Stop Unrealistic Restrictions on Construction Supply Chains
THE LATEST: The Biden administration may finalize rules and hastily implement expanded Buy America requirements on federally assisted construction projects with little consideration for ongoing supply chain woes, existing domestic manufacturing capacity, or a realistic plan to expand that capacity over time.
Tell the Biden administration how these rules will impact your projects and workforce.
WHY IT MATTERS: Contractors continue to struggle with significant delays or nonavailability of construction materials or products—placing tremendous strain on field workers managing project schedule and costs. If finalized, these rules could:
- Require contractors to rip out and replace at their cost non-compliant materials on ongoing projects;
- Push small businesses—including women-owned, minority-owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises—out of the market because of a lack of resources to track and legally certify source-specific items, or an inability to secure agreements with domestic suppliers or manufacturers; and
- Further delay projects because of the need for additional time for estimator investigation and research, complete project redesign, project rescope, or government/engineer estimate rewrites.
Among the proposed changes, the administration is exploring expanding Buy America requirements on:
- Cement, aggregates, and their binding agents
- Coatings (e.g., paints and stains), bricks, and engineered wood products
- Non-ferrous metals (non-iron metals, including but not limited to aluminum, copper, and alloys)
- Plastic and polymer-based products (including but not limited to PVC, composite building materials, and polymers used in fiber optic cables)
- Glass (including but not limited to fiber optic glass), lumber, drywall, and more
THE DETAILS: To be Buy America compliant, all manufacturing processes for construction materials must take place in the U.S. If such materials are not available, the White House must approve a waiver for use of non-domestically produced items on federal-aid construction projects. Read more about the proposed major changes to Buy America requirements for more information.
ACT NOW: Tell the Biden administration how it should apply these new proposed rules using a prewritten message or add your own personal message on which construction materials will face significant challenges in complying with new requirements or shortages that are impacting your projects and bids.
Click here to read full article.
Construction Code Modernization Project
Construction Code Modernization Project
30-Day Public Notice Alert
Updated March 1, 2023
The City of Houston is in the process of receiving public comments for the proposed 2021 Building Codes. The 2021 Building Code Analysis is grouped by Task Force Group (see below). There will be an initial 30-Day Public Comment period with the opportunity to submit a proposed amendment for each group based on the 2015 – 2021 Code Analysis reflecting 2015 amendments to 2021 Base Code.
After each Task Force Group has reviewed all proposed amendments and reviewed the existing code analysis, they will submit their recommendations to the Construction Code Modernization Committee. A second 30-Day Public Comment period will be available reflecting the 2015 Houston Amendments and 2021 proposed amendments as it will be shown in the 2021 Houston Codes. During the second 30-Day Public Comment period stakeholders have the opportunity to submit a proposed amendment on the proposed 2021 Building Codes.
To view the proposed 2021 Building Codes and to submit a proposed amendment please visit Construction
Code Amendments | Houston Permitting Center.
30-Day Public Notice Alert
Construction Code Modernization | Houston Permitting Center
Houston’s 2021 Building Code Adoption Project
Having APEX Withdrawls?
Register for Associated General Contractors Texas Building Branch 2022 Outstanding Construction Awards!
The 2022 Outstanding Construction Awards Submission Portal is now open! Only projects completed during the previous calendar year (2022) will be eligible. Awards will be made in 36 categories.
Winning projects will be recognized during the AGC-TBB Annual OCA Dinner (September 14, 2023)
First place winners ONLY in all 36 categories from chapter awards are eligible to advance to the AGC -TBB Outstanding Construction Awards competition. Only one entry per chapter for each category will be eligible for judging.
Each entry must follow the requirements listed in the Judging Requirements. If you have any questions, please contact AGC-TBB at (512) 478-5629 or e-mail Pauline@agctbb.org.
Click here to register.
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