The month of February was action packed! We held a PSMJ Principals Bootcamp with a Special THANK YOU to POE AND ASSOCIATES for providing the accommodations which saves your ACEC OKLAHOMA valuable resources. We held our EEA Awards with very special guests Secretary Gatz, Joe Echelle and Brian Taylor and the legislative session got kicked off on February 5th.

The legislature completed its committee deadline and now moves to floor action. One very important bill HB3670 by Chair Nicole Miller and Senator Haste gives civil engineers and engineering firms the same incentives held by aerospace, automotive and cyber engineers. HB 3670 passed out of the Finance Committee and Full Appropriations the bill will now be considered by the full house of Representatives. This is a critical step to making Oklahoma more competitive in the workforce demand. The legislature and governor also cut the state portion of the grocery sales tax with an $400 million annualized impact to the state budget. The Governor and Speaker are calling for an additional .25% cut to the income tax with an estimated impact of $200 million. ACEC OK will continue to advocate for additional funds for ODOT to keep the 8 year plan on track due to escalating inflationary costs.

Congratulations to STV for winning our Grand Conceptor Award for their work on the Owasso Waste Water Treatment Plant Expansion.

Our Engineering Excellence Honor Award winners were as follows:

Many thanks to those who made our Engineering Excellence Awards Reception a success! We know countless hours went into preparing this projects for our panel of judges. Congratulations to all of our nominees!

We had a busy month for our association! Many thanks to those who attended our PSMJ Principals Bootcamp. Special thanks to Poe and Associates for allowing us to host our bootcamp in their OKC space. Our event was well attended and provided a great exchange of information.

Our board and general membership meeting was special this month, as it was also our reception for our EEA awards. We had a great group to honor our nominees and we had good fellowship with our friends from other firms and our special guests for ODOT. Many thanks to all who attended!

ACEC member action is needed to urge the Senate to support the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024), a business and family tax bill that would delay the R&D amortization requirement until 2026. Quickly take action here!