Overview

Carolinas AGC's Building Division is the leading building industry trade group in the Carolinas. Members of this division are involved with about 80% of the work performed in the Carolinas. The Building Division chair is John Muter with Barnhill Contracting Co. and the vice chair is John Farley with Contract Construction. Our top goals are:

• Continue highlighting the infrastructure crisis in both states to help provide additional legislative funding for building, transportation, and water and sewer needs.
• Promote training awareness/opportunities among the membership on such topics as getting the full benefit of CAGC's online services, possibly offering seminars across both states, as well as information/seminars on such topics as "green" construction, BIM, CM, what not to do concerning union efforts and how to improve minority participation.
• Retain existing members and recruit new members in an effort to grow the membership.
• Educate the membership about immigration issues facing the industry.
• Publicize CAGC's position on alternative bidding, stressing competitive bidding but also recommending what should be done concerning alternative bidding.
• Ratchet up ways to increase military work going to CAGC members.

The next Building Division meeting will be July 22-25, 2010, at Wild Dunes Resort near Charleston, S.C. Timely and critical issues affecting the building industry in both states will be discussed. The meeting will deliver timely information that will help you adapt to and survive current economic conditions and deal with an ever evolving federal presence. Presentation topics include: The State of the Economy — A Comprehensive Review by Ken Simonson, AGC of America (AGC) Chief Economist; Federal Contracting, Stimulus and Construction by Tom Kelleher, Smith, Currie & Hancock; Washington Report — Healthcare Reform, Immigration and other Legislative Initiatives Affecting the Construction Industry, Jeff Shoaf, AGC Executive Director Government and Public Relations; and Organized Labor — Legislation and Activity, Mark Stubley, Ogletree Deakins. In addition, division breakout sessions will feature discipline specific subject matter programs for utility, building and specialty/subcontractor member companies. To register for the 2010 BUSS meeting, go to www.cagc.org.

Legislatively, one of CAGC's biggest services is to make sure you are protected in the state legislatures in both Carolinas, as well as in Congress. We are there for you.

For North Carolina, the short session began May 12, 2010. To date, CAGC lobbyists have been successful in overcoming opposition in keeping in place public bidding laws for school construction; keeping a level playing field for bidders on public work; helping get through the Senate nearly $1 billion for construction work; getting through both chambers legislation that would result in rebates of more than $1.5 million for contractors who unfairly had to pay franchise taxes for overbillings; and keeping lien laws for private work intact.

The short session, which should end in mid-July 2010, is the second year of biennium. Last year, CAGC was involved with legislative approval of more than $1.1 billion for state construction projects and eliminating an overbilling issue that now will save the construction industry millions of dollars each year, effective Jan. 1, 2010. CAGC also led efforts to exempt construction from a new statute of repose law that took effect Oct. 1, 2009, increasing it from 6 to 12 years, another development led by CAGC that will save the construction industry millions of dollars.

For South Carolina, the legislative session ended June 3 and CAGC worked on a number of bills this year that would have a positive rather than a negative impact on the commercial contracting industry. Specifically, CAGC actively worked to pass a constitutional amendment, which will be on the ballot this November. By voting yes on this question, voters can sustain South Carolina's strong right to work laws by protecting an individual's right to vote by secret ballot in a union election. Also, this session, CAGC supported the passage of an Economic Development bill that will extend the fee-in-lieu agreements for manufacturing property, which includes the construction of the facilities, and also increases tax incentives for Capital investments that attracts new businesses and encourages the expansion of existing businesses. In the defensive role, CAGC blocked the passage of legislation that would negatively restructure DHEC and defeated a bill that would have allowed for a class action law suit against General Contractors and Subcontractors without the claimant having first sent the Contractor or Subcontractor a right to cure notice.

Early in the session, CAGC introduced legislation in the SC Senate that would amend the state's outdated underground utility safety and damage prevention law. The legislation brings clarity to the law by specifying each stakeholder's responsibilities in the call before you dig process, as well as establishing a state authority to oversee the process. A subcommittee hearing was held on the bill in March and Senators directed all interested parties to work together to produce a bill that all could support. Senate led meetings between all stakeholders will begin now that the legislature has adjourned. CAGC plans to pre-file a bill later this year that will be considered during the 2011 Legislative Session.

Finally, your CAGC lobbyists pushed, for two solid years, to pass a strong tort reform bill that included statute of repose clarification legislation and a $350,000 cap on punitive damages. Unfortunately, we got down to the final day of the legislature and the trial lawyer legislators in the Senate blocked the passage of the bill, killing it for the year.