December 11, 2017

News

Unconstitutionality of Local Hire Prohibition Upheld By Cuyahoga County Appeals Court
In a decision that was issued in a comparatively short time period, the Eighth Appellate District Court of Appeals' in Cuyahoga County affirmed the trial court's decision that the Local Hire law passed by the Ohio legislature and signed into law by the Governor, R.C. 9.75, is a not a valid exercise of the legislature' constitutional authority, and that the statute unconstitutionally infringes on the city's Home-Rule authority. The Court of Appeals found that Art. II, Section 34 of the Ohio Constitution which the legislature relied upon in enacting R.C. 9.75, does not reach Cleveland's Fannie Lewis law.

According to the Court, R.C. 9.75 does not relate to any residency requirement imposed as a condition of employment by employers upon public employees. The Appeals Court did not find that R.C. 9.75 relates to the right of a person to choose where to live and that the statute does not relate to the comfort, health, safety or general welfare of the contractors.

The Court of Appeals said:

"It is readily apparent that R.C. 9.75 is no more than an attempt to preempt powers of local self-government and to restrict the contract terms between public authorities and contractors who choose to bid on local public improvement contracts. H.B. 180 was not advanced by a labor or worker group. It was advanced by a contractor association, not for the benefit of workers, but to benefit their interests. The contractors' interest is in streamlining interactions with municipalities by limiting the ability of municipal governments to place terms or requirements on public contracts that are awarded within those municipal jurisdictions."

Even in this brief excerpt, questions arise regarding the perspective of the Court in viewing the legality of the issue. To analyze the merits of any issue based on who advocated for or against it or to suppose the motivation for that support or opposition would not appear to be an unbiased approach. Clearly the Court failed to connect that associations represent companies and companies hire employees and those same companies have a vested interest in the welfare of their employees. While this ruling is a disappointment, it was not surprising.

The state of Ohio has 45 days from today to file an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. OCA's attorney will be talking to the Assistant Attorneys General in the very near future to make sure they intend to appeal this decision.

Convention in Kaua’i – Waiting List for Rooms
If you plan on going to the convention in 2018 and have not made your reservations yet, please contact Rachel Sirca at 614-488-0724 or [email protected]. Rachel can place your name on the waiting list, and also give you good alternative options.

Administration’s Infrastructure Plans Point to 2018 Investment Debates
President Donald Trump’s administration this week confirmed it will provide its long-anticipated infrastructure proposal to Congress in January. The federal package would be split into four buckets: funding for states and localities that promise to take on more of the financial burden of infrastructure building and upkeep; block grants for rural areas; existing federal loan programs; and money for high-impact, “transformational” projects. Presidential special assistant for infrastructure policy DJ Gribbin promised a “robust debate” about the future of transportation investment and the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). At a Dec. 6 Roll Call newspaper event, he reiterated the administration’s desire to cut other parts of the federal budget to generate $200 billion in incentives to leverage $1 trillion of infrastructure investment over 10 years. Click here to read more.

Short Term Funding Agreement Reached
Congress late last week averted a government shutdown when the House and the Senate approved a two-week funding extension through Dec. 22. The House approved the continuing resolution (CR), funding government programs at FY 2017 levels, 235-194, with 18 Republicans opposing it and 14 Democrats voting for it. The Senate then approved the two week extension, 81-14, paving the way for President Trump to sign it into law.

Since highway funding comes from the Highway Trust Fund, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) would not be subject to a shut down. However, since the CR funds programs at last year’s funding levels, the 2 percent authorized funding increase in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) for the Federal-aid highway program will not be made available to states at this time. Also, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), “Some state DOTs try to finalize their spring project bid programs during the autumn and early winter, so the congressional delays in passing a full-year spending measure may also delay some road construction, technology and safety projects that could help stimulate economic activity and improve mobility and safety for the traveling public.” House and Senate negotiators will continue to work on a full year funding bill before the next deadline is reached.

AGC Fights to Maintain Infrastructure Tools in Tax Reform
PABs, Advanced Refunding & Historic Tax Credit Last week, AGC—along with a broad group of stakeholders—urged congressional leaders to maintain key provisions in the tax code that help finance infrastructure projects throughout the country. Among others, AGC addressed maintaining the tax exempt status of Private Activity Bonds (PABs). PABs are a traditional means of tax exempt financing for surface transportation projects, airports, ports facilities, water and wastewater facilities, and multi-family housing projects. PABs and their tax exempt status were eliminated in the House bill, but maintained in the Senate bill. AGC also continues to push to maintain the use of Advanced Refunding of Municipal Bonds, which is a tool that allows states and localities to free up borrowing capacity for new investment in infrastructure by taking advantage of lower interest rates on outstanding debt. Advanced Refunding was eliminated in both the House and Senate bills. Additionally, AGC continues to push to maintain another tool – the Historic Tax Credit – as the House bill eliminates the credit and the Senate bill severely restricts its use.

Contact your Representative and Senators and tell them to not slash these important incentives for public and private construction.

Asbestos Program Transition from the Ohio Department of Health
Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the Ohio Department of Health’s asbestos program will be transferred to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s 1 Division of Air Pollution Control. This fact sheet discusses upcoming changes and implementation timelines. Asbestos Program Transfer The asbestos program transfer includes applicable Ohio Administrative Code rules, some employee relocation and reassignment of all aspects of the program regulating asbestos hazard abatement contractors, specialists, project designers, workers, training courses and other professionals currently regulated by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Ohio EPA has been working to integrate the program into the Agency’s existing asbestos program. Click here to read this article in its entirety.

A Big Thank You to Our Winter Conference Sponsors!
OCA would like to extend a big “Thank You” to our members who sponsored the reception and casino or our awards banquet during the winter conference. We appreciate your commitment very much!

OCA Honors 2017 Safety Award Winners
The numbers of accidents and injuries in the construction industry are down in the latest figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One big reason for this trend may be the safety performance of OCA’s contractor members. The average incidence rate for OCA’s 2017 Safety Award winners is one-tenth of the national average for construction! On December 5, 2017 OCA honored its “Safety Elite” during the winter conference awards ceremonies. Congratulations to the following winners of the 2017 Jerry Keller Memorial Safety Awards:

DIVISION I
BEST SAFETY RECORD 2017
1,285,966 HOURS
BEAVER EXCAVATING COMPANY

DIVISION II
BEST SAFETY RECORD 2017
715,552 HOURS
THE GREAT LAKES CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

DIVISION III
BEST SAFETY RECORD 2017
368,864 HOURS VALLEY ASPHALT CORPORATION

DIVISION IV
BEST SAFETY RECORD 2017
53,951 HOURS
APBN, INC. (APBN was also recognized for zero recordable injuries during 2017)

The following OCA contractors, though not winning Division Awards, were recognized for zero recordable injuries in 2017. Each will receive a commemorative plaque:

CLEVELAND BARRICADING SYSTEMS
J & J SCHLAEGEL, INC.
SKEENS EXCAVATING

OC Magazine Now On-Line
To view the November-December 2017 edition of OC Magazine, please click here.

Need Professional Development Hours for CPESC or CESSWI?
George J. Igel Co., Inc. will be hosting a class instructed by OCA member Coyle SWPPP Professionals. Attendees will be awarded with six hours of Professional Development for attending. The class will be Tuesday, December 19, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the offices of George J. Igel & Co., Inc., 2040 Alum Creek Drive, Columbus, Ohio. Cost is $150 and lunch is provided. For more information, click here.

OCA and ODOT to Hold Partnering Training
It has been a few years since we have had Partnering Training around the State, and the ODOT/OCA Partnering Committee has scheduled a refresher course to be held at various times and locations throughout the State. We ask that you strongly consider sending your staff that have project management responsibilities to hear the current state of Partnering with ODOT and as a show of support for this effort. Please see the link below to have your staff sign up for the 2018 Statewide Partnering Training. There are six separate locations where the trainings will take place. The obvious choice is to select the location in the Districts where you have the most work but this is not mandatory. If the time and location is inconvenient for some of your staff, they may select any other location. The training will be from 8:30am-12pm.

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/ConstructionMgt/Pages/2018-Statewide-Partnering-Training.aspx

The deadline for sign-up will be Friday, January 5th. Please contact Chris Engle with any questions.

Upcoming Events

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Safety Talks

Click hereto view the OCA JobsiteSafety Talk.