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2011 PLATINUM SPONSORS
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2011 Gold Sponsors NEW CONCEPTS TOM GROWNEY EQUIPMENT 2011 Silver Sponsor HIGHWAY SUPPLY CALVERT MENICUCCI
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From the Executive Director's Desk
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Hello Members!
Well, 2011 is on the homestretch and before you know it, we'll be in January 2012 wondering how 2011 went by so fast! October marks a significant process for NUCA of NM since you'll be receiving ballots for the 2012 NUCA of NM Board of Directors.
There is also a membership meeting scheduled for October 20th at the Albuquerque Country Club from 11:30am - 1:00pm with Noreen Scott, Economist, as the guest speaker. This is the last regularly scheduled membership meeting this year, but mark your calendars for December 8th, 2011 and join us for the End of Year Social and Silent Auction.
Also in October, NUCA of NM will be involved in the public comment on the Pipeline Safety Bureau's (PSB) proposed rule making process in regards to white lining. As you aware, NUCA of NM supported HB 500 which required contractors to use 811 to report damages in an effort to produce valuable data to be used to enhance damage prevention efforts and best practices in NM; however, NUCA of NM is not in favor of mandatory white lining which was added during the rules process. If you're interested in providing information on how mandatory white lining will affect your company, or if you would like to speak at the public hearing in front of the Public Regulation Commission, please contact me ASAP at 505 888 0752.
The New Mexico Regional Common Ground Alliance held its 5th Annual EXPO in Farmington New Mexico in September. The focus of the EXPO as well as the NMRCGA is damage prevention. This was the biggest EXPO ever with around 350 in attendance and included a golf tournament, fishing derby, Staking University Locating Certification, Excavation Law, PHMSA classes, wide area locates, Managing a Culturally Diverse Work Force, and several other educational sessions, keynotes speakers including PRC Commissioners, Bob Kipp, Jon Jacobi and Eric Giguere. The EXPO is scheduled for 2013 in Albuquerque NM! More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to the date.
NUCA Annual Convention 2012
March 12-16, Fort Worth, TX at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel
Join NUCA in "the city of culture and cowboys," for the only Annual Convention that's tailor-made for contractors, manufacturers and suppliers in the utility construction and excavation industry.
For more information, contact Bonnie Williams at 703-358-9300 orbonnie@nuca.com
Hope to see you soon!
Jane Jernigan
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October 2011 Dates
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- 10/11 - 9am Membership Committee
- 10/11 - CICA 10:30am
- 10/12 - 8am Safety Committee
- 10/13 - 8am Planning Committee
- 10/13 - 3pm Education Committee
- 10/19 - Associate Network
- 10/15 - 2012 Ballots Release
- 10/19 - Associate Network (details soon in your inbox)
- 10/20 - Membership Meeting
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 Corporate Sponsor- Highway Supply LLC
The NUCA of NM annual golf tournament, Last Ditch Open was a great time had by all and was a success for NUCA of NM and NUCA of NM's Scholarship programs also. Here's a breakdown of the results:
1st Place Team: Golden Equipment
MC Joe Menicucci presents Steve Clark, Highway Supply LLC with 2011 Corporate Sponsor Plaque.
7th Place Team: AUI Inc. Alan Wharton's Team 13th Place Team: Harrington Industrial Plastics Last Place Team: Contech Construction Products
Closest to the Pin Men: Brandon Banes Closest to the Pin Women: Jen Garipi Longest Drive Men: Robert Ivans Longest Drive Women: Jen Garipi
Last Ditch Open wouldn't be a success without players and sponsors!. Thanks to everyone who came out to play, and thank you sponsors:
 Shirt Sponsor
 On Course Beverage
 Golf Balls
Corporate Sponsor
Corporate Sponsor
 Corporate Sponsor
 Corporate Sponsor
HOLE SPONSORS
Adobe Truck & Equipment
AUI Inc.
Harrington Industrial Plastics (Morning Coffee!)
New Concepts, Inc.
Pauley Construction
PCL Construction New Mexico
Reynolds Southwest Inc.
Rinker Materials
Sundance Mechanical & Utility
TLC Plumbing & Utility
Tom Growney Equipment
Volvo Rents
Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA
Door Prizes Donations 3M Franks Supply Adobe Truck & Equipment Pauley Construction Cohills Building W.R. Meadows US Spec Alert Tile Alertcast Golf Mart NUCA of NM Thank you Last Ditch Open Planning Committee: Jesse May, PCL Construction New Mexico Steve Clark, Highway Supply LLC Scott Cadwell, Harrington Industrial Plastics Joe Menicucci, Contech Construction Products Sheila Hoover, Zia Concrete Supply Jenice Gallegos, AMEC Brian Baughman, TLC Plumbing & Utility Sam Baca, AUI Inc. Mike Rocco, AUI Inc. Volunteers: Danny Jernigan Bernadette Urban Leana Martinez Thank you Joe Menicucci, Contech Construction Products, for being the MC for the tournament. Join us next year! |
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Special Session Results
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While is may have seemed to most that not a lot got done during the special session in September, there was a couple of pieces of significant legislation that will affect the construction industry in NM:
SB 1 Procurement Preferences
Click Here for a Synopsis of the original bill & Senate Floor Amendment
Click Here to read SB1
Click Here to read Amendments
SB 10 Capital Outlay
This bill was a holdover from the 60-day session from earlier this year. It never got heard on the Senate floor due to a Republican filibuster.In this special session, Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Carlos Cisneros (D-Questa), passed through the Senate 40-1 and passed through the House 68-1 on Saturday afternoon just before the session adjourned. The outlay bill totaled more than $86 million in spending projects that lawmakers are eager to dispense to their respective districts. The govenor asked for $212 million, but a last-minute amendment from Republicans to restore the $212 million to the bill was tabled on the House floor after some heated debate.
Click Here for a Synopsis of the Bill
Click Here For a list of projects included in this capital outlay
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NUCA Legislative Report
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GOP Leaders Show Interest in Transportation Investment
Last week saw several developments related to reauthorization of the Nation's surface transportation
program. House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.)
indicated his intention to develop a six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that
would preserve current federal investments in highway and public transportation infrastructure.
This is significant because Chairman Mica had previously introduced a six-year reauthorization
proposal over the summer that would have authorized $230 billion over six years, which would
have meant a more than 30 percent reduction from current investment levels. The chairman's
latest move reflects a shift from previous demands from House Republican leaders that highway
reauthorization must be consistent with existing Highway Trust Fund (HTF) revenues, which have
not met investment levels needed for America's roads, bridges and highways. The House recently
approved a six-month transportation extension that maintains current authorization levels, and
introduced a "continuing resolution" to maintain FY2011 highway and transit investment levels
while debate continues over a long-term reauthorization measure.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW)
Committee continues to push for a two-year transportation bill that would include current highway
and transit authorization levels and adjust them for inflation. Leaders of the Senate Finance
Committee are seeking support for a $12 billion offset package necessary to fund the EPW plan.
As always, the reauthorization process in both the House and Senate will come down to finding a
way to pay for future surface transportation investments.
LightSquared Drama Enters Presidential Campaign
The effort to save Global Positioning System (GPS) technology as we know it continues, and the issue is
increasingly growing in the national media, on Capitol Hill, and now even on the presidential campaign trail.
As a reminder, NUCA is an active member of the Coalition to Save Our GPS, a broad alliance of industry
groups working to block efforts by LightSquared, Inc. to launch a new wireless broadband service because of its direct interference with existing GPS frequencies. At the beginning of this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conditionally allowed LightSquared to proceed, pending required testing to determine the extent of the impacts that LightSquared would cause on GPS systems. Testing to date has only confirmed this threat, despite repeated claims to have found "solutions" to the problem. Because interference with GPS would obstruct operations in construction and countless other industries as well as activities conducted by several federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Interior, Transportation, Energy and many others, opposition to LightSquared's proposal is broad and deep. In fact, LightSquared supporters are hard to find, unless you look within the Obama Administration.
Pursuing a campaign promise to significantly expand broadband access across America, the FCC has
supported the LightSquared proposal, contingent on the company's ability to demonstrate that deployment
of its new broadband network will not interfere with existing GPS devices. House Member and presidential
candidate Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) attacked the president in an open letter on her website last week,
stating "[s]adly, I believe President Obama is willing to overlook the risks the LightSquared 4G network could pose to the American people and national security because he would rather grant political favors to two of his supporters involved in this situation," referring to the FCC Commissioner and a well known billionaire
and top LightSquared investor. "Our national leadership should be ashamed. The support of LightSquared
is crony capitalism at its worst," she wrote. Rep. Bachmann's letter is only the latest bomb thrown at the
LightSquared effort. NUCA and the Coalition to Save Our GPS will continue to oppose the proposed network
until all interference with GPS is appropriately addressed and disposed of.
Second House Pipeline Measure Approved by Committee
Last week the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee unanimously passed its version of pipeline
safety reauthorization legislation. The bill (HR 2937) includes safety provisions related to allowable operating
pressures and depth requirements for pipelines that run under waterways that are in direct response to recent
high-profile gas and hazardous liquid pipeline incidents in Montana and California. E&C Committee leaders
must work with the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, which approved its pipeline safety
measure (HR 2845) over the summer. The T&I bill would raise civil penalties for major violations to $175,000
per incident, up from the current $100,000 limit but considerably less than the $250,000 figure included in
the E&C bill. An important provision of interest to NUCA would require states and municipalities, as well
as contractors working for them, to participate in the damage prevention notification process in order to be
eligible for state damage prevention grants.
"I believe that we have come up with a practical path forward for improved pipeline safety," said committee
Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.). "This bill hits close to home for us and for other members who have seen
pipeline safety failures in their communities. We can hold those responsible accountable in case a spill ever
occurs, but more important than that, we are taking steps to prevent pipelines from being compromised
so spills do not occur." Once the two House bills are reconciled, the bill will move into conference where
differences between the House and Senate legislation will be hammered out before a final bill is voted on in
both chambers and sent to the president for his signature.
Reprinted with permission from the National Utility Contractor Association.
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NUCA of NM
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