President Donald J. Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) into law on Friday, March 27th, 2020.  This massive $2 Trillion aid package is intended to speed relief to the economy for the damages brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  There are many excellent summaries available online that go into much more detail than what we'll be covering here but we want to focus on how this stimulus package can help America's construction industry and our many contractor customers. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) One of the bigg … Continue reading

Prior to the late 1970's, ballast manufacturers used a group of compounds called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, to insulate and cool the inner components in certain electrical products. One common application was to cool the internal capacitor of fluorescent lamp ballasts. These components contained a small amount of PCB oil and most of it is typically absorbed by several layers of paper within the device. Since these compounds were found to be health hazards and were linked to the development of certain cancers, they were prohibited by the US Congress in 1979. The … Continue reading

On February 12th, the Obama Administration announced a multi-agency initiative to spur regional economic growth while making buildings more energy efficient.  Seven federal agencies, including the Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Labor and the Small Business Administration, issued a combined Funding Opportunity Announcement of nearly $130 million over five years to create a regional research center that will develop new building efficiency technologies and work with local partners to implement the technologies in area buildings. Since buildings account for nearly 40 percent … Continue reading

President Bush has signed into law an extension of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that will continue to provide the $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for energy efficient commercial and industrial building upgrades through December 31, 2013. This five-year extension was passed by the Senate on October 1 by a vote of 74-25 and by the House on October 3 by a vote of 263-171 as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides valuable tax deductions for businesses that complete energy efficient upgrades on their lighting, … Continue reading