Lansing, MI - Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) April 23 endorsed State Senator John Moolenaar (R-Midland) for Michigan's 4th Congressional District. The announcement comes early in the primary season as Sen. Moolenaar seeks to fill the vacant U.S. House seat.

"Our region needs John Moolenaar fighting for us in Washington, D.C.," said Brian Stadler, President and CEO of Saginaw-based Wolgast Construction and chairman of the ABC of Michigan Board of Directors. "His record of producing results in Lansing can be counted on to roll back job-killing regulations like Obamacare and champion reforms that create jobs and grow our economy."

"Moolenaar's pro-growth record makes him the best candidate for the job," said Jimmy E. Greene, president of the ABC Greater Michigan Chapter headquartered in Midland. "He has an impressive record on job creation and his experience as a champion of free enterprise in Michigan means John will hit the ground running to reform government and stand up for Michigan taxpayers."

Moolenaar, a lifelong resident of Midland, has represented the region since 2003 in the State House and Senate. ABC previously recognized him as "Michigan Lawmaker of the Year," citing his commitment to free enterprise and creating a favorable business climate in the state. He has worked tirelessly at the state level to balance Michigan's budget, lower taxes, provide relief from regulatory overreach, allow for greater competition and support worker freedom.

"Michigan families are better off thanks to John Moolenaar and we stand proudly behind him in the Republican primary election," said Chris Fisher, ABC of Michigan president. "We look forward to seeing his proven experience in balancing budgets, fighting for jobs, and supporting fair competition put to use in Congress to benefit and grow our state and national economy."

As ABC of Michigan plans for the future, we need your help. 

It's important to ABC to know your business needs and concerns, the reason you're a member of ABC, and what you're seeing in the economy. To ensure that we're meeting your expectations and providing you with the best representation at the state Capitol and beyond, please take a few moments to complete a short survey.

Completing the survey should take 5 minutes or less and will give us direction as we look ahead to the future of ABC of Michigan.  Please complete the survey by clicking the link below or pasting the link into your browser. 

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If you prefer, you may contact the ABC of Michigan office (phone: 517-853-2545)  to receive the survey via fax or mail. The survey will be available until May 17.

If you have any questions or need additional information please contact the ABC of Michigan office using the contact information to the left. We value your input.  Thank you for your participation.

The following MIOSHA standards were amended as of the effective date listed.

CS Part 6 Personal Protective Equipment is amended, effective March 17, 2014. These rules give direction to employers and employees on protecting Michigan employees from health and safety hazards in the workplace when using personal protective equipment. A copy of the revised standard is available on MIOSHA Standards website.

CS Part 91 Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals is amended, effective February 25, 2014. These rules protect Michigan employees from health and safety hazards in the workplace related to the manufacturing, keeping, having, storing, selling, transporting, and using of explosives, blasting agents, and pyrotechnics.

On March 26, 2012, OSHA revised the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard §1926.64. MIOSHA CS Part 91 was revised to adopt the revised federal regulation in order to be as effective as the current Federal OSHA standards.

The MIOSHA Training Schedule is also available on the MIOSHA website.

Rep. Phil Potvin, R-Cadillac, along with co-sponsors Rep. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City and Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, have a package of bills to regulate and allow the safe reuse of industrial byproducts and scrap materials before the state House.

House Bills 5400-5402, approved by the House Natural Resources Committee, will allow for the use of byproduct and scraps such as wood, sand and paper waste to be used as a component of new products and other secondary applications. The bills allow for these materials to be safely used for "secondary purposes" like the construction of roads, filler material, and soil improvement. Read more here.

State Rep. Mike McCready, R-Bloomfield Hills, April 17 introduced House Bill 5452 as part of a package to increase annual road funding revenue, by doubling fees for oversized truck permits. McCready stated that the fee increase would create an additional $4.5 million in revenue. 

Large-scale road projects in Michigan will be guaranteed to last under legislation introduced by state Rep. Dan Lauwers that provides greater transparency and communication about the expected life span for new road and bridge improvements.

House Bill 5460 requires that warranties be secured from contractors for all state and local road projects costing at least $5 million and for all new construction or reconstruction projects. Currently, the state is only encouraged to secure warranties when possible.

The bill requires all projects to have warranties for an appropriate length of time.  Any road project costing more than $5 million would have to have at least a minimum warranty of five years.  Lauwers said this will ensure that state and local road agencies are clear with the public regarding what type of work is being done and how long that work will last.