Entitled the Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act, the House bill will expand domestic oil and gas exploration and drilling, using additional lease and royalty revenues to help maintain existing funding levels for highway and transit programs.

ACEC has been working closely with Mica and his staff on the bill and it is expected to reflect many Council-supported policies, including project delivery streamlining, program consolidation for increased state flexibility, and expanded private sector participation in project financing and delivery.

Connecticut surpassed its goal for the sixth year in a row. "All it takes is involvement by the state leadership and education of the membership on what ACEC is doing for us on Capitol Hill," said PAC Champion Jerry Gerletz of STV in Stratford.

ACEC/WV PAC Champion Woody Thrasher of Thrasher Engineering in Clarksburg agreed: "Once you explain what this program means to our legislative efforts, and to each firm's bottom line, it's not difficult getting members to support ACEC/PAC."

Click here to see the progress of each state in achieving its ACEC/PAC goal for 2011 and for information on the PAC Champions leading their state fundraising efforts. For more information about ACEC's political programs, contact Greg Knopp, ACEC executive director for political affairs at gknopp@acec.org or Elizabeth Coit, ACEC/PAC director at ecoit@acec.org.

CASE Tool 2-3 assists structural engineering firms with employee performance evaluations.

CASE Tool No. 9-2: Quality Assurance Plan provides guidance to firms for developing a comprehensive detailed Quality Assurance Plan.

CASE Document 7-2011 assists the Structural Engineer of Record (SER) when entering into an agreement with an architect in an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) project.

CASE 962A — National Practice Guidelines for the Preparation of Structural Engineering Reports for Buildings guides the structural engineer through conditional surveys, code reviews, special purpose investigations and related reports for buildings, and includes descriptions of client risk management services.

These documents, which are free to CASE members, are on sale at www.booksforengineers.com.

ACEC's Coalitions have launched their new websites to enhance member experiences, including streamlining members-only access. To visit the new websites go to www.acec.org/coalitions.

To submit for consideration one project that is in an on-going phase or recently completed, e-mail the following information to akeeney@acec.org: Project name and location; brief project overview, including any unique aspects; and the name, title, firm and phone number of the executive to be interviewed for the profile. Deadline is Wednesday, December 14, 2011.

If you have any questions, contact Andrea Keeney at akeeney@acec.org.

J-U-B Engineers, Inc., a Boise, Idaho-based civil engineering firm with more than 300 employees in 15 offices, will be the first firm in the nation to use the new Life/Health Trust product.

"We were facing more than a 40 percent increase in our stop-loss premium for 2012", says J-U-B President Lee Cammack. "The ACEC Advantage Plan quote came in considerably less than our other options with several features that reinforced our decision. After we had all the facts, we were pretty confident moving forward with ACEC."

The ACEC Life/Health Trust Advantage Plan is available to Member Firms that are or are considering becoming self-insured to provide protection against large claims and higher than expected utilization of health care services. For more information, contact sales@aceclifehealthtrust.com.

In Appraisals and Finance Techniques to Support Your Green Project, consultant Kristen Bacorn explains and provides real-world examples of green building financial success.

Bacorn will discuss how green projects often rent out at higher rates and perform better in life-cycle cost analysis when appraised over the entire service life of the structure. She also will look at a number of markets where green projects are attracting funding attached to tax audits, rebates, low-cost loans, loan guarantees and other benefits.

Click here to register.

With sexual harassment claims once again in national news, ACEC presents a special webinar oriented for A/E/C firms: Harassment in the Workplace—How to Protect Your Employees From Illegal Harassment and Protect Your Company From Legal Claims.

Julia Judish, counsel with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, will describe how to minimize the likelihood of harassment occurring in your workplace and how to reduce your legal risk if such claims arise.

For details and to register, click here.