The fiscal picture has grown worse for many states, according to a survey from the National Governors Association and National Association of State Budget Officers. The report, released Dec. 15, says that because of the ailing national economy, cumulative state operating spending is projected to fall in fiscal 2009, by 0.1%, the first spending decrease since 1983. The study, NGA and NASBO's biannual Fiscal Survey of States, also says that since their 2009 fiscal year started on July 1, 31 states have reported that they face budget shortfalls totaling $29.7 billion. The report focuses on states' operating budgets, but revenue
Congress has cleared pension legislation that would provide temporary relief for single-employer and multi-employer pension funds, as well as individual retirees, who have seen their funds decline because of the downturn in the financial markets. Final congressional approval came Dec. 11 when the Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent. The House had approved the bill the previous day. Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Dept., said in a letter to state and local BCTD leaders that the legislation "would provide funding relief for the vast majority of building trades' multiemployer plans...which, like most pension plans,
With economic trouble buffeting many states' budgets, governors and legislators are asking Congress and the incoming Obama administration for tens of billions of dollars in federal aid in what they hope will be a new economic-stimulus bill. The states' request could include up to $136 billion for highways and other infrastructure projects. Office of Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell Rendell says funds would go for major project, not potholes. President-elect Barack Obama has said that a new stimulus measure would be his first order of business after he takes office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said key committee chairmen are working
Russia Tower, next in line as Europe’s tallest building, has fallen into the credit crunch. Work on the 600-meter-tall Moscow building has been shelved, according to local reports, although the design team has yet to be told. The project has been “delayed,” says David Klondar, general director at the Moscow office of Waterman International, the project’s lead structural firm. The basement excavation had started and permitting was well in hand, Klondar says. Project architect is London-based Foster and Partners. The building's engineering team includes Chicago-based high-rise expert Halvorson and Partners. Photos: Peter Reina / ENR
As Americans cut back on driving, federal motor-fuels taxes and other revenue flowing into the Highway Trust Fund dropped by $3 billion in fiscal year 2008, compared with the sum collected the year before, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation reports. DOT Secretary Mary Peters warns that if traffic continues downward, the trust fund may show a shortfall sooner than anticipated. Other observers share that worry. DOT said on Nov. 19 that the trust fund took in $31 billion in fiscal 2008, down 8.8% from the $34 billion collected in 2007. As income fell, spending from the trust fund on highway
World Bank global project funding, estimated at $40 billion a year, may subsidize projects with significant adverse environmental and social risks due to rushed or inadequate U.S. government oversight, says a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO says in 2007 the U.S. Treasury Dept., the lead monitor, and other agencies were only able to review 14 of 95 World Bank funding proposals, and some possibly harmful projects proceeded without U.S. government support. GAO also claims economic and political “considerations” may lead the U.S. to support project funding despite possible environmental impacts. The Treasury Dept. disputes some GAO findings
Owners of projects in the education sector this year are faced with conflicting market conditions. On the one hand, the market promises robust new rounds of construction due to record-breaking student populations, but on the other hand, the market threatens to delay or kill projects and programs that seemed economically feasible just a few months ago due to the meltdown in the financial sector and declining revenue for states, municipalities and universities. Owners face a growing need for new K-12 and higher education facilities in nearly every community in the nation. School districts, colleges and universities need new construction to