Make your voice heard! Each year, AGC members meet with key decision makers and advocate for the construction industry. It’s important to communicate with legislators this time of year as they make key budget and policy decisions. Join us as we discuss the best ways to advocate for the industry, and hear from legislators and state agency heads on what's in store.

Week 8: A Blizzard of (Legislative) Bills            

The anticipated snowstorm shut down the Capitol for over half the week. Bills scheduled to be heard in committee will be pushed into next, which will cause a blizzard of bills on the agendas- likely leading to late evening hearings. The House and Senate Capital Investment Committees managed to pass a $1.5 billion dollar bonding bill and additional $400 million in cash-funded projects out of their committees prior to hearing cancellations. The final fate of a public works package in the form of a bonding bill or cash appropriations remains unknown. The DFL majority needs Republican votes to achieve the required 3/5ths majority for a bonding bill to pass the entire House and Senate. This is one of the few, if only, areas that the minority party can leverage other issues if desired. Click here for a full list of programs and projects in the current bill.

A bill regarding contractor liability and wage theft was also pushed into next week. It will be heard in the Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday and the House Labor Committee on Thursday. AGC will be meeting with the proponent next week to discuss issues and concerns.

A host of other proposals will be on the docket relating to environmental product declarations for construction materials, sales tax exemption for construction materials, federal conformity on OSHA citations, and federal infrastructure grant assistance.

On Monday, February 27, Minnesota Management and Budget will release the state’s budget forecast. These numbers will set the stage for the legislature for setting the budget for the next two years.

Contact Laura Ziegler with any questions or comments. 

In this final week of African American History, AGC of Minnesota celebrates our member Paul Edlund, who joined the AGC Board of Directors this January. Paul brings needed perspective and breadth of experience to our Board, and we're grateful to have his participation!

Paul is CEO of J. Benson Construction. The former criminal defense lawyer purchased the Hopkins-based company in November 2020 with the mission of "promot[ing] change in racial, social and economic inequities by employing people from underserved communities in the construction trades,"

We're looking forward to highlighting women in the Minnesota construction industry during Women in Construction (WIC) Week - March 5-11.

View the schedule of events and make sure your employees know about these opportunities!

Register for events here.

View last year's profiled women in construction.

All small businesses, whether they are CERT certified or not are invited to join this small business open house - an opportunity for small businesses to have deliberate, worthwhile conversations with county staff who are directly involved in construction.

Ramsey County Departments

 We have contacted all the city administrators within Ramsey County to invite them to have a table at this event.

The time is now to turn in your Bargaining Authority form if you are an AGC of Minnesota members OR non-member and are signatory with any of these collective bargaining agreements:

Need login credentials to access the form? Renee will help you.

If you have any questions, contact Mike.

Contractors encountered a wide range of price changes for key construction inputs in January, with steep increases for fuel, concrete, and gypsum products offsetting sharp declines in lumber and steel prices, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released this week. Association officials said a lack of clarity from officials in Washington as to what materials may be used on federally assisted projects is adding to price disparities.

View the producer price index data.

Legal deadlines can be difficult to track down and can be just as difficult to calendar. Yet the failure to properly calendar and track legal deadlines can have devastating consequences. In the hope of making things easier for construction professionals, this article provides a list of common deadlines and tips for how to find and calendar deadlines. Learn more

Kyle S. Willems and Benjamin D. Gilchrist, Bassford Remele, P.A.

I-90/US 52 in Olmsted County

MnDOT is asking potential contractors to assist with evaluating construction staging and risks to constructing this proposed project while minimizing impacts to the traveling public. MnDOT requests one-on-one meetings with potential construction contractors to review the proposed concepts and provide feedback. The meetings are expected to last approximately 90 minutes.

Project information here.

February 27-March 3 has been selected as the Department’s desired window for constructability reviews. However, the project team is flexible if the previous or following week would work better with contractors’ schedules. Please contact Chad Hanson, Project Manager to schedule a meeting.

Join the 2022-2023 Leadership Blueprint cohort on April 12 (immediately following AGC Day at the Capitol) as they celebrate their graduation! Hear from graduates on how the program helped equip them as leaders, and then hear from nationally recognized speaker Jake Thompson.

Registration for two Supervisory Training Program (STP) units beginning March 8 and 9 is now open:

AGC members and prospective members are encouraged to join the AGC Board of Directors and staff for a member networking event at Coyote Moon Grill (on the Territory Golf Course property) in St. Cloud on April 13th!

Everyone is invited to an Expand the Toolbox event on Thursday, March 23 for a candid conversation with local mid-sized emerging market construction companies of 20-100 employees about how they're building an inclusive and productive workforce through best models/practices that will help set the foundation of being prepared to have quality and skilled employees that will lead to a better return on their overall investment.

Hosted by the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention and United Suicide Survivors International, the goals of the summit are:

Join AGC staff and members along with MBEX Young Professionals for a St. Paul Saints game against the Louisville Bats on Wednesday, August 9 at 1:07 pm! Food and comfortable accommodations included!

Sponsorship opportunities can be found during registration.

Interested in how advertising through AGC could benefit your firm?

Take a look at AGC's Media Kit, and contact Katie to learn more.