AGC of America had strongly urged Congress to pass the package. "A failure to buttress financial markets will lead to a credit freeze that will cause the cancellation of construction projects, bankruptcy of construction firms and unemployment of construction workers," said Stephen Sandherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors of America.

A revised plan is likely to be voted on this week. AGC members are encouraged to contact their Congressional representatives via the AGC of America's Legislative Action Center.

From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports H.R. 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, because Main Street and Wall Street rely on each other to survive. That is, whatever happens on Wall Street has a direct effect on what happens to small, medium and large-sized businesses across the country. If there is no liquidity in our financial markets, businesses will be unable to grow - plain and simple. A financial rescue package is imperative to our economy's growth, and Congress needs to act now.

Among the Washington State Congressional Delegation, Reps. Baird, Dicks, Larsen, McDermott and Smith voted in favor of the rescue plan; Reps. Hastings, Inslee, McMorris-Rodgers and Reichert voted against it.

Speaking in favor of the bill, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) said, "After listening to many of my constituents, small business owners, local bankers, and many others in the business and financial world, I have concluded that this crisis is more serious than just the normal downside of the business cycle; that failure to act by Congress could turn a severe economic slow down into a panic -a run on banks and all financial institutions that could plunge us into a deep and lasting recession; and that the plan before Congress, while offering no guarantees, represented a prudent and necessary step to prevent this much more painful economic outcome."

Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) voted against the measure. He said, "It's more important to get this legislation right than to act in haste. Panic on Wall Street brought us to this point, and we cannot let panic in Congress push through a remedy that is worse than the illness. Instead of a $700 billion blank check, we need a comprehensive package that helps Wall Street recover with more private capital, not taxpayer dollars; that holds accountable the bad actors who contributed to this crisis; and that enforces existing laws while modernizing outdated ones."

For a recap statements made by Washington Representatives both for and against the package, click this Seattle Times article.

The latest Strategic Vision poll, taken Sept. 14-16, shows former Sen. Rossi receiving 48%, Gov. Gregoire 46%. Rossi's lead is within the poll's margin of error, but the result is similar to other polls that show a shift from Gregoire's summer advantage to a very close race, with perhaps a small advantage for Rossi. Three of four polls released in September showed Rossi leading. Last week's Rasmussen poll had Rossi leading Gregoire 52% to 46%. Before that, an Elway poll gave Gregoire a 49.1% to 42.4% lead over Rossi. The first poll of September by SurveyUSA gave Rossi a 48% to 47% lead over Gregoire.

Sen. Rossi spoke to dozens of AGC members at a Seattle fundraiser. To see photos from that event, click here. In addition, AGC members recently participated in events for Rossi in Bellingham and Yakima.

Sen. Rossi and Gov. Gregoire recently squared off in a debate before the Association of Washington Business's Policy Summit. The debate is being broadcast at various times on TVW (including Wed., Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.). Visit TVW for its complete schedule. Following the debate AWB joined AGC by endorsing Rossi for Governor.

For a complete list of AGC-endorsed candidates, visit Election Central on the AGC's website.

"The nation's economic problems are causing our state's tax revenues to fall," Lee said. "Although most of our agency is paid for with federal funding, the Family Leave Insurance program is a state program that uses money from the State General Fund. When you hear or read about anticipated budget shortfalls in state government, it is primarily the State General Fund that they're talking about. By suspending the Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program, about $4 million in General Fund money will remain unspent, which could help offset a portion of the anticipated shortfall."

There is more to the story, however. Funds can be withheld from creating the computer systems to implement the legislation, but the fact remains that it is still a state law: beginning October 1, 2009, benefits are payable to eligible individuals on a qualifying paid family leave. If that entitlement remains on the books unamended or unrepealed, presumably a class of individuals will have a legal claim against the state for benefits starting in October.

So "suspending" the program isn't something that can be accomplished merely by not funding it in the budget -- although that's a start. It'll take a bill to amend or repeal the effective date from the original 2007 legislation. The Legislature will have to decide whether or not to suspend the program. But faced with no viable source of funds for its benefits or administration, that's a responsible plan.

Because her political career is mostly as an executive - mayor and governor - there aren't "vote records" tallied by business organizations for Palin as there are for Sen. Biden.

But a check with AGC of Alaska reveals that its members, because they are much more familiar with her than the rest of the country, have a more nuanced perception of Gov. Palin than the "Sarah Mania" that has swept the nation.

"As with all states, our construction community does not have a uniform political viewpoint. But on purely construction issues, I'd say the industry would give her about a B-plus," says Dick Cattanach, CEO of the Construction Education Foundation and former Executive Director of the AGC of Alaska. "On other business policy issues, such as the gas line project, people have more concerns."

Although the AGC of Alaska's political action committee does not endorse or support candidates for statewide office, a review of campaign contribution records shows that in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, Palin received $11,000 from general contractors, while John Binkley received $30,000. However, in the general election, Palin received $13,300 from general contractors compared to only $8800 for Democrat Tony Knowles.

As governor, Palin has famously used her line-item veto powers on capital spending bills. Nevertheless, she has signed some of the largest capital budget bills in the state's history.

"What you see in Gov. Palin is someone who is very bright. But if the McCain-Palin ticket loses, it would mean that Gov. Palin returns home having received policy advice from some of the best minds in the country," says Cattanach. "It's good for Alaska either way."

A detailed review of Gov. Palin's record by the Wall Street Journal can be found here.

Meanwhile, with his long legislative career, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware has accumulated vote records from many business organizations, most notably the AGC of America, which has given Biden poor to middling scores over the years. In the recent 110th Congress, Biden supported AGC's key issues 33 percent of the time. In the four preceding sessions of Congress, Biden had AGC vote records of 50, 50, 16 and 22 percent respectively. His most recent score from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is 44 percent, and from the National Association of Manufacturers, 11 percent.

To review Biden's AGC vote record, click here.

Of course, even more important than the vice presidential candidate records are the records of the candidates at the top of the ticket. As previously reported in AGC Works, AGC of America developed a helpful side-by-side comparison of the views and priorities of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama on issues such as taxes, immigration and more. Among other things, the comparison indicates that McCain has a 67 percent lifetime AGC vote record, and Obama has a 55 percent lifetime record. For more info, click AGC Presidential Comparison.

For valuable information on campaigns at the federal, state and local levels, visit Election Central at the AGC of Washington's website, www.agcwa.com.

L&I's new policy stems from the Washington State Supreme Court's Brinks decision of 2007. The Court ruled that a home security firm which allowed technicians to drive to and from their homes in company trucks was required to pay the employees for their drive time. According to the Court, the employees were "on duty" at the employer's "premises" or "workplace" while they were driving to and from their residences. As a result, this time constituted "hours worked" under the Washington Minimum Wage Act.

The Brinks decision created confusion regarding the circumstances under which commute time in company vehicles is compensable. AGC sought clarification through legislation last year. That effort was defeated and AGC has since been working to secure a Department rule on the matter.

The policy is intended as a guide to interpretation and application of the court decision; it does not in and of itself constitute a Department rule.

"The Department's policy is an important first step," said Rick Slunaker, AGC's Director of Government Affairs. "It's valuable guidance for employers who want to keep providing employees with the perk of a company-owned vehicle."

AGC had urged L&I to provide more guidance to employers and will continue to work with L&I on the development of more formal rules and will consider a legislative solution in 2009.

L&I had originally intended for the policy to take effect Aug. 8. Labor groups sought and received a postponement. The policy took effect Sept. 2.

The policy describes that commute time is compensable if it is "hours worked". It then lays out elements of the definition of "hours worked" as follows:
1. An employee is authorized or required by the employer,
2. to be on duty,
3. on the employer's premises or at a prescribed workplace.

All three of those elements must be satisfied. The policy fleshes out the meaning of "on duty" and "employer's premises or prescribed work place."

A copy of the new policy can be found on the AGC website at www.agcwa.com or on the Labor and Industries website at www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/files/policies/esc2.pdf.

According to AGC of America Economist Ken Simonson, most contractors are unlikely to be directly affected by Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy or the Treasury's conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and demand for nonresidential construction could change either way.

"If home mortgages become cheaper and more widely available, home sales should pick up, generating demand for consumer-related construction, such as stores selling home and yard products and retail near new housing developments," Simonson says in his recent Data Digest. "Freddie Mac reported on Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.93% last week, down from 6.35% a week earlier and 6.31% a year before. Both measures could also restore investor confidence that markets have reached their low points and that the limits of Treasury/Federal Reserve intervention have been defined. A gloomier view is that the bankruptcy is a sign that even the drastic actions with the housing lenders were not enough to stop the free-fall and that investors and lenders will continue to withhold funds from developers."

Meanwhile, Simonson reports a recent slowing of construction material inflation. Click here for a spreadsheet showing changes in the producer price index (PPI) for construction materials and components.

The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods tumbled 1.6% before seasonal adjustment (-0.9% seasonally adjusted) in August but rose 9.6% over the past 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The PPI for inputs to construction industries, a weighted average of materials used in every type of construction plus items consumed by contractors, such as diesel fuel, was flat for the month and up 13% over 12 months. For the month, the indexes declined sharply for nonresidential segments but rose for residential construction, but nonresidential costs still rose more over 12 months.

One- and 12-month changes were -1.3% and 22% for PPI for highway and street construction; -1.0% and 17% for other heavy construction; -0.4% and 12% for nonresidential buildings; 0.1% and 9.2% for new multi-unit residential; and 0.9% and 8.4% for new single-unit residential. The disparities are largely traceable to diesel fuel, which plummeted 20% for the month but was up 50% over 12 months.

Building costs were pushed up for the month by a 4.7% jump in gypsum products, which had fallen for two years and are still up only 1.7% over 12 months. Other big movers: asphalt paving mixtures and blocks, 9.7% and 47%; steel mill products, 2.2% and 41%; copper and brass mill shapes, -2.1% and 3.5%.

In a sign that general contractors are having to absorb price increases rather than pass them along, the PPIs for finished buildings, which include overhead and profit as well as materials costs, showed milder changes: 0.6% and 4.8% for new industrial building construction; -0.1% and 4.4% for new warehouses; 0% and 3.2% for new schools and -0.1% and 3.6% for new offices. Indexes that were introduced in July for prices charged by nonresidential building subcontractors showed these one-month changes: -0.3% for concrete contractors, -0.1% for electrical contractors, 0.1% for plumbing contractors and 1.0% for roofing contractors.

• Pub Event: September 25, 5:30 p.m., Paddy Coyne's, 1190 Thomas St., Seattle. Very informal networking opportunity. No need to RSVP...Just drop by.

• Advocacy and Politics: October 9, 5:30 p.m., AGC Building Conference Room, Seattle. AGC lobbyists will discuss the mechanics of AGC government relations efforts, the hottest policy issues affecting construction, and how FLF can be involved in the policymaking process.

• BIM presentation: November 13, 5:30, Lake Washington Rowing Club, 910 N. Northlake Way, Seattle. Norm Strong of Miller/Hull and a panel of experts will discuss the latest in the application of BIM technology.

More information will follow on these events, but if you would like to RSVP now for the BIM or lobbying events, send an email to Sarah Teague. FLF events are open to early- and mid-career construction professionals at AGC member firms. Anyone who would like to be on the FLF mailing list can email Sarah and let her know.

Meanwhile, the initial Steering Committee has successfully launched the FLF and has been working to develop an organizational structure and a succession plan. The Steering Committee will be seeking volunteers to serve on new subcommittees: Education, Membership, Finance, Events, and AGC Liaison. From these subcommittees a new FLF Steering Committee will be created in 2009.

The FLF Steering Committee adopted the following intent and structure document at its last meeting:

AGC of Washington Future Leadership Forum
Intent & Structure as Developed by FLF Steering Committee

INTENT

Mission: Promote Industry innovation, education and the exchange of ideas for the future of construction in our region.

Overview: FLF is a program to develop the professional and people skills of the up and coming leaders of Washington's construction industry. The FLF is focused on providing events centered on education, professional development, and networking to enhance participants' knowledge of the local marketplace, the construction industry, and their own potential as leaders.

Purpose:

• To be an open forum to exchange ideas.
• To be an entry vehicle into AGC to promote new member involvement.
• To foster a strong network among peers. 
• To create and promote industry innovation. 
• To help members stay current on industry trends and best practices. 
• To help strengthen AGC of Washington for the 21st Century.

Eligibility: The FLF is open to all early and mid-career construction industry professionals employed by an AGC member firm.

STRUCTURE

The Future Leadership Forum will be governed by a Steering Committee of AGC Members with a committee chair & AGC Staff. Each member of the Steering Committee will chair a subcommitte that helps support the goals of the FLF. The number of members in each subcommitte will be determined by the chair, depending upon need. The subcomittees are listed below along with their roles and responsibilities.

Education Subommittee
Chair: Sean Woerman, Lydig
Role: Serve as liaison with AGC Education Foundation. Improve educational offerings of the FLF. Ensure FLF educational events meet the needs of FLF participants.
Responsibilities: Interact with the Education Foundation to formulate programs and educational opportunities for FLF members, AGC firms and the community in order to ensure that the AGC is a current and viable source of information and to further construction industry awareness.
Objectives:
Short-Term:

• Confirm contacts within companies to ensure that current educational foundation programs are reaching the most number of people within the AGC.
• Create, or re-formulate, educational programs from ideas brought forth by FLF members as necessary.
• Review existing programs, offerings and communicate with FLF members and AGC companies

Long-Term:

• Create a ‘Certificate' program for events attended and courses taken to validate the AGC's acknowledgement of activities undertaken, and participated in, by FLF group members.
• In cooperation with the AGC Education Foundation, participate in educational outreach program for students in High School / Jr. High Schools to provide an insight into how the construction industry can be seen as a viable career option, as well as a leader in technology and innovation in the future. (i.e. Practical applications with emphasis on technology in the industry)

Membership Subcommittee
Chair: Brad Kilcup, GLY
Role:

• Promote membership in FLF.
• Communicate FLF objectives, mission and events to FLF members, AGC member firms, and potentially the construction industry at large.
• Target new members from AGC member firms.

Responsibilities:

• Recruitment and retention of early and mid career professionals at AGC member firms.
• Marketing FLF to AGC member firms (first priority) and construction industry (secondary priority).
• Maintenance and outreach to AGC FLF roster.
• Outreach to other young professional organizations:
• AGC YLF groups from around the country
• Local NAIOP Developing Leaders
• AIA Young Professionals
• University CM program AGC organizations

AGC Liaison Subcommittee
Chair: Doug Watt, Northwest Cascade
Role: The AGC/FLF Liaison Committee is responsible for keeping the FLF abreast of the ongoing activities and issues affecting the AGC. This committee will assist the Chair of the FLF in providing the AGC with information regarding the activities of the FLF.
Responsibilities: Provide FLF representation at AGC board meetings and committee meetings. Tentatively these committees will include, Governmental Affairs, Labor Relations, Legal Affairs, Property, Public Works, and State Facilities. Communicate news of AGC activities to FLF, and vice versa, via newsletters and other vehicles

Finance Subcommittee
Chair: Kurt Trester, Absher
Role: Manage the budget of the FLF.
Responsibilities:

• Communicate budget updates between AGC Staff and the Steering Committee to ensure the Forum stays within budget.
• Increase available resources (funding, sponsorships, etc) 
• Ensure FLF Members/Companies are current and in good standing. 
• Work with AGC Staff when budget adjustments are to be made for FLF operations.

Events Subcommittee
Chair: TBD
Role: Develop educational, social and networking opportunities.
Responsibilities:

• Coordinate all FLF events with AGC Staff, guest speakers, & Steering Committee.
• Ensure the booking of venues.
• Work with venues to ensure needs of the FLF is met for the scheduled event. 
• Schedule guest speakers.
• Market events to FLF Membership.

The existing & original members of the Steering Committee will remain in place for another year, until the first Monday of November 2009. In November 2008, Kurt Trester will turnover the chairmanship to a different Steering Committee member.

On the first Monday of November 2009, a new Steering Committee will be named. Members will serve one-year terms. New Steering Committee members will have served at least one year on a subcommittee. The chair of the Steering Committee will have served on the Steering Committee for a one-year term.

House and Senate leaders addressed the shortfall in a bipartisan fashion. The bill will prevent a shortfall in federal funds available to reimburse states for work undertaken on federal aid highways around the country. The delay in repaying the states would have jeopardized future state highway projects and slowed down the work on on-going federal-aid highway construction projects.

"We knew this shortfall was coming and we have made this a priority for the last two years," said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of AGC. "The money was set to run out, states were going to be left holding the bag and contractors would have been forced to lay people off."

The legislation will now move to the President's desk for signature. Once the bill is signed, the Federal Highway Administration will resume its long-standing procedure of reimbursing states on a daily basis for the full amount submitted.

"We're relieved that the Administration finally decided to join us in supporting this fix and that Congress was able to get it done quickly," added Sandherr. "We can now turn our focus to working with Congress on the heavy lifting that will ensure a strong, well-funded program in the future."

The Highway Trust Fund, which funds highway and bridge construction projects and is funded by the 18.3 cents federal gas tax, was projected to run out of money by the end of the month. The funding shortfall is primarily due to continuing reductions in vehicle miles traveled by the nation's drivers who are reacting to high gas prices. Numerous state departments of transportation announced that if the full federal funds were not forthcoming they would be forced to cancel contract lettings, slow down work on on-going projects and, in some cases, be forced to issue debt to make payments to contractors for work that is already under way.

AGC has been calling on Congress and the Administration to work together to guard against insolvency since its financial instability became apparent in the President's 2007 budget proposal, submitted to Congress in February 2006.