American Subcontractors Association

	ASA National Newsletter California Supreme Court: Public Entities Must Disclose Project Information Affecting Costs On July 12, 2010, the American Subcontractors Association and ASA of California celebrated a Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund victory when the California Supreme Court ruled that a public entity is responsible for not only providing complete and accurate plans and specifications to bidders, but also "may be required to provide extra compensation if it knew, but failed to disclose, material facts that would affect the contractor's bid or performance." In Los Angeles Unified School District v. Great American Insurance Company and Hayward Construction Company, a contractor counter-sued the Los Angeles Unified School District for breach of contract when the school district sued to recover payments it made to the contractor for approved extra work. The contractor signed a guaranteed-maximum-price contract to complete punch list work left unfinished by another contractor. After starting work, the contractor notified the district that the unfinished work required an additional $2 million, which the school district approved. After completion, the school district sued to recover $1 million from the contractor and its surety on the basis that the punch list covered the change order work. A lower court sided with the school district, but an appeals court partially agreed with the contractor. On Apr. 30, 2009, ASA and ASA of California, joined by 11 other specialty trade associations filed an amici curiae, or "friends of the court," brief in the case. ASA tapped its Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund to pay its legal fees. For more information, visit http://www.sldf.net or contact ASA at SLDF@asa-hq.com. IRS Seeks Suggestions for Reducing Compliance Burden of Expanded 1099 Reporting The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is seeking comments on how to eliminate duplicative reporting and update reporting forms before the agency expands its Form 1099 reporting requirements. Enacted in March as part of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200), the measure requires all firms, beginning in 2012, to submit a 1099 to each service- or property-provider/vendor and to the IRS when payments to the vendor total more than $600 in a year. Comments are due Sept. 29, 2010, to Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. As ASA prepares its comments, the association urges members to share with ASA their current 1099 burden and how the changes will impact their businesses by taking a short survey. For more information, contact ASA at (703) 684-3450, Ext. 1333, or GovernmentRelations@asa-hq.com. Free ConsensusDOCS Webinar Examines Bidding, Change Order and Other Subcontractor Forms Learn about the many forms, not just contract documents, that ConsensusDOCS offers to help you better manage your construction projects during the free webinar, "Managing Your Construction Projects with ConsensusDOCS Administrative Forms." ASA Attorneys' Council member E. Scott Holbrook Jr., Esq., Crawford & Bangs LLP, Covina, Calif., will examine the line of ConsensusDOCS 700 (subcontracting) series documents from the ConsensusDOCS 705 Invitation to Bid/Sub-Bid Proposal to the 782 Certificate of Final Completion. The 90-minute webinar, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EDT on July 22, is free, but requires advance registration. ASA is a founding member of ConsensusDOCS, which offers 90+ model contracts and forms drafted by designers, owners, contractors, subcontractors and surety professionals (DOCS). To register for the webinar, download the registration flyer and fax it to ConsensusDOCS at (703) 837-5406. Don't forget to mark ASA as your member organization on the registration form. New Law Limits Formaldehyde in Composite Wood Products On July 7, 2010, President Obama signed into law S. 1660, the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act. The new law directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create a national standard for formaldehyde emission levels in hardwood plywood, particleboard or medium-density fiberboard by Jan. 1, 2013. The new standards will go into effect 180 days after the EPA issues its regulation. For more information, contact ASA at (703) 684-3450, Ext. 1333, or GovernmentRelations@asa-hq.com. New Rule Requires Federal Contractors to Report Subcontract Information for Most Projects Federal contractors must report award data for first-tier subcontractors that win subcontracts valued at more than $25,000 for publication on a searchable public Web site. According to an interim rule issued on July 8, 2010, prime contractors must report subcontractors' office and jobsite addresses; DUNS Numbers; NAICS codes; subcontract numbers; subcontract dates and amounts; description of the products or services being provided; and prime contract information. Federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors for which "80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from federal contracts and $25 million or more in annual gross revenues from federal contracts" must also report compensation data for the five most highly compensated executives of the company. The reporting requirements take effect as follows: Until Sept. 30, 2010, any newly awarded subcontract is to be reported if the prime contract award amount was $20 million or more. From Oct. 1, 2010, until Feb. 28, 2011, any newly awarded subcontract is to be reported if the prime contract award amount was $550,000 or more. Starting March 1, 2011, any newly awarded subcontract is to be reported if the prime contract award amount was $25,000 or more. Prime contractors must submit reports to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (www.fsrs.gov) by the end of the month following the month in which the prime contractor awards the subcontract. For more information, contact ASA at (703) 684-3450, Ext. 1333, or GovernmentRelations@asa-hq.com. Door and Hardware Institute Endorses ConsensusDOCS DHI, a professional association dedicated to the architectural openings industry, joined 23 other leading construction industry organizations in endorsing ConsensusDOCS. "We are excited to join this growing coalition of construction industry associations dedicated to providing fair and balanced contract documents," said Suzanne P. Shomers, CAE, chief financial officer of DHI. ASA is a founding member of ConsensusDOCS, which offers more than 90 model contracts and forms drafted by designers, owners, contractors, subcontractors and surety professionals (DOCS). Get samples and order these documents and forms at www.consensusdocs.org under "Contract Catalog." Get your ASA-member discount using partner code ASA and promo code 200. Looking for Productivity Gains - Project DocControl Offers the ASAdvantage Are you using folders and binders to track your document history? Are you looking for opportunities to improve productivity for daily documenting tasks? If you are, take a look at the new Project DocControl! Project DocControl, an ASAdvantage provider and ASA Gold Sponsor for more than 8 years, can provide you with an automated process to create and track project documentation, which will help eliminate duplicate data entry and loss of misfiled documentation. Project DocControl offers ASA members the opportunity to collaborate internally, standardize all documentation and automate daily steps that are currently accomplished with Microsoft Word and Excel. Manage your RFIs, transmittals, change orders, pay applications, correspondence from this centralized database. Take 30 minutes to find out how Project DocControl can provide you with the ASAdvantage. ASA members get discounts on Project DocControl Licensed User purchases. Setup a demo with Project DocControl by calling (813) 903-9446, or visiting www.projectdoccontrol.com. ASA North Texas Chapter Newsletters More information coming soon! TCA More information coming soon!