All of us in the business of building or repairing infrastructure in California are very familiar with the glacial pace that government, at all levels, moves when it comes to getting projects out to bid and in the ground. There’s a word that describes the process, which we borrow from algebraic geometry, which describes [...]
Under the direction of chairman, Scott Salandi, the ECA Political Action Committee hosted its annual Summer Shoot Out event at Mike Raahauge's sports facility in Corona last month. With a full slate of guests attending the contest featured shotgun and pistol range challenges, as well as a barbecue lunch. At the end of the [...]
One of the things about doing business in California is that just when you think you've got the problem solved, somebody takes out an initiative petition to undo all the effort you spent trying to solve the problem. The latest example of this the recall of future funding of California transportation under SB-1. The repeal [...]
Normally when a 68-year-old retires after 34 years with the same employer, no one thinks much about it, but when Christine Baker retired as director of California's Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) in late March, the “suddenness” of the decision left critics and supporters of this powerful agency wondering why. Baker, the first female director [...]
California State Auditor Elaine M. Howle released a report chiding of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and three of its nine regional water quality boards for failing to meet more than a half dozen requirements regarding their stormwater rules. Howle reported to Governor Brown, legislative leaders and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that [...]
“May you live in interesting times” is an ironic statement often referred to as “an old Chinese curse,” but in the case of California businesses, 2018 will be about as “interesting” as we can stand. Many of the “interesting” government affairs aspects for this year will come from the ongoing war between the California state [...]
Although last year was a big year in the election business, ensuring that public works remains a focus of public officials is a ongoing effort year in and year out. This mission of ECA's Political Action Committee (PAC) is to keep issues involving our industry in the forefront of the discussion not only for those [...]
As our industry and the general economy continue to move through a transitional stage and while regulatory pressures continue to increase on contractors, the value of membership in ECA becomes more critical now than ever before for contractors and affiliates alike. With increased competition for existing work the power of ECA as an established and [...]
Two things are going to happen in the state capitol in January. The first is the Legislature coming back to town for the second half of its 2017-2018 session. The members of the General Assembly and the State Senate will start introducing some of the nearly 3,000 pieces of legislation that they want to promote [...]
The Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality (CICWQ) has been scrambling on behalf of contractors in 2017. We focused on making the water quality regulatory system as flexible and understandable as possible, while advocating for regional public works projects which create good paying jobs and multiple environmental benefits for local communities. We've seen a welcome [...]
