2023 Government Action Results
- Duty to Defend passed! You no longer can be required to pay someone else's attorney fees if you are not at fault. Video of Testimony in 2021. Scroll to the 32:00 minute mark
- We over doubled the funding to YouthBuild. The program had been receiving $1 million a year for the past 10 years. It is now receiving $2.1 million a year.
- Load Mangagement replacement receiver permitting exemption passed
- CIP funding remained whole
- High School Construction programs are now eligible for $100,000 grants if they are building housing stock earmarked for low income families.
- $2.6 billion bonding bill.
2022 Government Action Results
• Duty to Defend performed well and passed through all four committees House and Senate with near unanimous support, Governor's office was opposed. We will work with public agencies again in 2023.
• Residential Solar provisions were successfully prevented from being added in 2022.
• Load Management inspections - agreeement reached and placed in the Omnibus bill. Unfortunately, many omnibus bills including this one did not pass.
Successfully lobbied to make the unemployment fund whole, and eliminate 14% surcharges for the next 10 years.
2021 Government Action Results
• Duty to Defend performed well and passed through three out of four committees, several unanimously. We will work with public agencies again in 2022.
• ECO passed! CIP now includes load management, load optimization, and efficient fuel switching.
• Residential Solar provisions were successfully prevented from being added in 2021.
• There was little movement on Load Management inspections. We will partner with MREA next year if they pursue.
2020 Government Action Results
• ECO/Conservation Improvement Plan improvements made it through the both Senate and House Committees and House floor. Efforts will continue in 2021.
• 1.8 Billion Capital Improvement/Bonding bill passed.
Federal Tax Conformance passed.
Load Management Replacement Receivers permitting fees reduced to $20 per unit.
Worked with Administration to declare Construction essential employees during the pandemic, eliminating the shut down of members.
• Duty to Defend did not pass, efforts will continue in 2021
• Residential Solar provisions to require residential solar installers to maintain a residential contractor license as well as an electrical contractor license were defeated.;
2019 Government Action Results
• Conservation Improvement Plan efforts to limit the program were killed protecting energy efficiency rebates for our contractor’s projects.
• 1 Billion Capital Improvement/Bonding bill passed.
• Duty to Defend did not pass.
• Prompt Payment regulation requiring payment of subcontractors after substantial completion of the project passed.
• Residential Solar provisions to require residential solar installers to maintain a residential contractor license as well as an electrical contractor license were defeated.;
2018 Government Action Results
• Pathway to Licensure, a bill allowing for the sharing of electricians between contractors, did not pass. More grassroots efforts are needed in this area.
• Conservation Improvement Plan efforts to limit the program were killed protecting energy efficiency rebates for our contractor’s projects.
• 1.5 Billion Capital Improvement/Bonding bill passed.
• Duty to Defend did not pass.
• Prompt Payment regulation did not pass.
• Federal Tax Conformance did not pass.
• Solar Installer Ratio expanding the journeyworker electrical solar installer ratio to supervise up to 5 registered unlicensed installers failed to pass.
• Construction Code Rules – Legislation that would require DLI to inform the legislature of any rule that would add $1,000 or more to the cost of construction of a residence failed to pass.
2017 Government Action Results
• Building permit fees and surcharges have been reduced by as much as 20%.
• Business property tax on commercial structures was reduced.
• Electrical license fees were lowered.
• A $998 billion capital improvement (bonding) bill passed which should mean more opportunities to bid on state and local government electrical work.
2016 Government Action Results
• Unemployment comp tax reduction legislation passed and signed into law. This important bill will cut employers UC tax rates in the amount of $265M. Every employer should get some reduction.
• Family and Medical Benefits and Leave (PTO) SF 2558 failed
• Retainage bills HF2451 and SF1898 passed. This bill provides for a 5% retainage cap on a construction project
• Duty to Defend bill HF1099/SF924 FAILED but it will be back in 2017. The bill provides that subcontractors will not have to defend a general contract against a liability claim for damages due to their negligence. After passing out of committees where the disagreements between general and subcontractors were quite prominent—the bills are ready to be voted on by the full House and Senate.
• Construction Career Pathways grant. PASSED HF3658 would provide $1,000,000 in workforce development funds to the Construction Careers Foundation to promote construction industry careers to middle and high school youth, disadvantaged and minority youths, parents, counselors; increase the number of high schools offering construction classes during the academic year; increase summer internship opportunities in union programs and help students get construction jobs after graduation.
• Responsible Contractor law FAILED. An industry work group has been assembled and will meet over the summer to develop proposals that will improve the current law.
• Energy and CIP funding reduction bills FAILED to pass.
• A solar panel and fire code bill PASSED. This bill allows school districts to use their repair and maintenance funding for updating solar panel safety switches consistent with the current electrical and fire codes. This bill will most likely be included in the omnibus education finance bill.
• Construction code transfer bill HF 2839 FAILED. The bill would transfer the functions of the construction code division from DOLI to the Dept of Public Safety.
• Workers comp reform bill PASSED. This bill made technical corrections to current law and attempted to reduce worker’s compensation rates through caps on medical charges
• DLI Rules timeframe PASSED. Typically, it takes 270 days for rules to become effective once they are published. The language in this bill would allow NEC rules to be adopted sooner for public safety reasons. New code generally means more safety.
2015 Government Action Results
• Exemption from electrical licensing was defeated for those working in mines
• Limited licensing did not pass for solar installations
• Contractor license fees were lowered
• Restrictions on the use of temporary employees did not pass. Make sure, however, that unlicensed electrical employees are registered with the MN Department of Labor.
2014 Government Action Results
• The Electrical Association worked successfully with the Dept of Labor and Industry to rewrite the apprenticeship training laws to make them conform with the Federal Law and without doing harm to MEA’s apprenticeship program
• The Electrical Association successfully opposed legislation that would have re-written the MN Electrical Act and eliminated the use of temporary employees
• The Electrical Association successfully worked to repeal the business to business sales taxes that were enacted in 2013. Those taxes were applied to the sales of electronic equipment, repairs and maintenance agreements
• The Electrical Association worked on tax policy that would make Minnesota tax law conform to the deductions available from the Federal government. Further, MEA supported state tax policy bills that increased the estate tax exemption and increased the exemption for gift taxes to $14k per individual per year
2013 Government Action Results
• The Electrical Association supported an insurance indemnification bill that prohibits general contractors from requiring subcontractors to insure the general for negligence and risk claims. Further, all parties to a construction agreement will be responsible for insuring for their own negligence
• The Electrical Association supported a bill that will provide incentives to the public for installing a solar system
• The Electrical Association fought the sales tax on electronic equipment, repairs and maintenance agreements. In order to provide new revenue for projects funded by the legislature and the administration a new sales tax was added on business to business transactions. Electrical contractors will be responsible for adding and collecting sales tax for repairing and maintaining commercial and industrial machinery and equipment
• The Electrical Association worked to modify a bill that would “ban the box” that is used on employment applications that requires workers to disclose if they have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime. MEA successfully kept the ability to ask for such information and perform background checks on any candidates an employer interviews or makes a job offer
• The Electrical Association supported the passage of $176M bonding bill
• The Electrical Association successfully educated legislators to oppose legislation that would require prevailing wage rates to be paid on all local units of government construction project
2012 Government Action Results
• SF1983 eliminates annual removal of $1.5 million from Minnesota Department of Labor . . . The Governor signed the bill which repeals the $1.5 million removal effective 2015, and also reduces the current $5 surcharge to a $1 surcharge
• MN DOLI cleanup bill passes . . . SF1653 makes changes to the current independent contractor exemption laws (changes do not apply to licensed electrical contractors), repeals the 2% withholding requirement effective June 30, 2012, and contains other administrative cleanup items
• Bonding bill passed . . . a $500 million bonding bill was passed
• Legislature passes Vikings stadium bill (HF2958/SF2469) . . . a bill authorizing funding for a new Vikings stadium passed
2011 Government Action Results
• Budget bills approved by Legislature . . . 12 Special session bills were approved by the Legislature and will be signed by the Governor today ending the state shutdown
• Jobs bill funding DOLI passed . . . the Jobs bill passed by the Legislature renews the $5 surcharge for electrical permits and makes assessment of surcharge retroactive to July 1. It also includes an additional $310,000 budget reduction in prevailing wage enforcement and training
• Bonding bill included in budget . . . the budget includes a $500 million bonding bill