NASBP Focal Point – January 31, 2023

Federal Report

FAA Reauthorization–a priority for the T&I Chair —Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I), Sam Graves (R-MO), fulfilled a promise he made late last year to modernize the Federal Aviation Administration. On January 25, the House passed three bills, H.R. 346, the NOTAM Improvement Act of 2023 (Stauber-R-MN), to establish an FAA taskforce to determine what improvements are necessary to the (Notice to Air Mission) NOTAM system, which alerts pilots of potential hazards during flight. On January 11, the NOTAM system failed resulting in the grounding of all commercial aircrafts flying in the U.S. The House also approved H.R. 255, the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act, to assist federal agencies with streamlining and eliminating overlap to assist victims of disaster, and H.R. 259, the Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act, to create a public, central online repository for disaster assistance funding. Chairman Graves has first hand knowledge of the importance of revitalizing the FAA as described in a press release that “as a professional pilot, I use the NOTAM system on a regular basis, and I know firsthand the importance of ensuring that it’s reliable and functional.”

House T&I hearing –-The first hearing of the T&I Committee under the leadership of Sam Graves will take place on Wednesday, February 1, entitled, “The State of Transportation Infrastructure and Supply Chain Challenges.” Among those organizations which are scheduled to testify include the Associated General Contractors of America, the American Trucking Association, the Association of American Railroads and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). You may view the hearing here.

Small Business Legislation—On January 25 the House passed three small business bills: H.R. 399, H.R. 400 and H.R. 449. H.R. 399, Small Business Advocacy Improvements Act, allows the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy to examine and speak on behalf of small businesses in international economic and trade matters; H.R. 400, Investing in Main Street Act, amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase the amount that may be invested in small business investment companies; and H.R. 449, Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act, requires the SBA to report on certain metrics to determine the effectiveness of the Microloan Program and examine if there are any default risks that put taxpayer dollars at risk.

Don’t Delay—Registration is open–Federal Legislative fly-in, March 29/30—For the first time in nearly three years, an in-person fly-in is scheduled for March 29 and 30. An opening reception at the host hotel Kimpton The George, just a few blocks from the nation’s capitol, will kickoff the fly-in events on March 29.

Fly-in attendees must register separately for these three items: 1: Register for the reception/fly-in at the 2023 fly-in page; 2: Register HERE to schedule your Capitol Hill appointments arranged by our outside consulting firm, Advocacy Associates; and 3: Reserve your room by accessing the NASBP Group Block . Please book your reservation before the cut-off date of February 27, 2023. After the cut-off date, the NASBP special rate will no longer be available.

State Report

NM H.213 (Garratt)—Establishes the Public Private Partnership (P3) Act for the construction or improvement of a public transportation facility or public transportation infrastructure, other than a toll road; or for public construction or improvement of broadband telecommunications network facilities. Prior to entering a P3 agreement, the private partner shall provide performance and payment bonds pursuant to Section 13-4-18 NMSA (LMA); require a private partner to provide guarantees, letters of credit or other acceptable forms of security, the amount of which may be less than one hundred percent of the value of the contract involved based on the determination of the public partner, or for public-private partnership agreements requiring board approval, based on the determination by the board. Similar legislation passed the House last year, but failed to advance in the Senate.

NY SB 2006 (Sanders)–Amends §137(1), §139 (f)(4) (State Finance Law–NY’s Little Miller Act) by waiving bonding requirements for women, minority-owned and small businesses if the aggregate amount of the contract is less than $500,000. SB 2006 was referred to the Senate Committee on Procurement and Contracts. An Assembly companion bill has not been introduced.

Update–VA HB 1490 (Davis)–The VA General Assembly passed legislation which allows localities to waive VA LMA bonding requirements (transportation and non-transportation) for indefinite delivery or quantity (IDIQ) contracts for the total sum of the contract amount if the local governing body has adopted an alternative ordinance. The legislation does require bonds for IDIQ contracts for the dollar amount of individual tasks identified in the underlying contract. While the bill seems to be well-intended for the inclusion of small business contractors bidding on IDIQ contracts, the legislation may need additional clarification. NASBP has offered draft language to clarify the legislation.

If you are aware of any bills impacting the industry, please reach out to Larry LeClair, NASBP’s Director of Government Relations, and let us know.