Construction Industry Payment Protection Act Passes House, Moves to Governor Lee's Desk

At ABC Greater Tennessee, one of our main areas of focus is advocating for responsible legislation to protect our industry when payments are not made. Our industry has made positive changes to the laws of Tennessee as they relate to construction; however, many of these laws left some unintended contradictions, ambiguities, and loopholes that needed to be rectified.

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Position Statement: ASA's HB271/SB324 needs to move to Summer Study

The House Commerce Committee is slated to take up the American Subcontractor Association's (ASA) HB 271(SB 324) in the Tennessee General Assembly House Commerce Committee as early as this week. As you may know, this legislation will significantly change procedure on construction contracts and lien rights on Tennessee construction projects.  While fairness in contracts is important to the industry as a whole, this bill has far reaching consequences if not drafted correctly. ABC- Greater Tennessee’s Legislative Committee, which represents General Contractors as well as Subcontractors, does not believe that ill-drafted, unworkable legislation that affects one of the state's biggest industries should be ramrodded through the state legislature without proper involvement and feedback from the industry itself. This legislation, if not redrafted, could be detrimental to the industry due to its ambiguous wording and method of employing the principals in the bill. ABC has been working w ... Read the rest of entry »

ABC in Knoxville serves on panel to delay Health Insurance Tax

Crownover (ABC- Greater Tennessee, Knoxville) participates in Knoxville Chamber Roundtable Knoxville, TN (August 30, 2017) – Local business leaders met Wednesday at the Knoxville Chamber to discuss how the health insurance tax, or HIT, will impact Tennessee small businesses in 2018 if it is not delayed immediately by Congress. Business leaders called on the state’s senators and representatives in Congress to lower premiums and provide financial relief to the state by ensuring that the HIT does not go into effect in 2018.  “Time is of the essence to delay this tax again,” said Terry Turner, President of the Knoxville Chamber and small business owner of All Occasions Party Rental. “We are all making insurance decisions in the next few weeks for next year and we need certainty from the federal government.” The discussion occurred one week ahead of hearings scheduled by Tennessee’s Senator Lamar Alexander on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education ... Read the rest of entry »

Federal Judge Imposes Injunction Against DOL’s Controversial Overtime Rule:

ABC praises the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Districtof Texas for issuing a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. DOL’sburdensome and costly overtime final rule. Prior to the injunction the rule was scheduled to go into effect onDecember 1st and would have doubled the current minimum salarythreshold for employees that are exempt from overtime pay and would automaticallyincrease every three years.  Construction contractors are pleased that the court hasstepped in to provide relief from another overreaching and burdensomeregulation from the Obama administration’s Labor Department.  The rule would have taken workplace flexibilityaway from employers and may have required some employers to consider switching certainemployees from salaried to hourly positions. Additionally, the rule would have had a significant impact on commercialand industrial construction projects “since many of them last longer than threeyears” and are carefully planned to stay on time ... Read the rest of entry »

Associated Builders and Contractors Applauds Court Injunction Against (Blacklisting) Rule

The judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued a preliminary injunction late Monday night against the Fair Pay and Safe Work Places Rule which has been dubbed the (Blacklisting) Rule.   ABC is pleased the court ruled that the Obama Administration cannot order private businesses to publicly disclose mere accusations of labor law violations that have not been fully adjudicated. By issuing this decision, the court has maintained the first amendment rights of government contractors and protected them and tax payers from the poorly crafted Blacklisting Rule.  In her decision, the judge said that the groups that initiated this lawsuit earlier this month-including the ABC-had properly demonstrated immediate ongoing injury to their members if the rule is allowed to take effect. Before Mondays action halting the new regulation, the Department of Labor had planned to start its roll out of the executive order today. ABC was represented by Maury Baskin ABC&r ... Read the rest of entry »

Stop the Obama Administration's "Stealth Death Tax Increase"

The IRS has set its sights on family businesses.The Obama Treasury Department last month issued proposed regulations that would upend the way family-owned companies are valued, disregarding decades of precedent and exposing family business owners to a death tax hike of 30 percent or more.Make your voice heard. Tell Treasury to withdraw the proposed regulations by clicking the link below.

Please click here and add your company name by Monday, September 26th, and stop the latest assault on family-owned businesses.