Earlier this month, Reese Henderson and David Rottmann, along with delegates from each of the Florida Chapters of the Associated Builders & Contractors, attended the 2011 ABC of Florida's Tallahassee Legislative Conference to advocate key issues on behalf of the construction industry during the 2011 session.  The  March 22nd conference gave ABC members the opportunity to lobby our state representatives and state senators in favor of the following ABC legislative priorities:

HB 923 / SB 1352 - "Open Competition Act" - this bill seeks to ban project labor agreements (PLAs) from public construction projects funded wholly or partially by state funds.  PLAs are becoming more common in Florida.  This bill will help achieve the goal of creating more jobs for Florida's Merit Shop contractors, rather than out-of-state union contractors.

HB 7089 / SB 2040 - Immigration and "Safe Harbor" - some form of a bill mandating the use of the federal "e-verify" system is expected to pass this session.  These bills include "safe harbor" language to protect employers from wrongful termination lawsuits when they comply with federal regulations governing the use of "e-verify".

HB 1021 / SB 830 - "Paycheck Protection" - this bill would prohibit the use of union dues for political contributions or other political activities without the employee's express written authorization, which must be renewed annually.

For more information about these and other Key Legislative Issues, visit ABC's website at www.abcflorida.com.