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MALSCE Government Affairs Update – April/May 2022

Government Affairs activities and news for MALSCE members

by Abbie Goodman, MALSCE Chief of External Affairs

MALSCE Government Affairs Update – April/May 2022

Important to Note:

  • Proposed Department of Labor Rule to Update the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations

  • MALSCE-back Dig Safe bill passes in House; House Transportation includes Dig Safe language in Infrastructure bill – see below

  • Help Advocate for our Issues through Engineers and Land Surveyors Virtually at the State House – see below

  • Board of Registration adds FAQ to Clarify Key Question: Can a Professional Engineer (PE) certify a site plan or an as-built plan which references and/or utilizes a property line determination that was previously completed by a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS)? – see below

Engineers and Land Surveyors Virtually at the State House and in your Community

Sign up here by June 1: https://www.engineers.org/about/news/engineers-and-land-surveyors-virtually-at-the-state-house-register-by-april-29-4181

  • We will pair you with other constituents from your State Senate or State Representative districts to advocate for issues important to MALSCE.
  • One positive step forward: Dig Safe language in House Transportation version of Bond Bill, as we hoped: see news story at end of this report
  • Grassroots Effort on Wipes Bill underway – please see Legislative Alert I sent yesterday
  • Issue briefing sheets are here; will update Dig Safe and Transportation for next steps: https://www.engineers.org/about/news/engineers-and-land-surveyors-virtually-at-the-state-house-register-by-april-29-4181
    • Dig Safe
    • Transportation
    • Water Infrastructure
    • Maximizing Private Sector Innovation
    • Wipes labeling support

Ongoing: Workforce Participation Goal Requirements

We are tracking issues related reporting for design professionals to Workforce Participation Goal Requirements under M.G.L. c. 149, § 44A(2)(G), which states that all contracts by a state agency or state-assisted contracts for design, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance, or repair must contain workforce participation goals for minorities and women.

Let Abbie Goodman know if you are seeing language related to this reporting in your contracts.

  • DCAMM recently issued contact language on this issue that will start appearing in contracts:

7.20.4. Minority and Women Workforce Participation and Reporting. If the Awarding Authority is a state agency then pursuant to M.G.L. c. 7C, s. 6 and M.G.L. c. 149, s. 44A(1)(G) the Designer shall make every effort with a goal of increasing opportunities for minority and women design professionals to provide services under this contract. The Designer shall provide monthly reports of the gender and race/ethnicity of employees engaged in work under this contract in the form and format required by DCAMM, including, but not limited to electronic reporting.

  • Next steps:     
    • We are working for consistency and clarity on this reporting process with DCAMM leadership. We understand that design professionals will be asked to provide reports to DCAMM on an excel report submitted monthly. Our hope would be to work with other agencies and municipalities to use the same process and excel form. 

Division of Occupational Licensure: Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors

Next Board of Registration meeting: May 26, 2022, on Teams. The Board of Registration plans to continue virtual meetings for now, as the Governor and Legislature have extended the law allowing virtual public meetings like this to continue through July 15, 2022. To connect to the meeting, go to this page and scroll down to the meeting listing  to download the agenda with connection instructions.

As of 12/21/21, the PE and PLS  Board does not have an Executive Director so Esther Laine, Deputy Commissioner of Boards, is filling in until the position is filled.

April 28, 2022, Meeting Summary: these are not minutes, but a summary of what I heard.

Chair Paul Tyrell opened the meeting at 9:05 AM

  • The Board reviewed the minutes of the March 24 Open Meeting.
  • The next Meeting Date will be May 26, 2022.
  • The Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors  approved an advisory (attached here as draft only) to clarify which common tasks are properly performed by performed by Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Engineers qualified in the Branch of civil engineering (“PE (Civil)”) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The advisory has not yet been posted on their website.
  • PCS corrupted files:  There is an issue with some recent files provided by PCS, the exam service, which is causing delays in licensing. The Division of Occupational Licensure is working to get the files fixed.
  • No new information: LS – JP Exam Review / Subcommittee is sending a message to PCS about next steps in converting the exam to computer-based testing (CBT) under their current contract. Jennifer Williams of PCS is reviewing the current contract. Francine Rananto of PCS is looking at what is needed to convert to CBT.
  • Application Review Parameters: no report
  • Board Counsel Legal Report from Jenna Hentoff,
    • Local Registered Engineering Licenses – Swansea – waiting for further review from Clinton
    • Status update on proposed Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) regulations- still working on this
    • Joint Policy on Professional Practice – still working on this.
  • Executive Director Report (given by Eric Funk for Esther Laine, Deputy Commissioner of Boards who is acting as Executive Director while a search is underway:
    • NCEES Enforcement Exchange: three items of self-reporting

March 24, 2022, Meeting Summary: these are not minutes, but a summary of what I heard.

  • Chair Paul Tyrell opened the meeting at 9:04AM and did a safety moment about using caution when shoveling snow.
  • The Board reviewed the minutes of the March 24 Open Meeting.
  • The next Meeting Date will be April 28, 2022.
  • April 2022 JP Exam will be on April 21, 2022, at a location in Boston being confirmed by PCS
  • LS – JP Exam Review / Subcommittee is sending a message to PCS about next steps in converting the exam to computer-based testing (CBT) under their current contract. Jennifer Williams of PCS is reviewing the current contract. Francine Rananto of PCS is looking at what is needed to convert to CBT.
  • Application Review Parameters: no report
  • FAQ Regarding Certification of Site Plan Revision: the board discussed a draft of this document and approved the draft. plans to meet again to clarify several issues before bringing it back to the board at the April meeting.

Noted at beginning of report: As of 4/4/22, the FAQ section of the Division of Occupational Licensure/Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors website is now updated to reflect the new answer the Board approved at its March Board meeting:

  • Local Registered Engineering Licenses – Swansea – waiting for further review from Clinton
  • Status update on proposed Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) regulations- still working on this
  • Joint Policy on Professional Practice – still working on this.
  • Executive Director Report (given by Eric Funk for Esther Laine, Deputy Commissioner of Boards who is acting as Executive Director while a search is underway:
  • NCEES Enforcement Exchange: three items of self-reporting

Previously reported Background on Town of Swansea Issue (scroll down in November MALSCE Report)

– The public meeting ended at 10:30 AM

Legislature and related

5/6/22 House Reporting date extended to May 23, 2022.  On May 16, I learned that the House Transportation Committee planned to include our Dig Safe language in the Infrastructure Bond bill. We’ve be advocating for this aggressively! See attached: Committee Report and Summary. Bill is expected to be posted with new number by May 23.

H.3297,  An Act supporting safe excavation practices https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H3297  has been enacted in the House.

  • Bill passed by House on 3/30/22, is still in Senate Ways and Means
  • Funding: $200 million for the Chapter 90 program and another $150 million for other municipal transportation efforts
  • This bill, filed annually, authorizes the Commonwealth to borrow $200 million to fund improvements to municipally-owned roads and bridges through Chapter 90 grants.
  • FY 2023 State Budget: Governor Charlie Baker released his FY2023 budget in late January 2022. Massachusetts House passed its version on 4/27/22. The Senate is to begin debate on its version of the budget on May 24, and later a compromise version to be sent to the Governor, ideally before June 30, 2022.

From State House News Service:

Committee Bulks Up Baker’s Infrastructure Bill

Bottom Line Grows, But No Sign Of East-West Rail Authority

Chris Lisinski, State House News Service, 5/16/22 4:43 PM

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 16, 2022…..The $9.75 billion infrastructure bond bill that cleared the Transportation Committee does not include any language creating a new rail authority to oversee a passenger train extension to western Massachusetts, bucking a prediction Congressman Richard Neal made last month when he and state officials announced a historic agreement to advance the project.

Lawmakers on the panel packed $47 million in additional spending on top of the bottom line in the bill Gov. Charlie Baker filed (H 4561), calling for increased investments in regional transit authorities and $25 million in grants aimed at reducing roadway congestion by promoting carpooling and running shuttles.

But neither the text of the redraft nor a bullet-point summary a committee aide produced make any reference to East-West Rail or launching a new authority.

In April, Neal and Gov. Charlie Baker announced they had agreed on a path forward to extend passenger rail from Worcester — the current western terminus for the MBTA’s commuter rail network — to Springfield and Pittsfield. Neal said the plans hinged on standing up a new rail authority in the pending infrastructure bond bill as well as seeking a dedicated funding stream tied to the federal infrastructure law steering billions to Massachusetts.

Lawmakers could tack on language creating the authority during the bill’s journey through the House and Senate.

The Boston-based MBTA current oversees the core bus and subway systems as well as a commuter rail network that runs north, south and west of the city.

The panel’s version of Baker’s infrastructure bond bill also includes language that would require the MBTA to provide “adequate parking alternatives” for commuters whenever the agency is demolishing or reconstructing a garage or lot it controls. It additionally pursues reforms to the state’s “Dig Safe” laws that would “ensure all underground utilities are properly accounted for at all relevant stages of a project that will require excavation,” according to the committee’s summary.

Otherwise, the legislation that cleared its first committee hurdle mostly aligns with the measure Baker proposed in March to maximize the impact of a new federal infrastructure law.

The bottom line represents a combination of federal and state spending. According to the committee summary, the bill calls for using $3.5 billion to compete for federal grants as well as steering $2.8 billion to federal highway projects, $1.35 billion to state roads, bridges and routes, $1.38 billion to MBTA modernization, and $145 million to multi-modal projects and shared use paths.

Other areas of funding include $114 million for aeronautics safety and modernization, $200 million for state emissions reduction programs including expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, $82 million for an industrial rail access program and $64.9 million for regional transit authorities.

Like Baker’s bill, the committee redraft includes language giving the Department of Transportation authority to use flashing blue lights as a safety measure in work zones where law enforcement personnel are on site. It would also empower MassDOT to deploy “A+B bidding” that considers both project cost and the amount of time required.

Legislative leaders had not yet assigned the Transportation Committee’s version of the bill a new number nor sent it forward to the next committee for review as of Monday afternoon.

“The way this works is the state authorizes, the state moves forward, the state spends, and the federal government reimburses,” Baker said when he outlined his bill in March. “It’s critical for us to get this legislation passed as quickly as we possibly can, which will then enable us to move forward aggressively putting this $9.7 billion series of projects to work throughout Massachusetts over the next five years.”

Once it reaches the floor, lawmakers will likely push to pack additional spending and earmarks for their districts into the proposal.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Monday that the infrastructure bill will not feature during formal sessions scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

-END-
05/16/2022