GSA Gears Up For $1.5B Construction Year David Eakin discusses business opportunities with GSA during a recent Market Forecast Series meeting at ACEC headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Pubic Building Service of the General Services Administration (GSA) is gearing up for another robust year of construction programs according to David Eakin, the agency's chief engineer. With $587 million in new construction and nearly $1 billion for repair and alterations to existing facilities, GSA's F.Y. '05 appropriations is likely to exceed $1.5 billion. During a recent ACEC Market Forecast meeting, Eakin detailed his agency's funding priorities which include a significant number of new design starts in 2005, including federal courthouses, laboratories and border stations. Eakin provided a comprehensive list of upcoming capital design and construction projects. Eakin also underscored his agency's commitment to Qualifications-Based Selection for engineering services, and stated that between 50-60 percent of its projects were procured using a design-bid-build approach. Eakin encourages engineering companies to contact one of GSA's eleven regional offices to learn about specific opportunities, estimating that there are nearly 175 projects overall with a total value of $5 billion. Click here for contact information for GSA's Directors of Property Development in your area.

Senate Committee Passes $8 Billion Corps Water Bill The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) (S. 2554) was passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, setting the stage for floor consideration later this month. The bill authorizes funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control, navigation and environmental restoration projects, including $1.46 billion for new lock construction and ecosystem restoration on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in the basin. The total funding level of the Senate WRDA bill is $8 billion, much larger than the $4.6 billion House version passed last fall. The full Senate is expected to take up WRDA before August recess, where environmental measures, including peer review and mitigation standards, will be at the forefront of debate. Some of these measures are also addressed in the House version of WRDA, but the Senate provisions are more restrictive, and could cause problems in conference. ACEC is working with industry allies to encourage the full Senate to adopt a more passable version of the legislation.

Special Online Seminar New FLSA Regulations: How Will They Affect Your Practice? Jason Schwartz, Esq., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP July 27       1:30pm–3:00pm EDT New Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations that govern "white collar" exemptions to the Department of Labor's overtime pay requirements will take effect on August 23. Leading expert Jason Schwartz will explain what the changes are and how they are likely to affect your business. Schwartz will also offer practical tips on how to remain in compliance, and how best to work with your regional DoL office. Schwartz's firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, has extensive experience with litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the wage and hour laws of California and other states. The firm also has served as counsel in many FLSA class and representative actions. Go to www.acec.org for more information.

ACEC Quickly At Your Service Via Website By registering with the ACEC website, www.acec.org, members can quickly order products, download documents, register for meetings, and keep current with the latest information about your business environment. State organization leaders also have access to a wealth of "special" information from a password protected area. This information includes an advanced ACEC data search tool used to access membership and other information pertinent to state organization administration, frequently used forms and documents, best practices and other materials. ACEC state organizations are frequent contributors to this site, which effectively serves the functions of a "chat room." If you are a State President, National Director, Membership Chair or Executive Director and need a password to this special section, contact ACEC Membership Director Patrick Brookover at pbrookover@acec.org. If you are an employee of a member firm that wants to use the member portal, go to http://online.acec.org/acecforum or write memberservice@acec.org for your password.

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