House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has sewn together a collection of separate bills under the umbrella of the "Moving Forward America" law, which includes a transportation bill called the "INVEST in America Act," and several provisions for water project funding. Transportation The Democratic plan released late last month would spend $434 billion over five years [...]
The job of the Government Affairs Committee is to attend meetings with City Councils, Boards of Supervisors, members of the Legislature and whole bunch of local agencies, but "normal" is a little different now We have been working on stuff, just not the things you would expect. Take, for example, Zoom meetings with Caltrans, CalTech [...]
Now that the California Legislature has dealt with the 2020- 2021 budget (at least for the time being), it is taking up measures to deal with the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As usual, much of the burden is likely to fall on employers. Two costly bills delve into two entirely different and usually [...]
Just in case you missed it, COVID-19 is not the only health issue facing contractors and their workers this summer—it's also hot outside, which means the state's Heat Illness Awareness regulations are in full force and effect. After what had been a relatively temperate Spring, a big heatwave after Memorial Day triggered Cal/OSHA to remind [...]
While most of the building construction sector is facing declining activity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, utility construction activity shows surprisingly strong growth. The findings come from PSMJ Resources, Newton, Mass., a multi-services firm for its architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) clients. The headlined items from the story were predictably negative, especially for [...]
In Fleming Distribution Co. v. Younan (Cal. Ct. App., May 15, 2020, No. A157038) 2020 WL 2511680, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District held that an employer waived its right to compel arbitration of a dispute with a former employee over unpaid commissions by delaying the filing of a motion to compel arbitration [...]
Our first inquiry shows us the value of on-the-job experience. Next, we look at the time frame of a Joint Venture license. Another license applicant learns a reminder on fingerprinting rules as well as a few other issues affecting the business. Q: I have over fifteen years of experience in the Construction industry. My [...]
The coronavirus pandemic is worsening the problem of infrastructure underinvestment, and the main solution is to increase federal spending in that area, says a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). COVID-19’s Impacts on America’s Infrastructure is a current status report on the pandemic’s detrimental effects on the nation’s critical, yet aging [...]
The National League of Cities says more than 700 of their members are going to delay or cancel infrastructure projects because of the coronavirus and domestic unrest breaking their budgets. The League and its constituent cities are genuflecting to Washington, demanding a fourth round of federal funding. Much of the budget bluster is political theater, [...]
Almost every subcontract contains a provision saying the subcontractor will get paid for its work when the general gets paid. But what happens when the general is in dispute with the owner that holds up the money? An April 17th decision out of California's Fourth Court of Appeals looks like it provides at least a [...]
