ACEC/South Carolina Hits PAC Goal; Other States Closing In ACEC/PAC Champion of South Carolina, M.L. Love ACEC/South Carolina reached its 2006 ACEC/PAC fundraising goal this week as Member Organizations throughout the nation press to meet their year-end targets. The Palmetto State becomes the 17th Member Organization to reach its 2006 goal, joining Utah, North Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. ACEC/PAC Champion of South Carolina, M.L. Love of Collins Engineers, Inc., in Charleston, attributes the PAC support to members understanding the need for political engagement. "Creating and maintaining a positive business environment for our industry demands a robust political program built around ACEC/PAC," said Love. "The business case is very clear, which is why South Carolina continues to support the PAC." Added ACEC/PAC Chairman Craig Avery, "As challenging as this past year was in Congress, next year offers more challenges and opportunities. We need to keep working to ensure that the industry's political presence in Washington continues to grow." Many other states are very close to meeting their 2006 goals, including Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, Metro Washington, Ohio, Virginia and Massachusetts. Click here to see the progress of each state in achieving its ACEC/PAC goal for 2006 and the name of the PAC Champion leading the state fundraising drive.

ACEC Defeats Attempt To Fast-Track Three Percent Contractor Withholding Mandate A last minute effort to move up the effective date of a controversial tax provision was defeated last week, due to the efforts of ACEC and other contractor organizations. A new requirement adopted by Congress in 2005 requires that federal, state and local units of government withhold three percent from payments to contractors beginning in 2011. The measure seeks to address concerns by some in Congress over possible tax evasion by government contractors. The requirement applies to all governmental entities that spend $100 million or more for goods and services. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sought to offer an amendment to a year-end tax package that would move up the effective date of the withholding requirement from January 2011 to January 2007. His amendment was intended to raise revenues to offset costs of another program. ACEC and its industry allies mobilized against the Wyden Amendment, working through the weekend to ensure that it was not included in the final tax package. ACEC also is leading a coalition effort to repeal the original withholding requirement and is supporting legislation introduced by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA)—the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2006—to rescind the mandate. The measure did not clear Congress prior to adjournment, but ACEC and its coalition allies plan to renew the effort to secure passage in the New Year. "I'm pleased that we were able to win this fight, but it's also an indication of additional challenges to come," said ACEC President Dave Raymond. "We'll need to stay vigilant and keep fighting for an outright repeal of this unfair requirement."

Energy-Related Tax Incentives, Offshore Drilling Gain Approval In Final Days Of Congress Before adjourning late last week, Congress approved an offshore drilling bill and energy-related tax incentives that will create new business opportunities for A/E firms working in the energy sector. The offshore drilling bill will open an area in the Gulf of Mexico known as Gulf Lease Sale Area 181 to oil and gas exploration and drilling. It is estimated that the drilling area will yield over 1.2 billion barrels of oil and over 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in total. Congress also approved a large tax extender bill as one of its final acts last week. The bill, which extends a number of expiring tax provisions, includes tax credits for solar, biomass, geothermal, and wind energy projects. The President is expected to sign both measures into law.

ACEC Offers Member Firms Extensive Marketing Opportunities Exceptional advertising possibilities are available through ACEC's preeminent business magazine Engineering Inc., and through exhibiting at ACEC national meetings. Magazine advertisers gain exposure to more than 23,000 Member Firm owners, senior executives and principals, in addition to Capitol Hill lawmakers and state government officials. With the new digital Engineering Inc., over 20,000 industry and government leaders also now receive an electronic version of the magazine. "I've exhibited at ACEC conferences and have advertised in and sponsored the premier digital issue of Engineering Inc.," said Cort Kane, COO of designDATA. "I found that hitting the CEOs through these multiple methods really paid off for us." To make sure your firm receives its well-deserved exposure through ACEC publications and exhibits, contact Nina Goldman at ngoldman@acec.org or call 202-347-7474. Click here to learn more about advertising in Engineering Inc.

An Early Preview Of Spring '07 Educational Events—Something For Everyone ACEC's Institute for Business Management presents a variety of upcoming on-site events and online seminars covering a wide spectrum of topics. JANUARY January 10  The Business Case for Sustainable Engineering Practice Bill Wallace, Wallace Futures Group LLC Click here for more information and to register. January 17 Identifying Future Leaders Dan Ryan, The Human Capital Group, Inc. Click here for more information and to register. January 24 Developing and Implementing Winning Strategies for Engineers, Architects and Construction Companies Clare Ross, Clare Ross Associates Click here for more information and to register. January 31 Proven Strategies for Enhancing Performance Deb Bright, Bright Enterprises Click here for more information and to register.   FEBRUARY February 7 Secure Retirement: Redefining the Retirement Planning Paradigm David Waters and Tom Porcello, Prudential Retirement Services; Nancy Barrette, Wachovia Securities Click here for more information and to register. February 14 Trends in Business Ethics That Affect Engineers Dave Gebler, SmartPros Click here for more information and to register. February 20 Your HR Toolkit for Success Barbara H. Irwin, HR Advisors Group LLC Click here for more information and to register. February 21 Best Practices for Condominium Projects Tim Corbett, A/E SmartRisk Click here for more information and to register. February 28  rcep.net: The NCEES-ACEC Nationwide Portal to Continuing Education for Engineers Jill Holcomb, ACEC and Erin Carroll, NCEES Click here for more information and to register.   MARCH March 7 Value Management: A New Paradigm for Measuring Project Management Glenn Bell, Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Inc. Click here for more information and to register. March 7-10 The Business of Design Consulting, Portland, Oregon Click here for more information and to register. March 14 New Foundations: Replacing Obsolete Project Management Theory Greg Howell, Lean Construction Institute Click here for more information and to register. March 21 Coaching for Success, Dan Ryan The Human Capital Group, Inc. Click here for more information and to register. March 28 Business Continuity Planning: Lead the Charge, Rally the Troops and Get Out of the Way Robert vanArsdall, XL Design Click here for more information and to register.   APRIL April 4 Follow Up! The (Misunderstood) Heart of business Development and Positioning Lynn Waymon, Make Your Contacts Count Click here for more information and to register. April 11 Improving Quality with Building Information Modeling Brad Workman, Bentley Systems, Inc Click here for more information and to register. April 18 Developing Winning Proposals Clare Ross, Clare Ross Associates Click here for more information and to register.   MAY May 6 Sales and Marketing Forum, Washington, D.C. Click here to register. May 6-9 ACEC Annual Convention and Legislative Summit, Washington, D.C. Click here for more information and to register. May 16 The Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave…and Stay Leigh Branham, Advanced Management Institute Click here for more information and to register. May 23 The Great Contract Battle: 10 Ways to Improve Contracts and Manage Risk Tom Bongi, XL Design and Steve Cox, Winzler & Kelly Consulting Engineers Click here for more information and to register. May 30 Merger & Acquisition Transactions—Getting Deals Done Colvin Matheson, Matheson Financial Advisors Click here for more information and to register. We continue to add to our online seminar agenda, so check the ACEC Education Website often and look for future announcements in The Last Word.

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