The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down three key provisions of Arizonas tough immigration law but upheld one of its most controversial sections. Related Links: High Court Issues Split Ruling in Immigration Case Oral Arguments in Arizona Immigration Law Case Construction firms in several states are closely watching how Arizona will implement the provisions of its immigration law left standing after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidated three of the statute's sections.The high court on June 25 struck down three key sections of Arizona S.B. 1070 but left intact one of its most controversial provisions, which requires police to check
Related Links: Text of court's opinion in Arizona v. U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down three key provisions of Arizona’s tough immigration law but upheld one of its most controversial sections, which requires police to check the legal status of anyone they detain whom they suspect is in the United States unlawfully.In the court's opinion, handed down on June 25, the three provisions were invalidated on a 5-3 vote and the fourth provision was upheld unanimously.Arizona companies in construction and other industries now will be watching how the state begins to implement the parts of the law left
Wastewater utilities are pleased the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a fleshed-out framework to give local governments more flexibility in managing stormwater runoff and wastewater.
After several minor-to-moderate earthquakes shook the U.S. interior in 2011, a number of reports suggested a link between hydraulic fracturing—a technique used to extract natural gas from shale-gas deposits—and increased seismic activity in areas typically not prone to such events.
Related Links: Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future final report (January 2012) Nuke Waste Panel Says New Sites Needed (ENR 7/29/11) No solution appears in sight to the nation’s growing problem of how to dispose of nuclear waste. A bipartisan group in the Senate is drafting a bill to address a blue ribbon panel’s recommendations for nuclear waste disposal, but with little time left in the current congressional session, no major nuclear waste bill is expected to go anywhere this year.Moreover, with the Obama administration sticking to its 2009 decision to nix the repository site beneath Nevada’s Yucca Mountain,
Related Links: Civilian BRAC Bill Faces Challenges in Senate Office of Management and Budget Memo The Obama administration has put a freeze on the acquisition of new federal, non-defense real estate. Under the policy, spelled out in a May 11 Office of Management and Budget memo, federal agencies must offset any planned new space by consolidating or disposing of old space. The American Institute of Architects says the policy could create opportunities for building renovations and is less worrisome than current federal budgetary concerns.
Related Links: Fiscal Year 2013 Looks Rough for Construction Spending Appropriations bills are about money, but sometimes those measures have policy provisions that spark fierce fights. The fiscal 2013 appropriations round, now under way, offers several examples.On May 31, the House voted 218-198 to delete language in the FY13 military-construction/veterans-affairs spending bill that would have barred agencies from adopting union-only project labor agreements (PLAs). Nearly all House Democrats and 34 Republicans voted for an amendment offered by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) to strike anti-PLA language from the bill. The House passed the underlying spending measure.Labor unions hailed the vote as
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with a new Integrated Planning and Permitting Policy, or IP3, that is being discussed as an improvement to the agency's legal enforcement programs for stormwater management and combined sewer overflows.
Related Links: Fact Sheet on Drugs in the Workplace by National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence A new industry coalition is hoping to create awareness about alcohol and drug use in the workplace and ultimately reduce injuries and fatalities caused by jobsite substance abuse.Member organizations of the Construction Coalition for a Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace, formally launched last month, contend that substance abuse is still a problem on construction worksites. They cite statistics from the New York City-based National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence that show the construction industry as having one of the highest rates of workplace
National Labor Relations Board member Terence F. Flynn, a Republican, resigned on May 26 amid fallout from a May 2 Inspector General report alleging he improperly shared data on pending NLRB cases with former Chairman Peter Schaumber and others. Flynn has denied the allegations. He recused himself from future board cases. His July 24 departure will leave the five-person NLRB with three Democrats and one Republican.
