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Government Affairs News

Week in Review

Mar 10, 2023

Biden Issues Final NEVI Rule
On February 28th the Federal Highway Administration published the final rule governing the installation of federally funded EV charging infrastructure projects. The final rule also provides the implementation plan for Build America, Buy America requirements.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) allocated a total of $5 billion over five years to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI). These corridors, based on the plans submitted by the individual states, were selected by the Federal Highway Administration to serve as the backbone of this national EV charging network. .

NECA’s Take: The final rule includes many of NECA’s recommendations, including recognizing the comprehensive training offered by NECA contractors as the industry gold standard, and requires the use of the EVITP certification for electricians working on EV chargers. NECA will continue to monitor the additional $2.5B in competitive grants for EV Chargers. The administration recently stated that the first round of grants worth $700 million will be released soon.

 

Anti-PLA Bill Re-introduced
Congressman James Comer, Chairman of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, introduced H.R. 1209, the Fair and Open Competition Act (FOCA), to overturn President Biden’s Executive Order requiring federal contracting agencies to utilize Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects worth $35 million or more. For decades, PLAs have been used to ensure construction work is done by a highly skilled and properly trained construction labor workforce. In addition, PLAs are proven to increase the efficiency and quality of construction projects for the private sector as well as local, state, and federal government.

NECA's Take: NECA strongly opposes passage of this legislation as it would upend the structure and stability that PLAs provide to large-scale construction projects, result in less opportunities for NECA contractors to compete on federal projects, facilitate the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, and have the effect of depressing wages for American workers.

 

President Biden's WOTUS Rule Overturned by House
On March 9th, the House of Representatives approved  H.J. Res 27, “Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to ‘Revised Definition of 'Waters of the United States’” by a vote of 227 to 198. This joint resolution nullifies the recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule that was set to take effect on March 20, 2023. The WOTUS rule revises the definition of navigable waters and expands permitting requirements at the detriment of small businesses and other entities. It will now move onto the Senate where all 49 Republican Senators have co-sponsored the resolution.

NECA’s Take: NECA sent a letter to Capitol Hill in support of this Joint Resolution, which would repeal this overreaching regulation that would greatly expand the authority of EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act in regulating local water and adjacent land use.  The rule could significantly expand federal jurisdiction of waters upstream, triggering additional expensive and time-consuming permitting and regulatory requirements.  

 

Congressman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) to Speak at Legislative Conference!
We are excited to announce that Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Congressman Sam Graves, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will be speaking at the upcoming National Legislative Conference! Be sure to register through the link below to secure your spot. The room block closes on March 10th.

Register Today!

The conference will take place on March 27 - 29, 2023 at the Salamander Hotel (Formerly Mandarin Oriental). It will start at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 27th and end with a Congressional Reception on Wednesday, March 29th.

 

NECAPAC Update
Special thanks to Wayne Hule of Young Electric and Shawn Smith of DL Smith Electric for renewing their PLChips!

NECAPAC Total 3/10/23 - $54,310
Operational Fund Total 3/10/23 - $62,600

 

NECA On the Move
NECA Government Affairs met with Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO-06), Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO-08), Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX-25), Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02), Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME-02), Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA-13), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) and Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX-34).