Legislative Priorities

No other construction industry organization in the Carolinas delivers on legislative and regulatory issues like Carolinas AGC. Whether it involves helping ease the workforce shortage; leading efforts to secure hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure improvements involving transportation, building and utility public construction work; improving the business climate for construction or cutting bureaucratic red tape and minimizing risks for the construction industry, CAGC is working for you.
Below is a snapshot of how Carolinas AGC lobbyists work on members’ behalf in the North Carolina and South Carolina legislatures.

NC Flag North Carolina

“The NC legislature starts its short session – the second year of the biennium – in April with the primary purpose of amending year 2 of the biennial budget.  With this being a pivotal election year, we expect the session to be especially brief with very few, if any, controversial issues on the table.”   -  Betsy Bailey, Government Relations & Building Division, Foundation COO

  • $7.3 million funding request for various workforce programs for the CAGC Foundation to administer. The funding would be focused on construction workforce recruitment and training including heavy equipment and building inspection programs and on middle and high school student awareness of industry careers. The funding would be allocated as follows:
    • $3.6 million to establish heavy equipment operator training and certification programs at six new community colleges (in addition to the 8 already operating in the state) to be selected jointly by the NCCCS and CAGC that shall consider market demands and the needs of the construction industry.
    • $500k to establish a pilot program to recruit and compensate trained heavy equipment operators from the industry to serve as adjunct instructors in the new programs.
    • $500k to establish a program in conjunction with the Department of Public Instruction to recruit students in middle school and high school to pursue careers in technical education. 
    • $750k to continue and expand the CAGC Construction Bootcamp programs in community colleges.  CAGC received a $2.5 million grant last year to create these programs at various community colleges across the state. 
    • $2.0 million to expand the building inspection training and certification programs at community colleges.

  • Supporting the establishment and implementation of a pilot program to allow NCDOT to utilize the Progressive Design-Build procurement process on a limited number of projects.  CAGC will also support an increase in the number of projects that can utilize the Construction Manager-General Contractor procurement method.

  • With safety being our number one priority at CAGC, we intend to file legislation that will require all teen drivers to pass a work zone safety class before they can obtain a driver's license. Updating testing requirements so that all young drivers can safely navigate a work zone is another way to keep our workers safe, as well as the motoring public.

SC Flag South Carolina

“The members of the SC General Assembly returned to Columbia January 14, kicking off the 126th legislative session. With 32 new members of the legislature (19 in the House and 13 in the Senate) and renewed energy by the Senate to pass meaningful tort reform, we expect this to be an exciting legislative session.” -  Leslie Clark, COO & Director of SC Government Relations and Divisions.

CAGC’s Legislative Goals for this year in South Carolina Include: 

  • CAGC will fully support additional funding for emergency bridge replacement and repair in the state budget to ensure the safety of everyone who travels the roads in SC. In addition, CAGC will support increasing the EV registration fee to be more in line with our southeastern states. In addition, CAGC will encourage legislators to consider indexing the current gas tax as well.

  • CAGC will also support the continued $95 million annual investment of funds to South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships (SCWINS) through the South Carolina Technical College System. Over the last four years over 42,000 South Carolinians have taken advantage of this scholarship program. These scholarships cover the cost of tuition and fees at any of our 16 technical colleges across the state to earn a post-secondary or industry credential in high-demand careers like manufacturing, nursing, computer science, information technology, transportation, logistics, or construction.

  • Workforce funding will continue to be a priority for CAGC. We will seek continued funding for the Be Pro Be Proud Skilled Trades Mobile Workshop as well as looking to secure additional funding for educational programs CAGC is supporting.

  • CAGC is in full support of S.244. This is a meaningful tort reform bill that will improve the state’s economy.  Loopholes in the current judicial system are making the state less competitive economically, exposing businesses to uncertainty, and costing consumers more money. S.244 will not insulate “bad actors” from the consequences of their behaviors and no one will be forced to pay for damages for which they are not responsible. The bill addresses among other things Joint and Several Liability, Construction Defects/Statute of Repose, and Seatbelt Admissibility. The bill, which Carolinas AGC has been instrumental in filing, is critical to our members who are always one lawsuit away from going out of business.

  • As our state grows, our infrastructure must too. Having as many tools as possible to help deliver projects on time and on budget is critical. H. 3560 would add another tool. Phased Design Build uses a stepped, or phased qualifications-based selection process, followed by a progression to a contract price. This legislation will allow SCDOT to use Phased Design Build as a procurement method if they choose. CAGC supports passage of this legislation.