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AGC Retainage Bill Advances in Senate
This week, the AGC-backed compromise retainage reform bill cleared another legislative hurdle. The bill unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and is awaiting final passage on both the House and Senate floors. The proposal would limit the amount of retainage withheld on a construction contract to no more than 5%, as well as provide reasonable legal remedies to collect late retainage and delinquent progress payments. The bill language in its entirety can be found here.
Along with the agreement is a commitment to continue conversations about how retainage and prompt pay impact all parties in the construction industry, including owner/general relationships. Contact Abbey Bryduck, abryduck@agcmn.org or 952-250 -1681, with questions.
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Make a Difference - Sign the Transportation Funding Petition
The 2016 Legislative Session is moving and we need to make sure legislators understand that they can't come home without passing a strong transportation funding package.
Just sign on to our petition here,
and we'll make sure legislators a
nd the governor get the message.
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New Air Quality Rules
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is promulgating new Omnibus Air Quality rules. These rules will take into account negligible emissions at a facility undergoing any type of construction. The negligible emissions will include emissions from trucks and equipment as part of the overall General Permit. Depending on how old your equipment is, these new rules have the potential to affect whether you get a contract due to the age of your equipment and the emissions it lets out. Here is a link to a letter AGC of Minnesota sent to the MPCA regarding these new rules.
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Federal Change Orders Survey
Change orders are a way of life on any construction project. However, that is no excuse for federal agencies taking many months or even years to process and pay change orders. Please complete this brief survey to help AGC of America gauge how bad the change order process is on your federal construction projects. All survey responses are anonymous and will allow AGC to better articulate the problems you face when working for federal construction agencies.
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Construction Workload Summit - Register Now
Local public sector spending on construction is expected to rise. In fact, a group of metro area public owners has identified over $6 billion in projects in the next five years. At the same time, a shortage of skilled construction workers is looming due to aging workers,
inadequate workforce growth, and competition from other regions and industries. The shortage will directly impact the ability of our region to plan and deliver infrastructure projects. On April 14, join representatives of public owners and AGC members to discuss upcoming projects and identify opportunities to address workforce gaps. This meeting will be held at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center (3700 Monterey Drive) from 7:30 to 9:30 am, with registration at 7:00 am. While there is no charge to attend, advance registration is required. Details and registration are available here.
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BIMForum Coming to Minneapolis
AGC of America will hold its spring BIMForum Conference at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis April 19 - 21. Conference information is available here.
In advance of the conference, all four courses of BIM EP will be offered. BIM EP Units 1 and 3 will be held Monday, April 18, and BIM EP Units 2 and 4 will be held Tuesday, April 19. All sessions will be held at the Hyatt from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm each day. Information on all these classes is available here.
Both the CM-BIM and CM-Lean exams will also be offered, from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Tuesday, April 19. Those interested in taking these exams would need to register for the exam and choose BIMForum as their "preferred testing center." Information about the CM-BIM exam is available here and information about the CM-Lean exam is available here.
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The Blue Book 2016 Networking Event
AGC of Minnesota members are invited to participate in the 2016 The Blue Book Building & Construction Networking event, being held April 20 at TCF Bank Stadium. If you want to make new contacts, reconnect with past ones, and learn more about the latest tools to build your business, then this Showcase is for you. Exhibiting, sponsorships, and attendance information can be found here.
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AGC Bookstore Monthly Featured Products -
Construction Project Delivery Books
The AGC bookstore offers a variety of construction project delivery books. These books explore everything from traditional to alternative project delivery systems, including, Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, Construction Management At-Risk, and integrated Project Delivery systems. Also included in this category is the Davis-Bacon Compliance Manual, a must-have for any contractor with existing or prospective federal or federally assisted construction contracts. Also available, is the US Army Corps of Engineers Safety and Health Requirements. All of these books provide concise, practical information about Project Delivery in construction.
These items are available during the month of April at a 15% discount using coupon code Build15.
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525 Park Street, Suite 110
St. Paul, MN 55103
651-632-8929
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