NUCA of Florida Achievements
NUCA of Florida ’ s government affairs program has successfully advocated for our members in both the legislative and regulatory arena during the past few years . Our advocacy efforts are funded in part by members ’ dues , direct individual donations and through our Bidding for Benjamin ’ s program . Key accomplishments include :
■ �Passed legislation to remove the $ 1M threshold on state-appropriated funds for public works projects , thus eliminated local preferences if even one penny of state dollars fund a project ;
■ �Passed a law as part of the specialty contractor licensing bill to specifically state that if a job scope does not require a license , then the local government may not require a license to bid on a public works project , i . e ., road paving ,;
■ �Reduced frivolous construction defects claims by defining material violation , reducing the statute of repose from the current 10 years down to 7 years and changing the trigger for calculating the statute of repose timeline from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy , certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion ;
■ Passed legislation to prohibit a producer from certifying any shipment of aggregates to a customer other than the FDOT unless such shipment is in compliance with the FDOT ’ s rules ;
■ Passed legislation reducing retainage from 10 % to 5 % on public works projects and revamped the Prompt Payment Act to expedite payment to contractors and subcontractors ;
■ �Prevented a problematic stormwater rule that lacked clarity and required higher nutrient and phosphorous reduction standards from being ratified by the Legislature ;
■ Defeated legislation that mandated construction employers with employees who work outdoors to implement an outdoor heat exposure safety program and provide annual training , duplicative of current OSHA requirements for High Heat Injury & Illness Prevention Plans ;
■ �Worked with other stakeholders to suspend adoption of a Heat Injury and Illness Ordinance in Miami-Dade County ;
■ �Secured record-high state appropriations for all aspects of water policy and infrastructure improvements , including a new wastewater grant program ;
■ �Fought off efforts to expand “ Buy America ” to Florida public works projects for iron and steel ;
■ Secured resiliency and wastewater grant funding for water restoration , wastewater treatment and stormwater funding as
2 DITCHMEN • NOVEMBER 2023