Engineering Inc - May/June 2018 - 9

ACEC Engages
World Bank, GIF and EFCA

ISSUES ON THE MOVE

MINH HOANG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Members of ACEC's International Committee participated in
recent meetings with the World Bank and the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) Advisory Council to provide engineering
industry perspectives on successful project outcomes and risk
reduction strategies.
Council members met with Joaquim Levy, GIF co-chair and
World Bank managing director, stressing the need for using standard contract language, best
practices documents and training
programs to foster consistency
and reduce risk on infrastructure
projects around the world.
GIF is a partnership of governments, multilateral development
banks, private sector investors
and financiers that seeks to
facilitate collaboration to better
carry out complex infrastructure
Joaquim Levy, GIF co-chair and
projects. ACEC is represented on
World Bank managing director
the GIF Advisory Council to provide the engineering industry's perspective on how technical and
performance risks can balance financial and insurance risks when
assessing projects for investment.
Leaders of ACEC and the European Federation of Engineering
Consultancy Associations (EFCA) signed a memorandum of
understanding on April 17 to promote networking, information
exchange and best practices. MOU signers included: ACEC
President/CEO Dave Raymond, ACEC Chair Manish Kothari,
former ACEC Chair Sergio "Satch" Pecori, EFCA President Kevin
Rudden and EFCA General Secretary Jan van der Putten.

WHAT'S NEXT

FAA Reauthorization

Senate action possible in June

Tax Extenders

Possible action before the end
of the year

Project Streamlining Reforms

Pending aviation, water bills
possible vehicles for reforms

ACEC Recommendations
Accepted in Federal MOU to
Speed Up Project Reviews
Twelve federal departments
and agencies signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on infrastructure project delivery
that is largely consistent
with recommendations
ACEC submitted to the
administration last year.
Signatories include the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of
the Interior, Department of
Energy and U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.
Under the MOU, the agencies agree to work together
under a designated lead
agency to develop a single

permitting timetable with
project milestones for preparing a single environmental impact statement and
signing a single record of
decision. Agencies committed to conducting all necessary reviews concurrently
and adhering to the project
timetable.
The MOU outlines the
roles and responsibilities
for the lead, cooperating
and participating agencies,
and sets expectations for
preliminary project planning, scoping and concurrence points. The overall
goal is a two-year deadline
for permitting decisions.

ACEC Urges Action on Tax Extenders, Technical Fix for P3 Projects
held a hearing to review the measures
in the context of the newly revised
tax code. Committee leaders have
publicly expressed interest in
eliminating most of
the expired provisions
following passage of
the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act (TCJA). ACEC
is advocating for
their extension in the
next tax legislation
considered by
Congress.
Separately, ACEC
is working with a coalition of
infrastructure groups to address an
unintended consequence of the tax
reform law on P3 projects. Prior
to passage of the TCJA, businesses
DAVIDEVISON/THINKSTOCK

ACEC has asked the House Ways
and Means Committee to support
legislation that will extend several
key tax code provisions that expired at
the end of December
2017.
Those expired
provisions include
the Section 179D
energy-efficient
commercial buildings
tax deduction, as well
as the production
tax credit for certain
renewable resources
such as biomass and geothermal.
ACEC supports a multiyear extension
of these tax provisions so businesses
can rely on them and plan effectively.
The Ways and Means Committee

could fully deduct interest expense.
The new law limits the deductibility
of interest to 30 percent of adjusted
taxable income. However, P3 project
companies are generally structured so
they do not have significant income
but often have high borrowing costs.
The result will be significantly higher
effective tax rates and costs associated
with these projects.
The coalition is asking the
Treasury Department to include
P3 projects in the TCJA's real
estate exception for the purposes of
implementing the new law's limits
on interest deductibility. If these
regulations do not adequately address
the problem, ACEC and coalition
partners will approach Congress for a
legislative solution.
MAY / JUNE 2018

For
More
News
For weekly
legislative
news, visit
ACEC's Last
Word online
at www.
acec.org.

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