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Government Affairs
New Jersey developers will have an additional 30 months to move forward with projects that have received government approvals under a bill advancing through the State Legislature. The bill would extend the planned expiration of the Permit Extension Act from June 30, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2012, reported NJBiz.com. Full Story President Obama's plan to force contractors to hire union workers for large government construction projects is proving easier said than done, confusing and costlier than expected. It's been more than a decade since a federal project required bids that include union representation of workers, known as a "project labor agreement" or PLA, and a $100 million project to modernize the 12-story Lafayette Building that houses federal agencies is highlighting the kinks that need to be worked out. The General Services Administration (GSA), for example, first called for PLAs to win bids to rehabilitate the Washington office complex, but then backtracked, saying the solicitation was in error and it would instead ask contractors to submit two bids, one with a PLA and one without - a highly unusual and costly requirement, reported The Washington Times. Full Story Industry Access ASSA ABLOY has acquired Cerraduras de Colombia S.A., Cerracol, market leader in the Central American lock market, based in Colombia. Cerracol is a vertically integrated producer of Yale branded locks and hardware. The company was established in 1964, is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia, and has approximately 400 employees. Full Story The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has released eight documents that have been reviewed and editorially updated. The revised documents have been updated with the 2009 year designator along with a note on the cover stating "editorially revised." Click here for a list of those updated technical documents. Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products. * DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org Business Update A draft of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) is scheduled for release in March 2010, and will be first International Code (I-code) to address sustainable design and green construction practices for all commercial building types. reported Reed Construction Data. Full Story Despite signs that the overall U.S. economy is beginning to improve, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by 13.4% in 2010 with a marginal increase of 1.8% in 2011 in inflation adjusted terms. Commercial and industrial projects will continue to see the most significant decrease in activity. Thanks, in part, to federal stimulus spending, institutional building categories will fare better over this period, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation's leading construction forecasters. Full Story Modern Distribution Management has compiled a list of the top five shifts in the distribution industry in 2009. Full Story A forecast of U.S. economic activity rose for the eighth straight month in November, a private research group said, signaling the economic rebound will continue next year. The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.9% last month, up from 0.3% in October. The latest reading beat the 0.7% increase that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected. Full Story Construction spending in the U.S. fell for the seventh straight month in November to the lowest level in more than six years, led by declines in homebuilding and fewer commercial projects. The 0.6% drop followed a revised 0.5% decrease in October, previously reported as unchanged, according to Commerce Department figures. Construction spending was down 13% in November from the same month a year earlier, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story Construction & Design Most market drivers for nonresidential building construction are negative, especially for developer financed commercial projects. Many developer projects are being delayed, or cancelled and some previously started projects are being suspended. Some of the cutbacks are initiated by developers who now expect well below normal building operating income and asset values in 2010-11 than when they began planning for the project. Other cutbacks are being forced by the inability to obtain financing. Lenders are being pressured by bank examiners to reduce their exposure to commercial real estate. Most of the decline in rental and occupancy rates has now occurred but continued declines are forecast into late 2010, reported Reed Construction Data. Full Story In San Francisco, Building Teams for three massive hospitals, all seeking LEED Gold certification, are working together to map out their sustainable design strategies, reported Building Design & Construction. Full Story Reed Construction Data has published a list of 20 of the largest upcoming military and arena/convention center construction projects in the U.S. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations. Full Story St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, NY, broke ground on a $220 million expansion that is the largest project in the hospital's 140-year history. The project on the north side of the hospital will include a new emergency services building, operating rooms, intensive care unit, private patient rooms and a new data center, reported Syracuse.com. Full Story Workers are scheduled to break ground in late spring or early summer on the $130 million, 80-bed Bethesda West Hospital in Boynton Beach, FL. Construction is expected to take about three years, with a grand opening in the spring of 2013, reported The Palm Beach Post. Full Story Security & Safety The hotel tech community has been waiting eagerly for several years now for the inevitable day when electronic key cards become obsolete and mobile devices take over as the room access key of choice. A technology known as Near-Field Communication, or NFC, was thought to hold the key to unlocking the future of mobile locking systems—and it still might. Oversimplified, NFC would enable guests to receive an encrypted message on their mobile devices, and the device would then send a signal to the locking system to unlock the door, enabling guests to skip the check-in process. However, slower-than-expected emergence of NFC-equipped consumer devices will probably keep NFC locking systems firmly deadbolted for another five years or more. Nevertheless, it's looking like guests could be using cell phones to unlock guestroom doors as soon as next year, reported Hotels. Full Story The Cooperator looks at some of the security system options and upgrades available for residential buildings. Full Story Small Business News Health Care Questions Health care reform will dominate the headlines for the next several weeks. Both the House and Senate versions are massive bills, with the Senate version coming in at over 2,400 pdf pages. Obviously there is not sufficient space to cover them in any detail here so we will focus on one issue that will impact the small business community – employer mandates. The House employer mandate is firm and reaches further down into the small business community, covers employees AND dependents, and requires providing coverage to part-time employees on a pro-rata basis. The Senate version is a "soft" mandate and would seem to be the better option. The House bill includes a "play or pay" penalty for not providing health care benefits to employees and dependents. The requirement takes effect in 2013. To play, employers must offer coverage to their employees and dependents. Employers must contribute at least 72.5% of the premium cost for single coverage and 65% of the premium cost for family coverage of the lowest cost plan that meets the essential benefits package requirements defined by the law. Under the Senate bill, all employers with more than 50 full-time employees (defined as employees working on average at least 30 hours per week) that did not provide coverage and any of its full-time employees were enrolled in an exchange plan for which a premium credit is paid, a penalty would be owed. The employer must pay 60% of the cost and the employee's cost must meet affordability standards, otherwise the employees will be deemed to be eligible for various credits and subsidies, if they are otherwise eligible for them. In 2014, the penalty assessed to the employer would be equal to the number of full-time employees times 1/12 of $750, for any applicable month. Both bills penalize employers if employees opt out of the employer's coverage. Under the House bill, if employees opt out, the employer pays a penalty of 8% of the average payroll for each opt out employee. Under the Senate bill, the circumstances are limited to when the employer does not pay at least 60% of the costs or the employee's share exceeds 9.8% of his/her income. This results in the individual being eligible for a premium subsidy. Thus, an employer that offers its employees coverage could be subject to penalties, if one or more of its full-time employees were enrolled in an exchange plan for which a premium credit is paid, for that employee. In 2014, the annual penalty assessed to the employer for each such employee would be $3,000 ($250 per month). However, the total annual penalty for an employer would be limited to the total number of the firm's full-time employees times $750, which is basically the same as if the employer did nothing. DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org. This material is protected under copyright law and contains confidential information. It is for the sole personal, informational use of DHI members. It cannot be distributed, reprinted, referenced as a source for attribution, or otherwise made public. DHI News The 2009 Forum for the Future Video Presentations are now available at www.dhi.org. FORUM FOR THE FUTURE If you were a registered attendee at the 2009 Conference & Expo, or you are a DHI Corporate Member, contact us at 703.222.2010, or send us an email at forumvideo@dhi.org, with your contact/mailing information to receive a free Forum for the Future DVD, transcripts of the presentation, and online viewing access. For all others who would like to purchase the DVD for your personal library for $99, click here to order through PayPal, or contact us with your credit card information and contact/mailing information. Proactive companies will heed the experts' advice and use this information to SURVIVE and prepare for future success. Gain a competitive-edge and invaluable economic insight to help your company THRIVE! Forum speakers include:
If you were a registered attendee at the 2009 Conference & Expo or you are a DHI Corporate Member and would like to order your complimentary Forum for the Future video package, contact us today! You will receive:
In addition, if you would like to purchase just the three transcripts with presentation graphics for $50, feel free to contact us with your special request. Contact us at 703-222-2010 or ForumVideo@dhi.org Open More Doors in 2010...Advance Your Career Through Industry Education! DHI's National School 2010 is a clean slate and an a great opportunity to do something to help advance your career, improve your industry knowledge and give you an edge over your competitors! DHI's National Education and Certification Program are designed to help you do just that! With only 2 National schools scheduled in 2010, take advantage of DHI's upcoming May 2010 National school in Lansdowne , VA., to increase your technical knowledge and hone your skills! Register now! Our special Early Bird tuition rate offer ends March 22. This upcoming school offers 28 different classes – including the Fire and Egress Door Assembly Inspection class (DAI 600)! Please note that due to consistent high demand for DHI National Education, we recommend that you sign-up for classes as soon as possible to secure your spot BEFORE classes sell out. For a complete list of course offerings click here! ***Please be sure to check out the January 2010 issues of Doors & Hardware for a summary of the Fall National School and complete registration information*** Need education sooner than the May or September National Schools? DHI's "Local Chapter" Education System provides convenient educational sessions for training your chapter members locally. Follow these simple steps to get your chapter started.
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