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Building Wisconsin Together ^®

Welcome to Construction Business Group's Industry Updates. This monthly e-newsletter will help us communicate the important initiatives that we have underway and relevant updates on issues that impact Wisconsin's construction industry.

Message from Executive Director Robb Kahl

2023-25 Budget Update

JFC Transportation Budget

The Joint Committee on Finance approved a motion that increases transportation resources over the biennium by about a billion dollars. This investment is accomplished with increased federal dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, some new, ongoing revenue to bolster the transportation fund, and more than $550 million in one-time general purpose revenue.

Revenue

Maintain the existing .25% transfer of general fund taxes – $11.6 million over the base level transfer.
Create a new, ongoing electric vehicle (EV) sales tax transfer from the general fund – $94.4 million over the biennium.
Provide $555.5 million in one-time general purpose revenue (GPR) support in fiscal year (FY) 2024.
Increase the current vehicle registration surcharge for EVs from $100 to $175 – $3.3 million.

The motion also moves Mass Transit Operating Assistance from the transportation fund to the general fund, freeing up $226 million in SEG transportation revenue over the biennium and establishing base funding in the general fund.

Bonding

This budget continues the recent trend of historically low bonding levels.

State Highways

The increase in highway program funding is driven by the I-94 East-West project in Milwaukee and the need to replace the Blatnik Bridge, connecting Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota.

The funding for the Southeast Wisconsin Freeway Megaprojects is consistent with the amount provided by the governor and is sufficient to keep the I-94 East-West project moving forward.

The $400 million in the Major Interstate Bridge Program is a significant down payment on Wisconsin’s share of the $1.8 billion replacement of the Blatnik Bridge, a joint project with Minnesota. Wisconsin and Minnesota hope to receive an almost $900 million Large Bridge Project grant, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s competitive Bridge Investment Program. Wisconsin’s level of commitment in the 2023-25 budget may increase the likelihood of a federal grant.

Includes federal plans adopted after enacting the 2021-23 budget.
Includes $7 million SEG in 2023-25 for sound barriers along I-894 between Loomis Road and 76th Street in Greenfield.
$20.0 million in transportation fund-supported, general obligation bonding for design-build projects.
Includes $352.8 million in transportation fund-supported general obligation bonding authority for the Blatnik Bridge, comprising the total amount of bonding in the 2023-25 JFC transportation budget motion.

Highway Maintenance

Highway System Maintenance and Operations: $7.9 million FED/SEG.
Routine Maintenance Activities: $5.7 million SEG.

Local Aids

General Transportation Aids: 2% increase each calendar year – $31.4 million SEG.
Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP): one-time SEG funding of $100 million for LRIP supplemental. Increase LRIP formula and discretionary components $4.0 million SEG, representing a 4% yearly increase.
Local Road Improvement Program – Agricultural Roads (ARIP): $150 million SEG in FY 24.
County Highway O, Richland County - $4.2 million SEG to the Local Road Improvement Program discretionary grant component for County Highway O.
Local Bridge Assistance Program: $45 million annually, $35 million FED and $10 million SEG.
Southern Bridge, Brown County: $50 million SEG to the accelerated local bridge improvement assistance program in FY 24 for the bridge.
Main Street Bridge, Watertown: $2 million SEG to the Local Bridge Assistance Program for the reconstruction of the Main Street bridge.
Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge, Brown County: $1.2 million SEG to the Local Bridge Assistance Program for repairs to the bridge.
Assessment of Local Bridges and Culverts: $12.5 million SEG with DOT developing a program for counties to assess local bridges and culverts under 20 feet in length.
Mass Transit Operating Assistance: 2% upper each calendar year – $2.8 million GPR.
Connecting Highway Aids: 25% increase in the calendar year 2024 distribution and thereafter – $7.5 million SEG.
Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Specialized Assistance: Increase of 111,500 SEG for an 11.6% increase in funding in the first year of the biennium.
Paratransit Aids: 4% increase each year of the biennium - $386,700 SEG.

Rail, Harbors, Airports

Freight Rail Preservation Program: $13 million SEG.
Harbor Assistance Program: $20 million SEG. Also, $10 million in SEG for a fuel pipeline extension from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport to the Port of Milwaukee.
Passenger Rail Operations Assistance: $971,200 SEG in additional funds over the biennium.
Airport Improvement Program: $39 million annually in increased federal funding from the federal infrastructure law, plus $7 million SEG in FY 24 for the Appleton International Airport for improvements as part of the airport’s terminal expansion project.

Other

Pay increase for WisDOT Engineers: 10% increase, $5.4 million FED/SEG.
Utility Relocation Delay Positions: 4 positions to resolve utility relocation delay claims, $829,700 SEG.

Building Wisconsin Together®

Hiring? We Have Candidates For You!

Enrollment in the Destinations Career Academy (DCA) Certified Pre-Apprenticeship program for high school students continues to grow. There were 371 course seats in the Pre-apprenticeship program during the 2022-2023 school year, including 50 high school seniors preparing to graduate. This is more than a 260% increase over last year and a 480% increase over 2020-2021. Of the 50 seniors taking the courses this last school year, 9 completed all four courses, making them very viable candidates for employment. These students are in the following areas: Boscobel, Cashton, Montello, Omro, Osseo-Fairchild and Pecatonica.

Bonus opportunity for contractors working on WisDOT projects: We were successful in recommending to WisDOT that DCA curriculum be an allowable option for HCST certification. This allows high school students taking the DCA coursework to be HCST certified following graduation and eligible for contractor ASP-1 reimbursement.

Not yet ready to commit to full-time employment but want to identify your future talent? Youth apprenticeship is the critical hands-on and paid work experience that links a student’s interest to the career and potential employers. Contractors continue to explore the opportunities to provide the valuable work experience to high school students through Youth Apprenticeship. Some signatory contractors, like The BOLDT Company, have been very successful in their YA programs and this year celebrated with a Signing Day for their 20 Youth Apprentices.

Construction Business Group remains dedicated to capturing the interest of and preparing young people to enter the industry. Now, it is your turn to provide these candidates with a job!

Contact Laura Cataldo for more information on the CBG workforce initiatives.

Industry News

Governor signs ARIP, Shared Revenue bills

A busy week of bill signing for Gov. Tony Evers could mean a busier future for the transportation construction industry.

Evers signed the bipartisan Shared Revenue and Agriculture Road Improvement Program (ARIP) bills into law on back-to-back days during stops in Wausau and Vernon County, respectively.

Sharing is caring

The Shared Revenue law will provide municipalities with 110,000 or fewer people with at least a 20% increase in state funding. Many will see increases of hundreds, if not thousands, of percent via a complicated formula that particularly benefits smaller communities.

The money, generated from 1-percent of the state’s 5-percent sales tax, must be used on things such as road improvements, police and fire departments, and other essential services.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SHARED REVENUE

WTBA worked hard with several partners to ensure the Shared Revenue package also helps aggregate quarry operators continue to operate successfully and don’t face confusing and overlapping regulations in getting approval and permits for sites.

Meanwhile, the new ARIP law dedicates $150 million of one-time money toward fixing local roads, bridges, and culverts that directly service farms and agricultural producers.

The program will award projects based on the number of farms they would impact and posted weight restrictions.

“(This) came from the people that serve in the Assembly and the Senate," Evers told Wisconsin Public Radio. "I'm very proud to sign it, and it's obviously one that's really important. And over time, it's going to make a significant difference in the quality of roads in rural Wisconsin."

A safety crisis: TRIP report shows increase in roadway deaths

Encourage and demand safer driving, build safer roads, and make safer cars.

Those are the top recommendations from an eye-opening report out this week.

“America faces a roadway safety crisis,” TRIP’s June 2023 report concludes. TRIP is a national transportation research non-profit.

The report’s data show traffic deaths were up 19% (42,795 total) nationwide in 2022 compared to 2019. The approximate cost of fatal and serious crashes in 2022 approached $2 trillion.

In Wisconsin, traffic deaths were up 6% during the same timeframe (602 in 2022). That’s despite people driving 3% fewer miles in the Badger State.

The report blames a number of factors, but almost all fall on drivers taking increased risks such as speeding, not wearing seatbelts, and driving under the influence.

Among recommendations to fix the problem, TRIP’s report recommends building safer roads with more roundabouts, expanding highways from two to four lanes when possible, and providing better work zone safety measures.

You can find more studies, data, and a link to the full report HERE.

Biden Administration Investment Tracker

This tool finds and tracks the public and private sector investments generated or supported by three of the Biden administration’s economic laws.

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—two of which received broad bipartisan support—unleashed an unprecedented level of public and private sector investments in America. These investments are rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, bolstering American manufacturing, and cementing U.S. leadership in critical new industries such as clean energy, electric vehicles, and much more. In total, these investments hold the promise of creating, supporting and reshoring millions of well-paying jobs.

This tool catalogs more than 35,000 of these investments that users can filter by category, state, congressional district, amount, and/or keyword. The tracker is a valuable and growing resource for anyone who wants to learn how these laws are being put to work in their counties, in their states, and across the country.

Construction Business Group | 608-240-4170 | www.cbgwi.com