Legislation – Construction Publications Inc

OSHA’s final rule requires businesses to provide properly fitted personal protective equipment to any worker who needs it

Alissa B — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 18:44:04 +0000

Industry insight

Jobsite safety improvement

OSHA’s final rule requires businesses to provide properly fitted personal protective equipment to any worker who needs it

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment (PPE) standard for construction, with the final rule explicitly requiring the equipment to properly fit any construction worker who needs it, improving protections from hazardous conditions.¹

OSHA defines PPE² as equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses, such as:

Gloves
Safety glasses
Safety shoes
Earplugs or muffs
Hard hats
Respirators
Coveralls
Vests
Full body suits

Employers are required to train each worker to properly use PPE, such as knowing when it is necessary and how to put it on, adjust, wear and remove it. Workers should also be educated on the limitations of the equipment, as well as proper care, maintenance, useful life and disposal.

Improperly sized PPE can be ineffective in protecting workers, creating new hazards for them. For instance, oversized gloves or protective clothing can get caught in machinery. They can also discourage use because of discomfort or poor fit. The matter has been a longstanding industry safety concern, particularly among some women and among physically smaller or larger workers.

“I’ve talked to workers in construction, particularly women, who have spoken of personal protective equipment that didn’t fit or was simply unavailable at the jobsite in their size,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary Doug Parker. “PPE must fit properly to work. I’m proud of the broad support from both employers and unions for OSHA’s efforts to make clear that employers must provide the right PPE for each worker who needs it.”

The revision to the standard adds specific language requiring that employers provide PPE that properly fits construction industry workers. The change aligns the construction industry standard with the standard already in place for general industry.

1. https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241211-0
2. https://www.osha.gov/personal-protective-equipment

Bonus depreciation has dropped to 80%; equipment must be purchased, placed into service by midnight Dec. 31

Construction Publications Inc. — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 21:56:47 +0000

Industry Insight

Bonus depreciation has dropped to 80%; equipment must be purchased, placed into service by midnight Dec. 31

This year, full (100%) bonus depreciation, which was passed under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), dropped to 80%. Under the law, it will continue to drop by 20% per year until it reaches 0% in 2027.

Bonus depreciation is available for both new and used equipment placed into service by the end of the year. Eligible qualified property includes depreciable assets that typically use the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) with a recovery period of 20 years.

“The purpose of bonus depreciation is to encourage businesses to invest in new equipment and machinery,” said Sean Farrell in the article “A Guide to the Bonus Depreciation Phase-Out 2023” on SharedEconomyCPA.com. “It provides businesses a tax incentive to do so.”

With the percentage of bonus depreciation dropping, now may be a good time to consider making a purchase, according to Dan Furman, Vice President of Strategy at Crest Capital.

In the article “Goodbye, 100% Bonus Depreciation — Phase-Out Begins in 2023” published by Equipment World, Furman writes, “To qualify, the equipment must be bought and placed into service during the calendar year, so making your bonus depreciation purchase as early as possible has advantages (avoiding supply-chain issues delaying shipment/etc.). Further, if you were considering a major purchase in 2024 or beyond and planned to use bonus depreciation, perhaps bumping that purchase to 2023 makes sense (80% depreciation this year vs. 60% next, and so on). In addition, finance rates are predicted to keep rising, so if you were planning to finance your purchase, there’s another advantage to buying earlier.”

Higher amounts for Section 179

An additional advantage is that it has no limit on the amount. It can be used in conjunction with Section 179 expensing, another tax savings vehicle, that does have a cap.

Section 179 limits the 100% depreciation amount to $1,160,000 in 2023, an increase of $80,000 compared to 2022. After that amount, the expensing percentage begins to reduce. The total equipment purchase limit for this year is $2,890,000, which is up from $2.7 million.

Editor’s Note: This article is for informational purposes only. To learn more about how to take advantage of these tax savings, contact your tax adviser or equipment dealer for more information.

Click here to learn more.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law positively impacts transportation, overall forecast is mainly flat due to inflation concerns

Alissa B — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:46:41 +0000

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law positively impacts transportation, overall forecast is mainly flat due to inflation concerns

In late 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, which was a historic investment in the nation’s infrastructure and transportation funding. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has had a positive effect and will continue to do so in 2023, according to several construction industry professionals as they forecast this year’s outlook.

During testimony before the Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee in late 2022, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President and CEO Dave Bauer told senators that 29,000 transportation improvement projects are moving forward thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Bauer highlighted ARTBA’s economic analysis, showing that highway formula funds supported 2,500 more safety, mobility and maintenance improvements in 2022 than in 2021, while the number of $100 million projects increased from 18 in 11 states to 24 in 14 states.

“Though each project has a unique story of need and solution, they are all tangible illustrations of the impacts underway from the leadership of this committee in delivering generational investments through a multiyear surface transportation program reauthorization,” said Bauer.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reauthorized surface transportation programs for five years, investing $110 billion in America’s aging roads and bridges.

ARTBA estimated that highway and bridge construction spending will increase 13.4% this year to a total of $119 billion, according to the article “2023 Forecast: Markets are Mixed for Year Ahead” published by Engineering News-Record (ENR). Dodge Data & Analytics Inc. is even more optimistic, predicting new starts will be as high as 20%, thanks to infrastructure funding. That would be an increase beyond the 23% rise Dodge forecast for the end of 2022. Dodge Chief Economist Richard Branch pointed out that only 19% of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law had been allocated by late last year.

“There’s a lot of money still on the table waiting to be spent,” said Branch in the Equipment World article “Dodge Economist: Prepare for a Rocky First Half of 2023.” “We continue to think 2023 and 2024 are the best years for infrastructure construction. But, I could foresee, again, if we have appropriation delays, that maybe 2024 and 2025 are the best years.”

Modest downturn, quick recovery

Infrastructure projects are bright spots in the overall construction industry, which has been slowed by several factors during the past year. Dodge sees it as relatively flat in 2023, with a slight decline. Fails Management Institute (FMI) forecasts a 1.3% decline.

“I don’t think this is another great recession,” said Jay Bowman, Principal of Industry Management Consultant for FMI in the ENR article. “I’ll take flat over down any day of the week.”

Branch noted that inflation will be a big factor going forward, along with other causes for concern such as the war in Ukraine and oil production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Branch’s forecast assumes that core inflation will improve, and there will not be any major shocks. If his predictions are correct and everything remains stable, Branch believes a “technical recession” could be avoided with economic stabilization and recovery starting in the latter half of 2023. He added that a strong banking system and undersupplied housing market are favorable for the construction industry.

“We’re sitting at 14- to 15-year highs in the Dodge Momentum Index, so it should provide some semblance of confidence and reassurance that developers and owners are continuing to put projects into the queue despite the fact that we’re concerned about what might happen when interest rates keep rising and the economy slows down in 2023,” said Branch.

In its most recent outlook, the Portland Cement Association (PCA) projected a near-term demand decline of about 3.5% for 2023, the first decline in 13 years. It expects the slowdown to be short, with growth returning in 2024.

“Due to inflation and rising interest rates, economic growth is expected to remain sluggish through mid-2023 with unemployment reaching 4.7%,” said Edward J. Sullivan, PCA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President. “Inflation is expected to remain high, leading to further monetary policy tightening through this year and into early next.”

Sector gains

While both Dodge and FMI predict overall construction starts to be down in 2023, both foresee increases within several sectors. Dodge predicts a slight increase in total residential construction, including 1.4% in the multifamily category. FMI anticipates a nearly 6% jump in multifamily, despite overall residential starts being lower.

Dodge and FMI have opposing outlooks on total non-residential as well. FMI is optimistic of a 4.4% rise, led by the manufacturing sector with a jump of 15.4%. It sees lodging, amusements and recreation, education, health care, commercial and public safety all getting boosts. Dodge predicts increases for hotels and motels, stores and shopping centers, and education.

Click here to learn more about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Funding for up to 35 University Transportation Centers announced

Alissa B — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 12:00:10 +0000

Funding for up to 35 University Transportation Centers announced by President, DOT

As part of the University Transportation Center (UTC) program, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking applications from universities for up to 35 UTC awards, with total funding of $450 million for the five-year period from 2022 through 2026.

UTCs must propose a focus area from among the legislation’s stated research priorities, which include improving the mobility of people and goods, reducing congestion, promoting safety, improving the durability and extending the life of transportation infrastructure, preserving the environment, preserving the existing transportation system, and reducing transportation cybersecurity risks.

“I am inspired by the cutting-edge transportation technologies our UTCs are developing,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this investment, we’ll be able to support a new generation of visionary leaders and advance research that will help to transform our transportation system with safer, cleaner, more accessible ways for people and goods to move in this country.”

Click here to learn more.

What’s included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act?

Alissa B — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 22:08:44 +0000

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act brings historic investments

The recently passed $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, will reauthorize surface transportation programs for five years and invest $110 billion in additional funding to repair America’s aging roads and bridges. With nearly $40 billion dedicated to the latter, that is the single, biggest investment in bridges since the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s, according to the Biden administration.

Transportation safety programs will see $11 billion in funding, including $5 billion for the new Safe Streets and Roads for All program, established to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities in their communities. Another new program provides grants to community-owned utilities to replace leaky and obsolete cast iron and bare steel natural gas pipelines. In total, the infrastructure bill is projected to more than double funding directed to programs that improve the safety of people and vehicles.

Largest outlay for water systems

The spending package also includes the largest investments in other infrastructure systems. To expand access to clean drinking water for households, businesses, schools and child care centers all across the country, $55 billion will be dedicated to address water contamination and the replacement of lead pipes.

IIJA sets aside $50 billion to protect against droughts, floods and wildfires, as well as weatherization, in an effort to increase the resilience of physical and natural systems from extreme weather events.

Modernizing for the 21st century

With major investments to connect rural areas, low-income families and tribal areas, $65 billion will be dedicated to expanding broadband internet access. The bill includes provisions to make internet service more affordable and easier to compare prices.

An additional $65 billion will modernize the nation’s power grid and build thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy.

Updates to the nation’s power grid should allow more electric vehicles to be charged, and IIJA provides $7.5 billion to build the first-ever national network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the United States. This funding includes the deployment of EV chargers along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel, and within communities to provide convenient charging where people live, work and shop.

Updating public transit

In total, the new investments and reauthorization in IIJA guarantee $89.9 billion in funding for public transit over the next five years — the largest Federal investment in public transit in history. The legislation will improve accessibility to all users, bring transit services to new communities, and replace thousands of deficient transit vehicles with clean, zero-emission vehicles.

The legislation also invests $66 billion in rail funding to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring service to areas outside of the northeast and mid-Atlantic. Airports will get $25 billion to address repairs, reduce congestion, and drive electrification and other low-carbon technologies.

Job openings

Additionally, the infrastructure bill will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it is estimated that on average, 1.5 million jobs per year will be added for the next 10 years.

Opportunities for construction workers, truck drivers, architects, mechanical engineers and cybersecurity analysts, among others, are likely to increase.