The legislative director for the Secretary of State's office called Georgia Branch, AGC's Director of Governmental Affairs, Mark Woodall late this morning to inform him that the Governor had signed the chapter's number one legislative priority, SB 115 - General Contractor Licensing Revisions. AGC was fortunate to have all of our pro-active legislation from the 2007 Georgia General Assembly's legislative session signed into law. This is a huge victory for the construction industry and Georgia Branch, AGC's membership.

A detailed summary of how these new laws will impact your business will be developed in the coming days. In the interim, you may view the full text of each law by clicking on the bill below.

• SB 115: General Contractor Licensing Revisions (This bill gives the board greater interpretation authority, addresses license portability provisions, and provides further clarification to the specialty contractor exemption from the law. It includes provisions to delay the field enforcement for contractors to be licensed in the state of Georgia from January 1, 2008 until July 1, 2008. It also allows for one more limited opportunity to submit application for an exam exemption. More details to follow in future newsletters.)

• SB 146: Revisions to Public Works Law for Local Government (includes language requiring reasonable project disclosure concerning the permits and easements required for the project and the basis of contract award)

• HB 463: NPDES Certification “Clarification of All Persons” (clarifies that subcontractors involved in land disturbance activity are only required to attend an awareness course on NPDES not to exceed 2-hours in duration, with no test required. This requirement must be met by January 1, 2008 verses January 1, 2007.)

• HB 136: Construction Contracts/Indemnification (will eliminate the insurance exception to the indemnity statute that prohibits provisions in construction contracts that require one party to indemnify another party for liability arising from the first party’s sole negligence)

If you have questions pertaining to any of these pieces of legislation , or others, please contact Mark Woodall at 678-298-4116.

The Senate continues the debate on a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The structure of a good bill is in place, though there are many details which remain a concern for AGC of America and Georgia Branch, AGC. National association staff continues to work to improve the bill and fight against content that negate the main principles of the legislation. As reported in the press, the compromise package before the Senate is a result of months of negotiation between the Administration and Democratic and Republican Senators across the political spectrum. The fruit of those negotiations is an imperfect package that no stakeholder (including AGC and the rest of the construction industry) has seen fit to warmly embrace. However, the questions that we have to ask are: Does the compromise improve current law and help the industry meet current and future employment needs? And, is the compromise better than the status quo? At this particular stage in the process, those questions are answered in the affirmative.

AGC sent a letter to the Senate on May 23 endorsing the principles of the compromise bill without endorsing the specifics. AGC continues to work to improve the bill to address industry concerns. And, depending upon the outcome of what is expected to be an arduous legislative process, AGC reserves the right to oppose the final legislative package.

Members of the Senate are primarily hearing one message from their constituents: “kill the bill.” While the messengers are largely uninformed, they are being heard. Because the business community in general has lukewarm support at best for the bill, there are few messages of support for allowing the legislative process to continue. We think that it is important for that process to continue. The Georgia Branch, AGC will also draft a letter to Senators Isakson and Chambliss thanking them for their leadership roles on this legislation and ask that they leave the general principles of the compromise bill intact. You may also consider submitting a letter on your company letterhead. If you do so, please consider sharing a copy with Georgia Branch, AGC.

The issues that have been of primary concern to AGC include:

• A reliable and accurate employee verification system that provides real-time verification of the legal status of employees and applicants;
• A meaningful guestworker program that allows the construction industry to meet growing employment needs; 
• Penalties for noncompliance that are commensurate with the violation; 
• No increase in the risk of liability for violations by subcontractors or suppliers; 
• A path to legal status for workers who have come here illegally but have become important contributors to the industry; and 
• Federal preemption to insure that employers are not subject to a patchwork of conflicting and onerous local and state ordinances and laws.

We continue to analyze the 400 page draft in order to identify additional provisions that support the principles we have identified or conflict with those principles. A commentary on key provisions follows.

• Border Security
• Employee verification system
• Guestworker program
• Vicarious liability
• Z Visa

Georgia Branch, AGC's Annual Convention is 11 days away!

Packets containing a detailed schedule and rosters of individual events being held at the upcoming Annual Convention have been mailed to all convention attendees. If you pre-ordered theme park tickets, your packet should have arrived via Fed Ex. If you did NOT pre-order theme park tickets, your packet should have arrived via the USPS.

We encourage you to review the individual event rosters before leaving for Florida. If you find that you are not registered for an event that you would like to participate in, please contact DD Latham at 678-298-4118.

We are very excited about this year's convention. We have far surpassed previous year's attendance marks. Including adults and children, we have more than 400 members registered! With this much excitement from the membership, we look forward to making this the best convention yet!

How to keep your money, but not lose your disputes
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
11:30 am: Complimentary Lunch
Noon – 1:00 pm: Informational Presentation 
Georgia Branch, AGC Training Center
View Brochure or Register Online

Georgia Branch, AGC understands the value of our member’s expertise, and we are pleased to offer a complimentary informational Lunch & Learn session by Jeffrey L. Evans of the Law Office of Jeffrey L. Evans, LLC.

Not happy with your arbitrations? Seems like you’re always “losing”? Can’t figure out what the arbitrator did or why the arbitrator awarded the other side too much money? Jeffrey L. Evans has been practicing construction law over 21 years and has a great deal of dispute resolution and arbitration experience. At this Lunch and Learn meeting he will inform AGC’s members about more effective and cost efficient ways to resolve disputes, avoid costly arbitrations and mediations, and fix and improve member’s contractual dispute provisions so that they can stay in control of their disputes and keep their hard earned money.

Mr. Evans is the first attorney in Georgia to have an arbitration award vacated for manifest disregard of the law and he recently argued the case before the Georgia Supreme Court. He will explain the various problems with the current pre-printed dispute resolution provisions in AGC and AIA construction contracts, the difficulties and challenges of arbitrating or litigating construction disputes and he will provide straightforward and cost saving solutions for AGC members.

For more information, please contact DD Latham at 678-298-4118 for more information.

The Leaders Course®
View a short Video about the course or View Registration Brochure or Register Online

Course begins Thursday, May 31, 2007
1:00 - 4:30 pm
Georgia Branch, AGC Training Center
Atlanta, GA
Includes five Thursday afternoon sessions and ends on June 28, 2007

Can owners and prospective clients sense your firm's management representatives, field personnel or administrative staff are uncomfortable when presenting or speaking to a group? 

The Leaders Course is worth every dollar invested when it comes to improving your firm's image!

This course is designed for anyone who works with clients, including foremen, superintendents, administrative personnel, project managers, estimators and executive level management.

This is not a typical class where you check your brain at the door when you sit down to take notes. The Leaders Course is a hands-on training program in human relations and effective speaking that will teach you to become an effective, charismatic leader in any situation. It's about learning-to-do-by-doing, participating, taking risks, and applying what you learn in and outside the classroom.

Discover how to mine the gold you already own—your experience, background and personality--to become your “best self” during any leadership role. Use proven techniques to channel the nervous energy of old fears into exceptional presentation skills.

In five entertaining, interactive sessions, you’ll take home the real-world, practical tools you need to effectively speak, listen, conduct a meeting, manage a team, lead and motivate.
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Through the Leaders Course, learn to:

Overcome speaking anxiety	Speak with confidence & authority
Remember names of people you just met	Sell yourself and your ideas
Develop even more confidence	Dramatically increase listening ability
Reduce conflicts	Build teamwork
Cut meeting time in half and double cooperation	Organize thoughts under pressure
Lower work and personal stress	Motivate yourself and others

Contact Shana Freeman at 678-298-4112 or visit the above link for more information.

South Georgia Members First Meeting
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
The Gold Plate Restaurant
Valdosta
7:00 - 8:30 am
View Brochure

The Georgia Branch, AGC is a proud partner of the progressive organization that is doing something about workforce development, CEFGA – the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia. The group is working to promote the construction industry as a career, particularly among Georgia’s high school students.

Learn what CEFGA is doing and how you can get involved to help the cause in South Georgia. There are ways you can promote your company and our industry to help ensure there will be a quality workforce for years to come. One simple way is to support the nationally-recognized construction curriculum in Georgia high schools.

Join fellow Georgia Branch, AGC members and CEFGA’s, Executive Director, Scott Shelar at this meeting to discuss workforce development initiatives.

For more information, please contact DD Latham, Meeting and Event Planner at 678-298-4118.

The following courses will be offered through Georgia Branch, AGC's Education and Safety Program in the coming weeks. To view a course's description, click on its name. To view a listing of all currently scheduled courses for 2007, please click here. All courses are at the AGC Training Center at I-75 and Windy Hill Road, unless otherwise noted.

• The Leaders Course - May 31
• Fall Protection - June 1
• Competent Person Training: Trenching & Excavation - June 6 in Albany
• CPR, First Aid and Bloodborne Pathogens -  June 8
• NPDES Seminar and Exam - June 15
• The Basics of Commercial HVAC Systems - June 19
• Scaffold Safety - June 29

For more information on the listed courses or adding a course to meet the needs of your employees, please contact Shana Freeman, Administrative Services Assistant at 678-298-4112.

The Construction Users Roundtable 2007 Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) Award Program is open for nominations. The deadline to submit your entries to AGC of America is July 1, 2007.

The Construction Users Roundtable will notify the winners by telephone on September 24, 2007. The awards presentation will be held at the Construction Users Roundtable Conference at the Naples Grande Resort in Naples, FL on November 5 – 7, 2007.

To view more about CISE, please click here. To print an application, please click here.

You may send your applications to:

AGC of America
Attention Michele Myers
2300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400,
Arlington, VA 22201

If you need more information, please call Raj Vohra with AGC of America at  703.837.5409.