Master Builders of Iowa

The Senate passed the conference report to H.R. 4173, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The bill will now go to the President for his signature.

The legislation was opposed by the banking industry because it would significantly impact fees banks charge while adding new regulations and oversight over lenders, and create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While this legislation does not directly address the construction industry, small lenders that work with the construction industry were concerned about the treatment of trust preferred securities.

Following the President's primetime Oval Office address in mid-June on the Gulf oil spill, Senate Democratic leaders and the White House are trying to reach a consensus on a path forward for Senate consideration of a comprehensive energy and climate change bill.  While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continues to meet with members of the Democratic caucus to craft a package that could garner 60 votes, a White House meeting with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss the issue was cancelled and rescheduled.  President Obama's participation might provide momentum for the Senate to tackle the issue this year, although the president has not been specific about what he would like to see in the final product.

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The Iowa Department of Workforce Development’s Worker Misclassification Taskforce is targeting employers throughout the state of Iowa looking for misclassified workers.  Since the July 1, 2009 inception of this Taskforce, over 182 employers have been found to have misclassified 1565 workers.  In total, over $27 million in unreported wages have been found resulting in nearly $1.1 million in unemployment taxes due and over $340,000 in penalties and interest.

On April 22, AGC of America released a plan calling for market-based solutions, incentives and needed investments to deliver environmental improvements in our nation's infrastructure-buildings, transportation, water and land resources and power generation.

The plan-Building a Green Future-outlines measures designed to stimulate demand for green construction projects, boost infrastructure capacity, improve building efficiency and green construction practices.

The US House of Representatives postponed a vote last week on a bill that would extend various expired tax provisions, unemployment and health care programs, and infrastructure initiatives as part of the Democratic Congress' jobs agenda.