Associated Contractors of
New Mexico

“Building & Maintaining Transportation Infrastructure for New Mexico’s Economic Future”

Associated Contractors of New Mexico

2013 ACNM State Convention.

July 25th - 28th

Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero NM.

Click here for flyer

Click here for registration

Sequestration Goes into Effect: What Construction Contractors Should Know

Last week, Congressional leadership and President Obama failed to reach a deal to avert the $85 billion in automatic and indiscriminate budget cuts, called sequestration. The president signed an order directing the start of the spending cuts on March 1.  AGC of America has estimated that $4 billion in federal construction funding could be cut during the next seven months of fiscal year 2013 as a result of the sequester.   The White House issued a statement saying they hope to continue working to find a replacement for the sequester.  However, any potential deal reached will likely be months away.

Contractors who work directly with federal agencies will experience the greatest negative impact of the sequester.  With many federal agencies likely to institute civilian employee furloughs at the end of March – which will include acquisition personnel – federal contractors should expect delays receiving permits and answers to procurement/ongoing construction questions and contract award information, among other things. Agencies, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Naval Facilities Engineering Command, could decide to procure work through more Multiple Award Task Order Contracts and Multiple Award Construction Contracts because of the lack of acquisition personnel to handle smaller construction contracts. Although ongoing construction projects and awards already made may not be affected on a grand scale, some contracts could be terminated for convenience or de-scoped. Similarly, contractors may be asked to hold over their bids for 120 or more days.  Ultimately, direct federal contractors should expect fewer new federal construction project solicitations in the coming months.

Contractors who work for state and local governments—which receive some federal funding—could also see negative impacts, albeit not as severe. Again, with federal agency personnel furloughs expected, these contractors could also expect delays in receiving any federal permits and completion of federal environmental studies. Contractors who build transportation infrastructure should not see a dramatic decrease in new project solicitations. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and Airport Improvement Program are exempt from the FY 2013 sequestration process, though there would be a slight reduction in last year’s $6.2 billion General Fund transfer to the HTF. Municipal and utility contractors who have a stake in the clean water and drinking water state revolving loan funds (SRF), however, should expect a decrease in new projects. AGC of America estimates about $135 million will be cut from the SRFs under sequestration.

AGC of America has consistently argued for the sequester to be delayed through FY 2013 in order to provide our industry a smaller level of certainty until a grand bargain can be reached – one that truly reforms and prioritizes discretionary spending programs and preserves entitlement programs for multiple generations without unfairly raising taxes. Please TAKE ACTION and inform your members of Congress about sequestration’s impact on your business and the construction industry. Be sure to also take a look at AGC’s recently updated report: “Sequestration and Its Possible Impacts on Construction.”

GOVERNOR SUSANA MARTINEZ ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY
ALVIN DOMINGUEZ

Dominguez retiring after 28 years in transportation-related public service, including 18 years at NMDOT

Click here for full Announcement

Paseo Del Norte/I-25 Interchange Reconstruction Project Issues Final Request for Proposals
for Design-Build Contractor
Contractor Selection Scheduled for Late July
with Construction Scheduled to Begin in Fall

Transportation Funding Reduced in Continuing Resolution

The House is expected to approve a continuing resolution (CR) for FY 2013 today that would fund federal government programs for six months at the same level as FY 2012 with a slight increase of .612 percent. This action is necessary because Congress has failed to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2013 whci begins on October 1, 2012. The Senate is expected to take up and pass the CR later this week.

Because the funding is based on FY 2012 levels, highway and transit programs will not receive the funding increase that was included in the MAP-21 authorization legislation passed earlier this summer. A drafting quirk in MAP-21 legislation and the continuing resolution also prevents the federal-aid highway program from receiving the .612 percent increase. While this is viewed as a temporary problem that can be corrected when either Congress returns after the election, or when the new Congress meets and takes action on the remainder of the FY 2013 funding, nevertheless it will impact funding over the next six months.

AGC and the Transportation Construction Coalition sent letters to the House and Senate expressing concern about this limit on transportation funding.

Fugitive Dust White Paper

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DOT Proposes Stringent Changes to DBE Program

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) on September 6, 2012 issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemakingasking for comment on significant changes it is proposing in its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) rules. Comments are due by November 5, 2012. The proposal suggests a series of changes in the bidding process, counting DBE participation and documenting good faith efforts for compliance. The proposed rule also would tighten down on the certification process that determines whether or not a firm qualifies as a DBE. The following is a summary of the most significant proposed changes:

Meeting Contract Goal Requirements: DOT is proposing to require that all bidders on contracts that have a DBE participation goal must submit, with their bid, a list of the DBEs that will be used to meet the goal requirement. (Under the current rule states have the option of requiring that the list be submitted with the bid or at a later time). The list must include a description of the work each DBE will perform as well as the dollar amount. A written confirmation from each listed DBE must be included confirming the work and dollar amount that it will perform.

The state DOT would be required to include in the contract a provision requiring that these DBEs must be used in compliance with the list unless the contractor obtains a written consent from the state to make a change. The provision will also indicate that the contractor will not be paid for the work unless it is performed by the listed DBE.

The contractor must make good faith efforts to replace a terminated DBE with another DBE. If an acceptable DBE is not found, the best faith efforts must be detailed in writing, including a statement indicating why an agreement with a certified DBE could not be reached. A prime contractor’s inability to find a replacement DBE at the original price is not alone sufficient to support a finding that good faith efforts have been made to replace the original DBE.

Good Faith Efforts: DOT proposes to revise and greatly expand the types of actions that qualify a “Good Faith Efforts” by a prime contractor in order to to be awarded the contract if it has failed to meet the contract goal requirement.

Bidders that do not meet the goal may be required to submit documentation of their “Good Faith Efforts” (GFE) with the bid. As an alternative the state can require only the apparent successful low bidder to submit GFE documentation within one day of the bid opening. The apparent successful bidder must document its best faith efforts at that time and no credit will be given for efforts undertaken after the bid opening. DOT proposes that this GFE documentation include all subcontractor quotes, not just quotes from DBEs, in order to review whether DBE price quotes are substantially higher than other subcontractors. The state is also required to contact all DBEs listed in the documentation to ensure that they were in fact contacted by the prime.

States must include in contracts a provision indicating that failure to carry out the DBE commitments is a material breach of contract. Administrative remedies shall include: withholding of monthly progress payments, declaring the contractor in default and terminating the contract, assessing sanctions in the amount of the difference in the DBE contract commitment and actual payments to DBEs, liquidated damages, disqualifying the contractor from future bidding.

Counting Trucking Operations: DOT proposes to change its current requirements for how much of a DBE trucking company’s involvement can be counted towards goal achievement. The proposal would give credit for a DBE that leases trucks equipped with drivers from a non-DBE entity up to the amount of transportation services provided by DBEs with their own trucks and drivers. DBEs that lease trucks from non-DBE entities but use their own employees as drivers would receive full credit for these transportation services.

Certification: DOT proposes to make a series of technical changes in the requirements for certification, including modifications in determinations related to ownership, and control.
Comments: A task force of AGC members will be reviewing the NPRM to assist AGC in providing substantive comments to DOT on the proposed revisions.

ACNM and TTCP Training Schedules can be accessed under the “Training and Safety” tab.

AGC of  America National Office Website