MA Has 33rd Lowest Taxes in US
Residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts paid 9.8% of their income in state and local taxes. This gives MA lower tax rates than 32 other states in the US. The national average for percentage of income paid to state and local taxes is 10.44%. What must be noted is the increase to state sales tax from 5% to 6.25% in 2010. Though, with this, MA would remain in the bottom half among our 50 states. Topping out the list were: Arkansas, Wyoming, and New York. At the bottom were: South Dakota, Tennessee and Alabama.
Canada's Construction Market Outperforms US
Canada continued to outperform the US in construction this year as it did in 2010. This trend is predicted to continue in 2012 as well. Permits are up across the board in residential, non-residential and commercial construction. Institutional construction permits were down, but 2012 looks very promising. Government construction is and will remain strong due to large amounts of stimulus funds. Engineering construction has risen from $57.4 billion in 2009 to $69.3 billion in 2011.
RI Approves CM at Risk
Gov Chafee recently signed a law allowing "Construction Manager (CM) at Risk" on all public projects over $5 million. The new law is modeled after MA General Law Chapter 149A with some exceptions. In RI the procurement manager rather than the Inspector General will make the decision on use of CM at Risk. Also, the trade contractor selection does not require selection of the low bidder, instead allowing the CM to negotiate with the three lowest responsible bidders.
MA Legislature Finishes 1st Year of Session
In December, the MA General Court arrived at the halfway point of a two year session ending in 2012. Casino gaming legislation was signed and the implementation process has begun. Lawmakers also will proceed with a reduction in the corporate tax rate as of 1/1/2012. The Legislature also approved an Unemployment Insurance measure that limits the average increase to $61 per employee on average. This measure averted a scheduled increase of 40 %. Many issues remain on the plate for 2012.
Following Towns Deemed "BioReady"
Shrewsbury, Westminster, Arlington and Woburn were recently deemed "BioReady" by the MA Biotech Council. This campaign recognizes cities and towns that meet certain criteria for zoning bylaws, building codes and other factors important for biotech development. There are now a total of 69 BioReady rated communities in the Commonwealth. Among these communities, Worcester, Framingham, Westborough, Grafton and Devens have platinum ratings.
Boston Rated Top Life Sciences Hub
Boston claimed the top life science cluster spot in a new global report from Jones Lang LaSalle. The report sighted established and emerging life science clusters. Boston ranked first in 5 out of 6 cluster methodology categories beating out New York / New Jersey and San Francisco. Boston's topped the categories of high-tech research and hospital / medical employment, science and engineering graduate students, National Institute of Health (NIH) funding, R&D spending as a percent of GDP and academic and research institute facilities. Boston lacked in venture capital funding.
DCAM Sets MBE / WBE Goals for 2012
The Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) announced revised MBE / WBE participation goals for state-funded municipal construction projects starting 1/1/2012. The new goals are posted in the Central Register and on CommPASS. They are 10.4% participation on construction contracts and 17.9% participation on design contract awards. To meet these goals, bidders must include a reasonable representation of MBE and WBE firms. Participation plans that include MBE or WBE or neither will not be considered. A prime contractor certified as WBE or MBE must bring reasonable participation in the other category. The goals do not apply to filed sub-bidders or trade contractors who are restricted from sub-contracting portions of their work.
Research Group Predicts Building Energy Efficiency Boom
According to a recent report, Pike Research predicts the building energy efficiency market will soar more than 50 % between now and 2017 to a worth of over $103 billion. They state that high-efficiency HVAC equipment will become more desirable in the coming years with that market more than doubling to $6.4 billion. One of the leading factors they raise is an active stable of energy service companies (ESCO's) and aggressive efficiency policies being enacted everywhere.
OSHA News
GCs and subs may be required to have injury and illness prevention programs for their construction projects under a proposed rule being developed by OSHA. This is being pushed by OSHA's Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health's I2P2 (injury and illness prevention programs) Working Group. Also, as reported before, OSHA is considering revisions to several construction standards under their Standards Improvement Project IV (SPIV). To qualify for SPIV the changes should not impose new costs or new burdens on employers, be technically feasible and improve worker safety.
