standards was postponed indefinitely (PI/killed) - ACEC/CO provided testimony to oppose this bill.

HJR11-1008: Water Project Eligibility Lists passed out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and referred to the Senate for 2nd reading.

HB11-1123: Prohibit Severance Tax Related Revenue To General Fund - This bill would transfer severance tax money to general fund and away from water projects. A similar bill,  SB11-035, was killed in the Senate. On Wednesday, March 2, 2011. HB 1123 will be heard in Agriculture, Livestock & Natural Resources upon adjournment in Room 0107,  (1) in house calendar.  

HB11-1013: Exempt Active Military Professional Regulation passed out of the full house and headed for the Senate.

HB11-1084: Modify Late Vehicle Registration Fee – FASTER repeal passed the full House and will now be heard in the Senate.

HB11-1161: Authorize HUTF Use For Division of Motor Vehicles: The bill extends through the 2011-12 fiscal year authorization for the use of highway users tax fund moneys to fund driver and vehicle services within the division of motor vehicles in the department of revenue.  Passed the full House and will now be heard in the Senate.

HB11-1210: Require CDOT I-70 Mountain Corridor Recommendations passed the full House and will now be heard in the Senate.

HB11-1220: Accelerates Urban Transportation Projects for Economic Development passed the full House and will now be heard in the Senate.

SCR11-001: Ballot Initiative has passed the full House and onto full Senate before it can be referred to the 2012 ballot for vote to make it more difficult to put initiatives and referendum on the ballot.

HB1026: The Designation of Stormwater Management System Administrators' AGC/CO Initiative to increase compliance assistance with stormwater regulations -- passed the House Appropriations Committee at the end of the week, clearing a major hurdle. Senior executives at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been working with AGC/C to create a bill that will foster greater cooperation between the Department and voluntary industry-funded self training programs like (AGCs) Colorado Stormwater Excellence Program. The bill passed the House and is onto the Senate. ACEC/CO members gave input into this bill.


ACEC National Legislation Tracking
(From ACEC's "Last Word" 2-23-2011)

ACEC Calls for Changes to SEC's New "Municipal Advisor" Rule
To protect and broaden the engineering exemption in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, ACEC is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to modify a proposed rule that would force many engineering firms to incur the significant cost and legal burdens of registering with the agency as “municipal advisors.”

The SEC has proposed a narrow interpretation of the engineering exemption so that cash-flow modeling and certain feasibility studies would not be exempt. ACEC’s comments show that these activities are integral to engineering work and different from advice on municipal securities and other financial products. Click here to read ACEC’s comment letter.

ACEC is requesting a meeting the the SEC to discuss its interpretation of the engineering exemption, as well as filing comments with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) in response to its proposed rule on this provision.

We will keep you informed as this process continues.

ACEC Successfully Defends P3s in CA
ACEC/California scored a major victory last week in a Minuteman Fund-supported state legal action defending public/private partnership (P3s).

The presiding judge denied the request by the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) union for a permanent injunction to stop the $1 billion Presidio Parkway, a P3 project in San Francisco.

Additional information can be found in ENR here.

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ACEC Colorado
800 Grant St. Suite 100
Denver, CO 80203
303-832-2200 Fax 303-832-0400
 acec@acec-co.org