Engineering Inc - January/February 2018 - 4

FROMACECTOYOU

From Tax Reform
to Infrastructure

he new year is a critical one for advancing ACEC's priorities, but first
we can celebrate the fact that our industry was a big winner according
to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal in the tax reform bill
that's about to clear Congress as we go to press.
After months of hard work by ACEC's team in Washington, D.C., together
with critical engagement from thousands of our members throughout the country, we succeeded in securing our core objective of ensuring that firms of all sizes
and tax structures are treated fairly and equitably. The new tax law will lower the
corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and provide our Member Firms
that are organized as passthroughs with a new 20 percent tax deduction. The law
preserves critical incentives for retirement and employee ownership programs, such
as ESOPs, as well as the cash method of accounting; other priorities identified by
our industry, such as protecting private activity bonds (PABs) and tax incentives
for renewable energy, were also included in the final package.
This was an exceptionally strong finish for the year, but 2017 brought other
wins to the industry: killing the Department of Labor's blacklisting and overtime
pay rules; making progress in reducing A/E liability in the FERC cybersecurity
rule; achieving go-ahead on pipeline projects and permitting reforms; expanding
QBS in pending FAA and water bills; lifting the Passenger Facility Charge cap
in pending Senate legislation that will raise more money for airport projects;
committee approval of legislation to encourage USAID to engage more U.S.
engineering firms; state DOT FAR compliance; and keeping PVC mandates out
of federal legislation.
For 2018, we now pivot to infrastructure and other related priorities. This
issue of Engineering Inc. examines prospects for infrastructure legislation (page 8),
assesses the nation's flood protection systems (page 16) and reports on how low
premiums continue to define the professional liability insurance market (page 31).
Enjoy reading Engineering Inc., which recently earned six international
(MarCom) awards for excellence-more than any other magazine in this
global competition!
And here's wishing you and your family a safe and prosperous New Year.

Sergio A. Pecori
ACEC Chairman

David A. Raymond
ACEC President & CEO

ENGINEERINGINC.
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES
CHAIRMAN
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT,
OPERATIONS

Sergio A. Pecori
David A. Raymond
Mary Ann Emely

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Steven Hall

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BUSINESS RESOURCES
AND EDUCATION

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Andrea Keeney
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202-682-4347

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Leo Hoch
ACEC
1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005-2605
202-682-4341
lhoch@acec.org

Engineering Inc., Volume 29, Number 1 (ISSN 1539-2694), is published
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