February First Word

The First Word

3/1/2023

Greetings ACEC OKLAHOMA members! We've had an active February with some exciting engagement opportunities for our members.

In February we hosted our quarterly meeting with Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Haste. Our meeting took place in his home district in Broken Arrow and was well attended. Additionally, we were proud to honor our Engineering Excellence submissions. Congratulations to Garver on an innovative and deserving project!

I am pleased to announce we had our first project management bootcamp in Tulsa presented by PSMJ. Thank you to the many firms who participated and the 24 participants who gained valuable insight and knowledge. Additionally, thank you Adam West and Benham for securing a venue for our attendees in Downtown Tulsa. Due to demand, we intend to have PSMJ back in the near future to service the Oklahoma City Metro.

The legislative session has entered it first committee deadline week where bills must pass the committee of origin before it is heard on the floor. We will have an update on legislation coming soon.

Finally, we have some important action alerts related to ACEC! Please check the section below for more details.

ACEC National Alerts: Your Help Needed!

Please be advised of multiple upcoming issues related to the federal government.

Take Action on R&D Amortization!

This is a follow up to a previous action alert. ACEC National is calling on us to contact our federal delegation to cosponsor bipartisan legislation repealing Section 174 R&D amortization requirement.

The House bill will be introduced in February by Congressmen Ron Estes (R-KS) and John Larson (D-CT) and the Senate bill by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN). The congressional staff have asked us to help build cosponsors for the legislation before they introduce so they can start with a strong show of support. You can access the action alert system here.

FYI: From Matt Reiffer at ACEC National Related to State DOT Funding

I want to alert you to an issue involving an accounting mix-up at the U.S. Department of Transportation that may cause problems for State DOT funding down the road. AASHTO has an informative article on it, which you can access here and which I've pasted, below.

Essentially, two different DOT accounting systems show a $3.5 billion discrepancy in the amount of federal spending that the states can access. FHWA officials and external auditors are working to identify the root cause and determine potential fixes.

Right now, it is our expectation that the issue should not impact the total amount of highway funding that the states are able spend. However, it may disproportionately impact certain programs that make up the majority of the funding that would be rescinded, depending on how the adjustment is ultimately calculated and resolved.

Since you may hear about this issue in your conversations with your State DOTs, we wanted to be sure you were aware. If you get questions or comments about the situation, please let us know. We met today with the staff for one of the Senate committees of jurisdiction, and they are closely monitoring the issue and the potential need for a legislative fix.

If you want to do a much deeper dive into the background and status, the Eno Center for Transportation has a very detailed and informative piece here.

2023 Leadership for Engineers

Back by Popular Demand! Registration for Leadership for Engineers 2023 is now open! You can complete and application here and submit it to info@acecok.org. We will accept the first twenty applicants and the cost is $1,995.

Sessions will take place on the following dates:

Aug 21-22 Tulsa
Sep 14-15 Stillwater
Oct 5-6 OKC

We have already had multiple registrants. Act fast to reserve one of the 18 spots for 2023!

ACEC national members are eligible to join the specialty groups known as ACEC Coalitions — dedicated communities of ACEC members organized by practice area or firm size. The coalitions provide a range of practical, day-to-day resources to enhance the operation of your business and make it more profitable by sharing knowledge and best practices with peers in your area of specialization.

Meshek & Associate's Brandon Claborn, Chair of the Small Firm Coalition, joined the podcast at the 2022 Fall Conference to talk about his journey as a Small Firm Coalition member, retaining talent, tailored educational opportunities, networking, and more.

If you're a member of the Business Insurance Trust, they will cover the cost to join the Small Firm Coalition. To listen to Brandon and many other resourceful subjects click here: ACEC Coalitions Podcasts

Your PAC Dollars at Work!

This month we were pleased to host Congresswoman Bice for a fundraiser. The event was well attended by our membership. Thanks to our support of the federal PAC, ACEC National sent us a $1,000 contribution to support Congresswoman Bice.

Special thanks to EST for hosting the event and all of our members who took time to attend and contribute. We had a great discussion with Congresswoman Bice who has been a strong supporter of our industry.

Oklahoma's state and local PAC donations have been strong in the past year thanks to you. We need to keep up the momentum and you can do so by contributing at the link below. Your support is critical to ensuring our industry has a strong voice at the national and state level.

You can make a contribution quickly and securely here.