The Flasher Barricade Association has been serving the traffic control industry since 1962. See a full list of members.

NEWS OF INTEREST

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR

F.B.A THIS NOVEMBER 6-8, 2014

IN LONG BEACH, CA

Our next meeting will be a board of directors teleconference in August. We'll be setting the agenda for positive changes to our November meeting. This year we're moving to Long Beach and events will include our Memorial Golf Tournament, Meetings, Vendor Event, and Special Guest Speaker from Caltrans. Be sure to join us!

We'll forward more information soon. Stay tuned!

MEETING INFORMATION TO FOLLOW SOON.

HAVE A QUESTION? EMAIL US AT: info@flasherbarricade.com

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Cal OSHA Moves Forward On Changes to Heat Regulations

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

Is Your Business Money Safe in Your Bank???

The Legislature is on summer recess until August 4th. Thankfully, things are quiet over the next few weeks!

Update on Proposed Heat Regulations
I reported several weeks ago that Cal OSHA has proposed major changes to the existing heat regulations which have been in effect for almost 10 years.

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Contractor Public Works Registration Fee Program Starts
July 1, 2014

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

Reminder of Other Laws and Employer Requirements Taking Effect Today
Legislature Readies for Summer Recess
President Puts Heat on Congress to Address Highway Trust Fund
CARB Approves Changes to Truck and Bus Regs
Draft Proposition 65 Warning Regulations Will Increase Uncertainty, Litigation

Public Works Registration For ALL Contractors Starts Today
Take heed! As I have written numerous times over the past several months, ANY contractor wishing to even bid on ANY type of public work contract in California MUST go online, pay your annual $300 fee and register starting today, July 1, 2014. While the final requirement won’t fully take effect until next March 1, 2015, registering now will ensure you are covered. Following is the official announcement from the Department of Industrial Relations which includes the address to their website.

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Reminder, DIR’s Public Works Registration and Fee Starts July 1, 2014

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

Governor to Sign Budget Today as Next Deadline Fast Approaching
Bills Set For Next Week
Bi-Partisan Members of U.S. Senate Propose Federal Gas Tax
SBA Increases Small Business Size Standards for Construction
California Does Poorly in Small Business Friendliness Survey

ALL Primes and Subcontractors Must Register to Perform Public Work
As follow up to my mid-May article about the Department of Industrial Relations new registration fee for ALL public works projects statewide, the authorization for this new program is contained in the budget as a trailer bill that is on the governor’s desk which he will sign momentarily. EVERY contractor, whether you are a prime or a sub, WILL be required to pay the annual $300 fee IF you want to bid on or perform public work projects anywhere in California. The $300 fee (paid by credit card) and registration program will be on DIR’s website starting on July 1, 2014; however, the requirement that ONLY registered contractors and subcontractors will be allowed to be listed on bids takes effect March 1, 2015. The requirement that ONLY registered contractors and subcontractors will be allowed to perform work takes effect April 1, 2015.

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Looking at a New Fee to Replace the Obsolete Gas Tax

By Loren Kaye
President of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education

California’s roads and highways are losing their financial base.

The primary tax source to maintain and improve our state’s transportation infrastructure has been eroding for many years. The excise tax paid on each gallon of gasoline does not keep up with inflation, and steadily improving vehicle mileage means fewer taxable gallons of gasoline are purchased for the thousands of miles each car and truck travel on the road.
The challenge to our transportation financing model from improved fuel economy is about to get much worse. Californians are buying thousands of vehicles that use little or no gasoline but still travel the highways as much as gas guzzling taxpayers.

The eroding tax base for road and highway upkeep is nearly unsustainable.

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We’ve Survived the Primaries!

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

Democratic supermajority in spotlight after California primary
New Leader In the Senate to be Elected Next Week
Bills Set for Next Week Affecting Construction
Another Article on the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Concept

Congratulations, we survived the primaries! Thankfully, we all will have our televisions back until after Labor Day when our screens will once again be filled with interminable distortions, half-truths and outright lie’s that candidates and campaigns for and against ballot measure foist upon their opposition. It’s scary when you think that in the name of the First Amendment, campaigns ‘get away’ with distorting the truth as badly as they often do! Certainly the opposition could be sued in the courts for lies, but the question always becomes, why bother after the fact in an election; and, what are the costs and the ultimate benefits? Indeed for the victors, why would they bother, while for the losers, how could you truly measure the effect that the negative ad had on the campaign with enough certainty to convince a jury?

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Bills Keep Moving Through Legislature As New Heat Regs Proposed

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

DOSH Proposes Big Changes to Heat Regs

Bills Continue to Move
With the fate of myriad bills on suspense now decided by the respective legislative Appropriations Committees of each house, the final week of May is reserved for the annual ‘showdown at the OK Corral’ on the floor of each house. Today, Friday, May 30th is the deadline for all bills to pass out of their house of origin by close of business or they die; however all actions were completed yesterday, so today’s deadline is rendered moot.

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Suspense Calendars Heard – Report on Fate of Bills Tracked

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

Dan Walters on Prop. 42

Outcome of Suspense Calendars
Thankfully, my surgery of last Thursday is behind me and I have recovered well enough to move by crutches into my office to catch up on everything. In terms of the outcome of my surgery, the worst case scenario occurred when the doctor opened up my left foot. My tendon that connects and controls part of the movement of my foot had snapped completely and the tendon was balled-up in my leg. Besides having to dig the ‘balled-up’ portion out, this also meant that the doctor had no choice but to attach the lower part of the tendon to my other tendon that is still functional. It also means that I will be facing several months of physical therapy to trick my brain into learning how to walk again on the bad foot.

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Cal/OSHA Targets Construction Sites for Safety Rules Compliance

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

May 27, 2014

Oakland—Cal/OSHA is focusing on safety compliance at construction sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, following a recent series of fatal accidents in the region. Investigators have been deployed to inspect construction worksites throughout the coming weeks to determine whether adequate measures have been taken to identify safety hazards and prevent injury.

“Construction sites present special challenges to worker safety,” said Christine Baker, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). “Employers need to have strong safety programs in place and train their workers to follow procedures.” Cal/OSHA is a division of DIR.

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Deadlines Keep Legislative Process Moving

BY: Phil Vermeulen, Legislative Advocate

Also In This Update

Final Public Works Fee Language – Fee Starts July 1, 2014
Overview of Measures on June Ballo

Deadlines Keep Legislative Process Moving

As I have reported in the past, what keeps the Legislature moving (literally!) are myriad deadlines. As you may recall, the deadline for all bills to pass out of their house of origin’s policy committees was May 7th. If they didn’t, they died. The next deadline fast approaching is May 23rd, which is the deadline for bills to be approved in their respective house’s appropriation committee (if they have a cost to government, they must pass through the appropriations committee). The next deadline thereafter is May 30th, which is the deadline for all bills to pass out of their house of origin. The process then starts anew in the opposite house; i.e. Senate bills must pass move through the Assembly and vice versa. This process then moves throughout the summer and concludes at midnight on August 31. All bills must be on the governor’s desk by then or die.

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