Newsletter 2017-01 January 06, 2017 LEGISLATIVE INTERIMS NEXT WEEK; SESSION BEGINS THEN RECESSES The 2017 legislative session will start 30 days late this year to give Governor-elect Jim Justice time to develop his legislative agenda. The session will begin February 8 but lawmakers will be in town next week for legislative interim meetings and to elect House and Senate leadership. One of the items for discussion will be the development of the proposed Rock Creek Development Park on the 12,000 acre Hobet mine site in Boone County. The project is needed to create economic opportunity in southern West Virginia, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin notes. Legislators have questioned spending $58 million for grading and draining 2.6 miles of road to access the site off of Corridor G when the WVDOH is struggling to maintain the state’s road and bridge system. A number of other construction related issues will be on the interim schedule, which will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Capitol. A full recap of the interim meetings will be in next week’s Newsletter. CAWV MEMBER TAPPED FOR COMMERCE SECRETARY; PAUL MATTOX, DAVID SNEED DEPARTURES Woody Thrasher, president of The Thrasher Group, an engineering and architecture firm headquartered in Bridgeport, was named new Commerce Secretary by Governor-elect Justice. “Woody shares my vision that what we need is a better marketing and economic opportunity surrounded by jobs, jobs, jobs for the people of West Virginia,” said the new governor of his appointee. “He's been on my mind for commerce secretary for a while because he understands what it takes to diversify West Virginia's economy.” Thrasher, who’s company has offices in West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia, said, “I'm really excited to have the opportunity to work with Governor-elect Justice. I'm humbled by the fact that he offered me the position. I immediately accepted it. I think the administration is taking jobs seriously in West Virginia and to really be part of it is a privilege for me. It ties into what my passions are to improve jobs in West Virginia,” said Mr. Thrasher. The CAWV congratulates the new Commerce Secretary and wishes him well in his new endeavor. The Commerce Department oversees the Division of Labor, Natural Resources, Energy, Forestry, Tourism, Development Office, Geological and Economic Survey, Workforce West Virginia, Office of Economic Opportunity and Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox announced plans to leave state government at the conclusion of the Tomblin Administration. Mr. Mattox, the longest-serving Secretary of Transportation in West Virginia history, told MetroNews Thursday he plans to return to the private sector. “I have had the once-in-a-lifetime honor and pleasure of working for the state I grew up in and love,” Mattox wrote in a departure note to employees and friends. “In my 12 years of service, I have held the confidence of Governor Manchin and Governor Tomblin, and worked that entire time making sure the West Virginia Department of Transportation and its 8 agencies have been noble stewards of taxpayers’ money.” Governor-elect Justice has not named a new Transportation Secretary. Also, David Sneed, executive director of the School Building Authority of West Virginia, retired this week. Scott Raines has been named acting director until Governor-elect Justice appoints a new Executive Director. The CAWV commends Paul Mattox and David Sneed on their contributions to roads and schools and wishes them well in their new endeavors. CAWV ACCEPTING SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS The CAWV Scholarship Foundation Board of Trustees is currently accepting applications from eligible West Virginia college/university students for the 2017 scholarship awards. This year’s top award will be $6,000. Also, in years past, the Foundation has made several additional awards to students for their academic achievements. In 2016 the Foundation awarded a total of $17,500 in scholarships. All CAWV members are encouraged to promote the annual scholarship program. Also, any member who knows of a deserving West Virginia college resident — sophomore, junior or senior — who meets the qualifications for the monetary award, should advise them to complete and return an application form. Application deadline is February 24. Additional information, including an application, may be obtained online at the CAWV’s website or by contacting Pat McDonald at (304) 342-1166 or [email protected]. OSHA PUBLISHES SECOND CONTROVERSIAL RECORDKEEPING REGULATION IN 2016 On Dec. 19, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule to revise existing language in the recordkeeping regulation to emphasize an employer’s responsibility to make and maintain accurate OSHA 300 Logs and all related incident reports. The new rule drastically expands on the existing regulatory language and in some cases added new provisions. While the newly published rule does make clear OSHA’s expectations involving the maintenance of injury and illness records, the true impetus for the rulemaking is to drastically expand the agency’s statute of limitation granted by the OSH Act. The OSH Act clearly states that “no citations may be issued after the expiration of six months following the occurrence of any violation.” However, this new rule will allow contractors to be cited for honest mistakes, or inaccuracies, related to recordkeeping dating back as far as five-and-a-half years. OSHA’s justification is that an omission of an injury or illness from the OSHA 300 Log constitutes an ongoing occurrence until corrected during the five-year retention period under the recordkeeping regulation. The final rule becomes effective on Jan. 18, 2017. AGC submitted comments opposing this rulemaking as part of the Coalition for Workplace Safety in 2015. On Nov. 22, 2016, AGC staff met with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to raise concerns while the rule was under their review. OSHA’s false interpretation of their statute of limitation, and subsequent justification, not only raised concerns among the regulated community but also members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce who recently sent a letter to the White House demanding they reject the rulemaking. Unfortunately, none of the efforts were successful. AGC encourages all contractor members to be extra diligent in investigating and documenting all facts related to reported injuries and illnesses to determine if they meet the recording criteria for entry on the OSHA 300 Log. For more information, contact Kevin Cannon at [email protected] or call (703) 837-5410. AGC-BACKED REGULATORY REFORM LEGISLATION PASSES HOUSE On January 4, the House passed AGC-backed legislation that would help Congress repeal more Obama administration regulations, as well as future administration’s regulations. The Midnight Rules Relief Act would enable Congress to include multiple regulations for repeal in one bill under the Congressional Review Act. As it stands, Congress can only include one regulation for repeal in single bill, which is a time-consuming process that severely restricts the number of regulations that could be repealed. To provide context, in 2016, federal agencies issued 3,853 regulations. This exceeds the number of bills Congress passed by a factor of 18. The House will also consider legislation that would require regulations with a total cost to the economy of $100 million or more to be approved by Congress before they become effective. In addition to placing a congressional check on such major regulations, the Regulations in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would allow Congress to disapprove of non-major regulations below the $100 million threshold. House passage of this bill is expected. Upon passage, the Senate may consider both bills after President-elect Trump is sworn into office. AGC will continue to press for such common sense regulatory reform in the new Congress. AGC WEBED: 2017 NEW NATIONAL AND STATE CONSTRUCTION HIRING AND BUSINESS FORECAST – JANUARY 10 Members are invited to participate in a webinar on January 10, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. The AGC and Sage will explain their national and state construction hiring and business forecasts for 2017. The forecasts, which are based on a comprehensive survey of construction firms nationwide, will include predictions of the scope of construction hiring, layoffs and possible worker shortages during the year. During the WebEd, the association’s chief economist Kenneth Simonson will release the forecasts and explain their significance for broader economic and employment growth for this year. Sage General Manager Jon Witty will discuss the information technology- related findings. They will also outline steps the new Congress and Administration should take to help support continued construction growth in 2017. Forecasts will also include predictions for construction industry hiring, layoffs, workforce shortages and business activity for 2017. The webinar is free for members and $49 for non-members. Additional details and online registration are available here. EXPO EARLY PAYMENT DEADLINE APPROACHING JANUARY 15, 2017 Numerous booths have already been reserved for the March 22 and 23 show at the Charleston Civic Center. Last year’s exposition featured nearly 300 exhibitors with 465 exhibit booths and nearly 5,000 attendees from 31 states and two foreign countries. Members can benefit from participating in the show and attending. Take time now to reserve a booth or ad space in the show program, sign up to be an Honor Exhibitor (non-displaying), or consider sponsoring an event or marketing item. Click here to view the EXPO 2017 sponsorship opportunities. Contact Cassidy Webb, EXPO Show Manager at [email protected] with any questions. Full details are available online at www.wvexpo.com. REMINDER: The ‘Early Payment Discount’ deadline is January 15, 2017. Reserve your booth today to get $50 off each booth.