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On this week’s episode of “The Bottom Line With ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu,” get insights on the nonresidential construction spending, which was virtually unchanged in October, according to an ABC analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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On Nov. 16, ABC submitted comments as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Army Corps of Engineers on its proposal to reissue and revise the agency’s nationwide permits under the Clean Water Act. WAC expressed support for the proposed rule, which would continue to carry out Congress’ intent to allow more streamlined permitting for activities that have minimal adverse environmental effects and encouraged the Corps to ensure consistency with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule in the final rulemaking.
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On Nov. 9, the U.S. Treasury issued a proposed regulation on state and local income taxes imposed on and paid by a partnership or S corporation on its income. The rule would allow states to permit individually and family-owned business to continue to deduct state and local taxes, just like larger corporations can. This would be an important win for smaller businesses and a significant incentive for more states to provide this critical tax relief.
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On Nov. 4, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a new guidance document on ventilation in the workplace. OSHA recommends, “Employers should work with a heating, ventilation and air conditioning professional to consider steps to optimize building ventilation. An HVAC professional can ensure that the ventilation system is operating as intended.”
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While major news networks have declared former Vice President Joe Biden president-elect, President Trump’s campaign has launched investigations into allegations of wrongdoing in several states while pursuing recounts in states where the margin of victory allows. Georgia has already ordered a hand recount of its 5 million ballots, while most states hope to certify their elections in late November and early December.
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While a handful of U.S. Senate, House and state legislative races from the 2020 elections remain uncalled, voters in a handful of states made some significant policy changes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, through the ballot initiative and referendum processes. Many of these affect the construction industry, including changing the minimum wage, legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana, paid family and medical leave and more.
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On this week’s episode of “The Bottom Line With ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu,” get insights on the Construction Backlog Indicator, which rebounded to 7.7 months in October, an increase of 0.2 months from September’s reading, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5. Backlog is 1.2 months lower than in October 2019.
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The big story of the night is that we do not have a winner in the presidential election yet with Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania and too close or too early to call at this time, while projected contests in Wisconsin and Arizona seem to favor Vice President Joe Biden, which would give him a 248-214 lead in the race towards the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.
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On Oct. 29, the Construction Industry Safety Coalition released an updated COVID-19 Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan for Construction. The plan outlines the steps that construction employers and employees can take to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19. The new revision to the plan relates to the section on “Employee Has Close Contact With a Tested Positive COVID-19 Individual” and new guidance from the CDC on “close contact.”
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On Nov. 3, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued two opinion letters addressing specific compliance issues related to compensability of time under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL encourages the public to submit requests for opinion letters to WHD to obtain an opinion or to determine whether existing guidance already addresses their questions.
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