"ACEC in Paradise" Upcoming Conference In Maui Already Setting Records! The Grand Wailea Resort, Maui Still some two-and-a-half months before ACEC's Fall Conference in Maui, September 26-29, an all-time record number of early registrants—more than 600—have reserved rooms at the Grand Wailea Resort for what promises to be ACEC's largest-ever Conference. "I always wanted to go to Maui, and you can't beat ACEC's price for this five-star resort—less than half the price others are paying for the same rooms," said ACEC/Nevada Executive Director Rita Monroe. The unique Fall Conference: The National Conference on the Built Environment brings together both owners and practitioners to address a wide array of business issues. The Conference features exceptional speakers, an expanded trade show and a full complement of tours, social events and networking opportunities. Organizations co-sponsoring the Fall Conference are: the American Public Works Association (APWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Council of American Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (CAMEE), Council of Professional Surveyors (COPS), National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), National Association of State Facilities Administrators (NASFA) and the Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special convocation at the Conference. ACEC's room block at the Grand Wailea Resort is filling up fast, but additional rooms have been reserved at The Fairmont Kea Lani, another outstanding hotel, which is a short beach walk from the Grand Wailea. For more information and to register, click here. Early Bird registration discount ends on August 25.

Support Continues To Grow For 3% Withholding Repeal; Grassroots Action Needed The list of co-sponsors of legislation to repeal a federal 3 percent withholding requirement for all government contracts and payments is growing—it is now at 181 members of Congress. ACEC is calling on its members to contact House and Senate offices that have not yet co-sponsored the repeal legislation and urge them to do so. For a list of legislators who have co-sponsored the repeal measure, click here. Click here for a sample letter to send to House members (and click here> for a letter to Senators) who have not yet co-sponsored the repeal legislation (H.R. 1023/S. 777). Members are urged to FAX letters to their elected representatives—click here for a list of fax numbers. Introduced by Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) and Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA) in the House and Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) in the Senate, H.R. 1023 and S. 777 would repeal Section 511 of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, which mandates that federal, state and local governments withhold 3 percent from payments for goods and services. This provision, which would go into effect in 2011, would cover all government contracts as well as payments to any person or organization for a service or product provided to a government entity. "We're making progress, but we need more co-sponsors on both bills if we're going to succeed in killing this flawed new 'tax' on engineering firms and other contractors," said ACEC President Dave Raymond. "We need another push from our members to make it happen."

ACEC Voices Opposition To World Bank Procurement Changes ACEC International Committee Chairman Bill Howard of CDM, Inc. ACEC and industry allies met this week with Eli Whitney Debevoise, U.S. Executive Director to the World Bank, to express concerns over a World Bank proposal to allow borrowing countries to circumvent established guidelines and use their own procurement methods for bank-financed projects. Debevoise expressed his support for ACEC's position and vowed to voice the concerns of the U.S. industry to the World Bank Board of Directors. ACEC contends that a move towards the use of "country systems" for procurement would undermine the World Bank's efforts to enhance quality and opens the door to corruption. Additionally, the use of country systems for procurement would create a confusing and complex environment for firms interested in pursuing bank-funded projects. "The proposal essentially allows borrowing countries to circumvent or modify established World Bank guidelines," said ACEC International Committee Chairman Bill Howard of CDM, Inc. "With the deterioration of those guidelines and oversight, the procurement processes could become very complex and diverse from country to country and the potential for corruption could increase dramatically. "The Bank has made tremendous gains in addressing transparency in recent years, but this proposal is a big step backward from those gains." The Bank previously attempted to implement the use of country systems for procurement in 2005, but that proposal was rescinded in the face of strong opposition from ACEC, Congress, the U.S. Executive Director's office, and other industry representatives. ACEC and its industry allies have met with congressional offices to discuss concerns over the Bank's initiative, and will continue to coordinate with lawmakers on additional response actions.

ACEC Life/Health Trust Moves Forward With Transition to UnitedHealthcare In advance of the August 1 transition of the ACEC Life/Health Trust program to new provider UnitedHealthcare (UHC), Life/Health Trust President Pat Feyen has provided the following update on the steps the Trust has taken in preparation for the changeover: All firms of 51 or more employees, except "Minimum Premium" accounts, are in receipt of their enrollment kits. Direct meetings will be held shortly with firms with Minimum Premium benefit plans. Small group (1-50 employees) enrollment kits are being distributed to all groups this week. Feyen has instituted a noon conference call each Tuesday and Thursday with the Broker Advisory Council (six of the Trust's top producing brokers) to identify and discuss issues or exceptions that would be applicable to all groups. An inbound call team is trained, in place, and prepared for calls coming from small groups (an 800 number is included in their packages). Outbound calls began this past Wednesday starting with large firms, then groups of more than 25, then groups of more than 10. Outbound calls to each broker representing insured firms (approximately 700 firms) began this past Tuesday. The Trust has engaged the HealthPlan Services Retention Team to make calls to approximately half of the program's small groups to communicate and discuss unique elements of their monthly premium. A letter from Pat Feyen to all brokers and firms was released this past Monday and Tuesday with updates and revised schedules for the remainder of July. ID cards will be released beginning July 20. All employees will be able to obtain ID cards online in the event that the postal delivery is slower than normal. Feyen also reports that UHC has allocated additional resources to the transition and is poised to increase the inbound and outbound call capacity as need be. He states that the Trust is prepared to respond to literally thousands of calls and questions in the next few weeks. For questions about the transition, please call UnitedHealthcare at 800-573-0415.

Popular Professional Sales & Marketing Forum Set For ACEC Fall Conference Professional Sales and Marketing Forum September 26                   Maui, Hawaii The Professional Sales and Marketing Forum is always an attendee favorite among the events traditionally held in conjunction with ACEC's Fall Conference. This year, the September 26 roundtable gathering of sales and marketing pros will discuss a varied agenda, featuring guest speaker Robert VanArsdall, of XL Design Professional, and a "Success Story Sharing" of ideas, which was successful for attendees at the last Forum. Participants will become part of an ever-expanding peer networking group who share information and interact year-round through a dedicated Listserv. Click here for details and to register.

Institute For Business Management Online Seminars Are Perfect 'Mini-Courses;' Fall Topics Announced An exciting fall 2007 lineup of online seminars covering a wide diversity of topics and interests has just been announced. These highly focused learning sessions are presented by experienced professionals from leading industry firms, and delivered in real-time through Internet access and telephone audio. Most seminars are 1-1/2-hours—with a sprinkling of extended sessions for some topics—and may be used to earn PDHs (subject to state boards of registration requirements). The registration fee is for a single computer connection and covers one participant or a roomful. Participants who register in advance for an online seminar will receive an email confirmation and reminder from ACEC in advance of the event date. Click here for a list of upcoming seminars, and check back periodically as new topics continue to be added.

Take 10 Percent Off Price Of All EJCDC Contracts When You Buy In July! All EJCDC Contract documents are available for purchase at a 10 percent discount off the regular price through July 31, and they're ready for immediate download. For the full list of EJCDC Contracts, click here, and be ready with contracts when you need them.

Copyright © 2007 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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