Santorum Key To Success On "Opt-Out" Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) worked closely with key members of Congress to secure passage of this legislation, including the respective chairmen of the Senate and House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittees—Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI). Representative Sam Graves (R-MO) also played a lead role in the House, along with Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) and Rep. Anne Northrup (R-KY). ACEC led an effort in the mid-1990s to require all states to follow uniform federal procurement standards for federal-aid highway projects. As a result, Congress passed legislation to require states to adhere to federal FAR-based rules, but also gave states the ability to "opt-out" of the federal requirement, and 13 states did so—Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. The new law will bring 11 of those states under FAR-based overhead and audit rules. Minnesota and West Virginia were "carved out" of this requirement due to opposition from senior members of their congressional delegations. The legislation eliminates the ability of Minnesota and West Virginia to opt-out of using QBS, an important step, given the recent battles in Minnesota over the use of reverse auctions. ACEC will work closely with the executive directors and members in those states to pursue further corrective action. "This legislation removes a major barrier to business," said Craig Avery of Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott & May Engineers in Kentucky. "And from a public policy perspective, it just makes sense to have a single set of rules for engineering firms doing federally-funded transportation work."

North Carolina, Alabama Hit ACEC/PAC Target; More States Coming Close North Carolina ACEC/PAC Trustee Dick Wells A November fundraising rally propelled ACEC/North Carolina and ACEC/Alabama over the finish line, exceeding their 2005 fundraising targets for ACEC/PAC. North Carolina and Alabama became the 14th and 15th Member Organizations to meet their fundraising goals for ACEC/PAC in 2005. A number of other states are coming close as ACEC/PAC Trustees and state leaders make the final push before the end of the year to meet important fundraising goals. ACEC/PAC Trustee Dick Wells in North Carolina led their successful fundraising drive with strong support from ACEC/North Carolina President David L. Pond and North Carolina National Director, Barbara H. Mulkey. The campaign culminated at a recent meeting in Charlotte, which also featured a reception and fundraiser for Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC). "Robin Hayes is a perfect example of why we need to build ACEC/PAC," said Wells. "He's been a strong supporter of our industry. If we want to keep good people like Robin, we have to step up to the plate." Added David Pond: "If we're going to have any success in shaping our future in the public policy arena at the federal level, we have to get engaged through ACEC/PAC."

Alabama ACEC/PAC Trustee Alain Gallet ACEC/PAC Trustee for Alabama, Alain Gallet, credits strong support from the state's leadership, including MO President Bill Carwile and Executive Director Renee Casillas, for building support for the national PAC. Alabama met its goal this week during its Fall Meeting, also attended by ACEC Vice Chairman Tom Burke. "This has definitely been a worthwhile effort," said Gallet. "The dollars we raise in Alabama help to support our delegation and other leaders in Congress who back policies important to the A/E industry." Click here for a chart listing individual state progress in meeting their 2005 ACEC/PAC fundraising goals. For more information about ACEC/PAC, contact Corie Simmons at (202) 347-7474 or csimmons@acec.org. *Click on image to view a larger version of this map.

Prop. 35 And QBS Upheld In California CELSOC Executive Director Paul Meyer In another major victory for CELSOC and ACEC, California's First District Court of Appeal issued a ruling on November 16th that upheld the trial court decision rejecting the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) legal challenge to Proposition 35 (Prop. 35) and Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS). In its appeal, PECG—the state employees union representing Caltrans engineers and technicians—argued that Caltrans in its use of Prop. 35 is failing to comply with various state statutes that were in effect prior to the passage of Prop. 35. However, the court held that to the extent that those statutes were inconsistent with Prop. 35—the express language and intent of Prop. 35 "impliedly repealed" those statutes. The court also held that Caltrans committed no violation by contracting with the private sector prior to legislative action "to implement Prop. 35." The court also dismissed PECG's arguments that Prop. 35 is inconsistent with the Federal Brooks Act and California's Mini-Brooks Act. The court found that the competition called for in Prop. 35 can be based on qualifications and other factors of value to the procuring agency. ACEC provided a contribution from its Minuteman Fund to assist CELSOC with its efforts during the appeal process. "Prop. 35 has proven to be a huge success for our organization," said CELSOC Executive Director Paul Meyer. "We have won every legal challenge since its passage, and because of Prop. 35 many state and local agencies are regularly utilizing the services of private engineering and surveying firms. We are extremely thankful for the support of ACEC and the Member Organizations during this long fight here in California." Any ACEC member who would like a copy of the full text of the court's ruling, called PECG v. Morales, should send a note to christie.levin@celsoc.org.

ACEC/Louisiana Progresses After Katrina; Help For Disaster Relief Fund Still Sought ACEC/LA Executive Director Warren Wilder As others in Katrina-affected areas, ACEC/Louisiana is "rebuilding." For the MO, the process is taking "longer than expected" due to the fact that a large number of its member firms located in the heavily-impacted New Orleans area are slow to recover, according to Warren Wilder, ACEC/LA executive director. “At the November meeting of our board, we still couldn’t achieve a quorum since several of our board members have been displaced from the New Orleans area. Financially, we are struggling,” said Wilder. ACEC/LA President John Holtgreve adds, “We are appreciative of the donations we are receiving, which help us stay afloat, and I would encourage anyone so inclined to contribute to our relief fund.” Individuals and organizations may make their contributions payable to "ACEC/Louisiana," and reference "Louisiana Disaster Relief." Mail donations to: ACEC/Louisiana, PO Box 82859, Baton Rouge, LA 70884-2859. For additional information, email Warren Wilder at cecl@bbipmail.com.

ACEC Wins 4 Awards In Media Contest; "All-Time Winner Of Most Awards In Most Categories" For the fourth consecutive year, ACEC has received top recognition for its publications in the 2005 All-Media Contest sponsored by Association TRENDS magazine. Jill Martineau Cornish, President/Publisher of Association TRENDS says, "ACEC is the all-time winner of most awards in most categories. Each year they have entered the Association TRENDS media contest, ACEC publications have taken away several top awards. While ACEC's magazine and newsletter are perennial winners, they also have won in a number of other categories, showing the breadth of their communications excellence." The Neil Armstrong Highlight Video, which was produced for the 2005 Distinguished Award of Merit ceremony at the Annual Convention, earned the Gold Award in the Commemoration/Tribute category. ACEC's Last Word earned the Silver Award in the Weekly/Daily Member Communication category. Last Word now has received recognition four years in a row, including three Gold Awards. Engineering Inc., ACEC's bi-monthly magazine, also won a Silver Award in the Trade Association Magazine category. This is the third year in a row that the magazine has earned a Silver Award. ACEC's 2005 Business Practices Publications Catalog earned a Bronze Award in the Catalog category.

Copyright © 2005 by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, stored in any form of retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photographic, or other means without the prior written permission of ACEC.

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