Engineering Inc. - January/February 2016 - (Page 2)

From ACEC to You ENGINEERING INC. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES Advocacy Gains Set Stage for Further Progress O ur legislative victories in 2015 were capped by the recent five-year, $305 billion transportation reauthorization-the first such long-term funding bill in 10 years. We secured language in the new law to promote contracting out and defeated amendments that sought to abolish QBS and mandate in-sourcing of design services. We also achieved renewal of the Export-Import Bank, infrastructure permitting reform, and energy grid resilience measures. Significant tax gains included extension of the R&D tax credit, bonus depreciation, higher expensing levels and energy tax credits. Congress also passed an Omnibus Appropriations bill, funding defense, infrastructure, and facilities construction programs-avoiding the drama of a government shutdown. Several states also achieved major advocacy wins, some with the financial support of ACEC's Minuteman Fund. Among those that won infrastructure funding increases were Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Texas. All these gains at the national and state level provide our members with a solid platform for the coming year and enhanced predictability and certainty in programming for members and clients alike. As we look to the New Year-and the Presidential and Congressional races ahead-we intend to continue our aggressive pursuit of advocacy gains that matter most to our members, including multiyear funding for water and wastewater infrastructure, a comprehensive energy bill and greater outsourcing. Several of these issues are considered further beginning on page 14. Also featured in this edition of Engineering Inc. is the role engineers are playing in the response to rising sea levels-a serious environmental challenge facing our nation. (See page 8.) We wish you a happy and prosperous 2016! Ralph W. Christie, Jr. ACEC Chairman David A. Raymond ACEC President & CEO CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS Ralph W. Christie, Jr. David A. Raymond Mary Ann Emely VICE PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Steven Hall VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS RESOURCES AND EDUCATION Marie Ternieden DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA Alan D. Crockett STAFF EDITOR Andrea Keeney akeeney@acec.org 202-682-4347 SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS WRITER Gerry Donohue ACEC PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN James Blake MANIFEST LLC Christopher Brandon Jeff Kibler PROJECT MANAGER Amy Stephenson Fabbri MANAGING EDITOR ART DIRECTOR ADVERTISING SALES Leo Hoch ACEC 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20005-2605 202-682-4341 lhoch@acec.org Engineering Inc., Volume 27, Number 1 (ISSN 1539-2694), is published bi-monthly by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscriptions are $24 for members (included in dues as a non-deductible amount); $45 for U.S. non-members; $65 for institutional subscriptions. Back issues are $15. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Engineering Inc., c/o ACEC, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005-2605. © 2016 American Council of Engineering Companies. All rights reserved. This publication may be copied, downloaded from the ACEC website, stored in electronic or hard-copy format, and disseminated to third parties for educational and information purposes. ACEC expressly disclaims any liability for damages of any kind in connection with such copying, downloading, storage, and/or dissemination. By copying, downloading, storing and/or disseminating this publication, the recipient of this publication expressly agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold ACEC, its officers, directors, employees, volunteers and agents harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, claims, causes of action and liabilities, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, arising out of or resulting from the recipient's use of this publication. Notwithstanding the above, no part of this publication may be altered, resold, licensed, or used for any other commercial purposes without the prior written permission of ACEC. Recipients may opt out of receiving the electronic version of this publication from ACEC by sending an e-mail with the subject line "Unsubscribe" to ACEC at magazine@acec.org. Engineering Inc. subscribers: If you have a mailing address correction or need to add or remove an employee from the Engineering Inc. mailing list, please contact the ACEC Membership Department at memberservice@acec.org or call 202-347-7474 and ask for Member Records. WWW.ACEC.ORG http://WWW.ACEC.ORG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - January/February 2016

Engineering Inc. - January/february 2016
Table of Contents
From ACEC to You
Market Watch
Legislative Action
Turning Back the Tides
2016 Legislative Outlook
Racing to Help
Going Global
Smooth Sailing
2016 Annual Convention Preview
Business Insights
Mergers and Acquisitions
Members in the News
Guest Column

Engineering Inc. - January/February 2016