By JOHN JORDAN

WHITE PLAINS, NY—During this year’s legislative session in Washington, the agenda for the national transportation construction industry is pretty clear: the contracting community and organized labor must unite and press Congressional leaders to enact a new multi-year funding bill totaling nearly $588 billion over the five-year term to pay for our roads, bridges, airports and more.

How and when the legislation gets passed in this midterm election year is where things get complicated. That bumpy pathway to reauthorizing the federal transportation funding bill, which expires on Sept. 30, topped the agenda at the annual Spring Membership Meeting of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc., and the Building Contractors Association of the Mid-Hudson Region on April 22, held at the Sonesta Hotel here.

CIC Executive Director John Cooney, Jr., welcomed some 125 members and guests  who heard a presentation by the evening’s guest speaker, American Road and Transportation Builders (ARTBA) General Counsel Richard Juliano. A leading national spokesman for the industry, Mr. Juliano said he was hopeful that a bipartisan five-year federal highway and transit funding bill—one that will continue the funding of the current Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—will be approved prior to the Sept. 30, 2026 deadline.

“We think, going back to his first term, (President Trump) is inclined to do something and something big (in terms of the reauthorization legislation),” Mr. Juliano said. He added that even if the bill passage deadline is not met, funding will not lapse.

Mr. Juliano said ARTBA has been pressing Congressional leaders to enact a new funding bill that would amount to $588 billion over the five-year term.

The CIC-BCA Spring Membership Meeting also featured an informative presentation by Gregory J. Spaun, Esq., an attorney with Welby, Brady & Greenblatt, who discussed several human resource-related issues facing contractors today and their legal and regulatory obligations when those matters arise. The presentation, entitled “So You’ve Hired a New Employee? An Employer’s First Day Responsibilities,” described the various requirements of properly onboarding an employee—from immigration requirements to background checks, to wage theft prevention to notification issues.

The sponsors of the CIC-BCA Spring Membership Meeting were: Bay Crane, EP George Surety Bonds, Laborers L.U. 60 and 235, East Coast Industrial Services, Byram Concrete & Supply Inc., Goosetown Communications, Yonkers Contracting Company Inc., Operating Engineers L.U. 137, Welby, Brady & Greenblatt, LLP, and RCA Asphalt.