CECO REPORT
February, 2001

IN THIS ISSUE

** 2001 LEGISLATURE BEGINS FEBRUARY 5TH

** ODOT - CECO TO BEGIN PARTNERING PROCESS

** WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

** IRS MILEAGE RATE INCREASES

** CECO TO PARTICIPATE IN CONSULTING CONGRESS DAY

** CECO CONVENTION IN ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I.

** ACEC ACTIVE IN BUSH/CHENEY TRANSITION AND INAUGURAL EVENTS

 

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2001 LEGISLATURE BEGINS FEBRUARY 5TH

The 1st session of the 48th Legislature kicks off on Monday, February 5th for what promises to be an interesting legislative session. With new leadership in the House and a narrower Democratic margin over Republicans in both the House and Senate, the word "bi-partisan" is echoing throughout the legislative halls. House and Senate members have been busy pre-filing bills for the session. With the pre-file deadline now passed, over 1800 measures have been thrown into the hopper for consideration.

Below is a list of bills which CECO has identified as being "of interest" to date, along with a brief explanation. Committee hearings on all bills get underway February 5th, so things will begin to change and to "sort out" rapidly. The first deadline of the session is February 22nd, when Committees have to report out bills in the house of origin.

HOUSE BILLS

* HB1051 - Surveyor Statute of Limitation- An Act relating to civil procedure; amending 12 O.S. Supp. 2000, Section 95, which relates to limitation of actions; providing statute of limitations for civil against land surveyors; and providing an effective date. Principal Authors : Fields, Lloyd (H), Committee : Judiciary (H)

This bill would provide a 6-year statute of limitation for civil claims against land surveyors.

 

* HB1125 - OTA - CE/Legal - An Act relating to roads, bridges and ferries; amending 69 O.S. 1001, Section 1728, which relates to professional services used by the Oklahoma Transportation Authority; updating language; and providing an effective date. Principal Authors : Hutchison, Joe J. (H) Committee: Transportation (H)
The language of this bill, at least in its initial form, states that it is the "Legislative Intent" for, ..."the Oklahoma Transportation Authority ... to hold payments for engineering and legal services to the barest minimum, and it is further the intent of the Legislature that in regard to bonds hereafter issued, so far as possible, the service of the chief engineer of the Authority to be utilized as the consulting engineer and the service of the Attorney General be utilized as legal counsel for the Authority."

This is unusual legislative language, and CECO will be closely watching this bill for amendments with more substance.

* HB1315 - Administrative Law Judges - An Act relating to administrative law; enacting the State Office of Administrative Hearings Act; stating purpose; defining terms; creating the State Office of Administrative Hearings; providing powers and duties; providing for the appointment of the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the State Office of Administrative Hearings; providing for powers and duties of the Chief Administrative Law Judges. Principal Authors : Covey, James (H),Committee : Admin. Rule Review (H)
As in the past two sessions, this bill has again been introduced which would create a completely new state agency to handle all administrative hearings for all state agencies, boards, and commission. Current boards, like the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, would be stripped of all administrative hearing authority, with such actions being referred to the new agency to be heard by Administrative Law Judges. A companion bill with identical language has been introduced in the Senate - SB 559.

The bills have met with stiff opposition in past years, but the authors seem intent on hammering away at the subject.

 

* HB1597 - Architect Act Revised - An Act relating to professions and occupations; amending 59 O.S. Supp. 2000, sections 46.3, 46.7, 46.8a, 46.9, 46.12, 46.14, 46.21, 46.25, 46.31, and 46.36, which relate to the State Architectural Act; modifying definition; modifying qualifications; repealing 59 O.S. 1991, Section 46.34, which relates to architect seals; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency. Principal Author: Smith, Hopper (H),Committee: Judiciary (H)

Makes several changes in the State Architects Act, some of which mirror language already in the engineers/land surveyors act.

 

* HB1723 - Architects Act +$200K - An Act relating to professions and occupations; amending 59 O.S. Supp. 2000, Section 46.3, which relates to the State Architectural Act; modifying definition; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency. Principal Author: Rice, Larry (H), Committee: Judiciary (H)

Current law requires an architect for projects on specific buildings if the value of the project exceeds $40,000. This bill would raise the $40,000 to $200,000.

 

* HB1946 - Home Inspectors - An Act relating to licensing of home inspectors; enacting the Home Inspection Licensing Act; providing for imposition of administrative fines, suspension of license, and revocation of license; providing for certain appeals; providing for codification; and providing an effective date. Principal Author: Toure, Opio (H), Committee : Rules (H)

This bill, which has also been introduced in the past couple of session, would set up a licensing agency and procedure for home inspectors. Engineers and architects are specifically exempted from the provisions of the act. Also, a companion bill has been introduced in the Senate - SB 198.

 

 

SENATE BILLS

* SB0181 - Update QBS/Central Services - An Act relating to public buildings and public works; amending 61 O.S. Supp. 2000, Sections 62 and 130, which relate to construction managers, design consultants, and emergencies; and declaring an emergency. Principal Author: Robinson, Ben H. (S) Committee: Not assigned to date.

This bill provides some clean-up language to the major changes which were made last year. The Department of Central Services (DCS) provided CECO with the bill language prior to introduction since the bill does include language in the state QBS law. CECO will work closely with DCS to assure that no negative changes are made in the QBS law.

 

* SB0198 - Home Inspectors (See HB 1946 above.) An Act relating to licensing of home inspectors. Principal Author: Milacek, Robert (S),Committee: Not assigned to date.

 

* SB0354 - Construction Industries Commission - An Act relating to professions and occupations; providing short title; creating the Construction Industries Commission; stating regulatory authority over certain trades; providing for membership, appointments, qualifications, terms of office, quorum, officers and duties. Principal Author: Snyder, Mark (S), Committee: Not assigned to date.

Yet another bill which has been tried before. This bill would take all of the licensure and regulation of the trade industries (plumbing, electrical, mechanical contractors) out from under the Department of Health, and create a stand-alone licensing agency.

 

* SB0465 - ODOT Consultants Selection - An Act relating to public buildings and public works; amending 61 O.S. Supp. 2000, Sections 60 and 61, which relate to state consultants; providing certain exemption; modifying definitions; defining terms; requiring the Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Transportation Authority to establish system to develop certain list; authorizing the Department and the Authority to determine certain qualifications; providing for codification; providing for noncodification; and declaring an emergency. Principal Author: Stipe, Gene (S), Committee: Not assigned to date.

This bill was requested by ODOT. ODOT desires to be removed from the oversight of the Department of Central Services, and to have their own QBS selection procedure for consultants. This is prompted by ODOT's desire to streamline their selection process as will as to shorten the time it takes to select a consultant for a project. CECO will monitor this bill closely, and work with ODOT to assure that the interests of the consulting engineering community are protected.

 

* SB0559 - Administrative Law Judges (See HB 1315 above)

Principal Author: Henry, Brad (S),Committee: Not assigned.

 

* SB0761 - State Board - Quorum - An Act relating to professions and occupations; amending 59 O.S. Supp. 2000, Section 475.7, which relates to meetings, officers, and quorum; clarifying references. Principal Author: Campbell, Grover (S) Committee: Not assigned to date.

This is a "shell" bill which CECO will watch very closely. At present, we do not know the real intentions of the author, who happens to be a registered professional engineer.

 

* SJR0006 - No Turnpikes/New Gas Tax - A Joint Resolution relating to funding for roads and highways; ordering a legislative referendum; prohibiting imposing or collection tolls for the use of turnpikes or turnpike projects after certain date. Principal Author: Ford, Charles R. (S), Committee: Not assigned to date.

This resolution would put to a vote of the people the dismantling of the Oklahoma Transportation (formerly Turnpike) Authority, the transfer of all of the OTA operations and assets to ODOT, and, increase in the state motor fuel tax $0.06 (six cents) per gallon to cover the operation of the OTA roads without tolls.

If approved by the voters, this would turn all of the current turnpikes into "free" roads, with the motor fuel tax paying off the OTA bonds.

 

 

Check the CECO website regularly for updates, and updated versions of bills.

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ODOT - CECO TO BEGIN PARTNERING PROCESS

Some 30 ODOT senior staff and CECO members met on January 19th to begin the process of ODOT and CECO entering into a Partnering Agreement which will be the cornerstone of a unprecedented working arrangement between the two groups.

The ODOT/CECO agreement will be patterned on a working arrangement between the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and Kansas Consulting Engineers (KCE), CECO's counterpart organization in Kansas.

At the meeting, David Comstock, Director of Engineering and Design for KDOT, and George Barbee, Executive Director of KCE, presented a detailed overview of the program which began some 8 years ago. They discussed the formation of the Partnering Agreement, the organizational structure of the steering committee, and the various subcommittees that bring KDOT and KCE representatives together to discuss situations and develop solutions.

Comstock and Barbee noted that the purpose behind the agreement between KDOT and KCE is contained in the Mission Statement of the Liaison Committee which states, "It shall be the mission of this committee to foster and promote a cooperative atmosphere of trust and partnering between consulting engineers and the Kansas Department of Transportation. Mutual respect and our commitment to fulfilling the transportation needs of the citizens of Kansas shall guide our priorities and actions."

They also reviewed specific accomplishments of working groups formed through the Partnering Agreement, that both believed would not have been possible without a formal working relationship between the organizations.

All in all, both believed that through the cooperative agreement, millions of dollars had been saved by KDOT, and that the citizens of Kansas had received a better quality transportation system.

Secretary of Transportation Neal McCaleb participated in the meeting, and is very supportive of ODOT and CECO developing a similar program. He stated that he had four goals/issues he believed needed addressing, those being: 1. Quality; 2. Streamlining of the consultant selection process; 3. Compensation; and, 4. development of a post project Evaluation process. As for the Quality issue, Secretary McCaleb said that comes down to, "doing the right thing, the right way, the first time, on time, every time."

At the conclusion of the meeting, ODOT committed to working with CECO in developing a Partnering Agreement and a partnering program similar to the Kansas model.

To begin the process, CECO will be meeting with ODOT in the next few days to lay the groundwork for the formal partnering session between senior ODOT staff and the CECO leadership. If all goes well, it is hoped that a formal agreement can be developed within the next three months, with task group subcommittees beginning work in early summer.

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

CECO is pleased to welcome three new member firms that have joined the CECO/ACEC ranks.

Burgess Engineering and Testing, Inc., is a Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Materials Testing firm in Moore. Ali Abrahimi is the principal of the 12-person firm located at 2603 N. Shields, 73160, (405) 790-0488.

Trumble Dean, LLC., is a Structural Engineering and Drafting firm in Oklahoma City. Russell Trumble and Roy Dean are the principals in the newly started 4-person firm. The firm is located at 433 W. Wilshire Blvd, Suite F, 73116, (405) 848-9202.

URS Corporation in Tulsa is headed by Carthal Cobb. The 7 person Civil, Public Works, Structural, Mechanical, and Environmental design firm is located at 111 W. 5th Street, Suite 720, 74103, (918) 582-1328.

CECO welcomes Burgess Engineering and Testing, Trumble Dean, and URS Corporation, and looks forward to having Ali, Russell, Roy, and Carthal as active members of CECO and ACEC.

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IRS MILEAGE RATE INCEASES

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that effective January 1, 2001, the allowable IRS Mileage reimbursement rate will increase to $0.34.5/mile.

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CECO TO PARTICIPATE IN CONSULTING CONGRESS DAY

CECO President Jerry Shepherd, National Director Tony Dark, and others, along with Executive Vice President Jim Sullins will be attending ACEC's annual Consulting Congress Day (CCD) activities March 11-12, in Washington, DC. Additionally, prior to CCD, they will attend special update sessions about ACEC issues such as budget and operations.

During CCD, the CECO delegation will attend legislative briefings, and on Wednesday, March 12th, visit personally with all eight members of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation and/or their staff about the major issues of interest and concern to CECO/ACEC members.
While your leadership will be attending, any member is welcome and encouraged to participate. The More the Better! If you are interested in participating, call CECO or go to the ACEC website, http://www.acec.org, for more information.

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CECO CONVENTION IN ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I.

For many years, CECO has been holding joint annual conventions with Arkansas. More recently, CEC/Missouri has joined in also for what has become a traditional tri-state convention. Every fourth year, Missouri has gone "out of country" by holding their convention in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Well, not to be outdone, your CECO Board of Directors took the bold step to take the 2001 CECO Convention to St. Thomas June 6-13 with Missouri and Arkansas.

This was a decision which the Board did not take lightly. It is the first time that CECO has seriously considered going out of the country, with cost being the major concern. As it ends up, the hotel in St. Thomas is only $105.00 per night, which is about $75.00 per night less that the hotel this year in Branson. So, the only major consideration was air fare. It is hard to determine the actual cost of transportation, but CEC/Missouri tells us that generally you can estimate about $600 per person for air fare.

And, since the Convention will be held in the U.S. Virgin Islands, it is fully tax deductible.

The dates are listed as Wednesday, June 6th through Wednesday, June 13th (with Wednesday being travel days). The main body of the Convention will be Thursday through Saturday as with the traditional tri-state meetings. The main business and educational sessions will be held those days, which would allow participants to come home as early as Sunday if they wish. On the remaining days, educational breakfast programs will be held to satisfy tax requirements, with the balance of the days free for you to enjoy the island.

The Convention will be held at the Marriott Renaissance Grand Beach Resort. To get an overview of the hotel, visit their web site at http://www.renaissancehotels.com/STTSR.

If you have never been to St. Thomas, it is a beautiful island (12 miles long and 3 miles wide) in the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean. To learn more about the island, and its sister islands St. Johns and St. Croix, visit either http://st-thomas.com or http://www.travelfacts.com/tfacts/htm/stt/sttdest.htm.

Much more information will be coming soon, so mark your calendar now for June 6-13, for the Tri-State Convention in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

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ACEC ACTIVE IN BUSH/CHENEY TRANSITION AND INAUGURAL EVENTS

ACEC leaders and GA staff were invited to participate in a myriad of Inaugural activities last week. Ray Flemons, National Director from Texas, and President-Elect Steve Goddard attended the swearing-in, inaugural balls and other inaugural-related events with David Raymond and Jack Kalavritinos.

ACEC hosted a pre-swearing-in breakfast for Chief Deputy Whip Roy Blunt and his Missouri key constituents. In addition, ACEC co-sponsored several RNC inaugural events. The ACEC group attended the Indiana Gala as well as several private lunches and dinners. Ray Flemons and Charles Kim attended an event for ACEC's key outsourcing proponent in the House, Rep. Pete Sessions. Raymond and Kalavritinos were invited to a reception in honor of the new Energy Secretary and former Senator Spencer Abraham. ACEC also had a chance to speak to President Bush's campaign manager and White House Counselor Karl Rove, Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), freshman Congressman Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), President Bush's finance director, Jack Oliver, and others.

ACEC has been well positioned by its presidential transition and inaugural activities over the last 3-6 weeks to build strong relationships and ties to new Administration officials and leading Congressional members. ACEC and Jacobs Engineering were thanked for their co-sponsorship of a pre-Inaugural breakfast held on January 20, for Roy Blunt. ACEC also received a certificate of appreciation for its work on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team.

With these strong ties in place, the Council is in a position not only to move our members' agenda but also stifle challenges and threats to the industry.

ACEC and Washington representatives of member firms and other associations are continuing to work on transition personnel issues and will be meeting on Monday at a meeting sponsored by the Construction Industry Round Table.
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