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 The FASA Contractors’ Knowledge Depot is your one-stop shop for tools to manage your construction subcontracting business. Members of the American Subcontractors Association receive a discount off the cover price for all titles. Click on link: FASA The Contractors Subcontractors Education Catalog has great resources from the Foundation of ASA, such as live webinars, books, and videos-on-demand, and much more. GET YOURS TODAY!! Attend ASA CALIFORNIA MEETINGS -They are open to members:
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Jordi Grant
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Mid term in the 2013-2014 legislative session ASAC took a look back and saw some marvelous accomplishments. For instance: • Sponsored and secured the passage of Assembly Bill 164 (Wieckowski) which requires performance and payment bonding on public-private-partnership projects (P3's). (See Article Below about this Victory for Subcontractors) • Secured amendments to bills that only ASAC lobbied, representing all subcontractors. • Allied with general contractors on important issues and bills. • Convened another construction industry round table to share and learn about proposed bills that others are considering introducing. • Organized the inaugural CA Subcontractors Legislative Conference and enjoyed the support from several other trade groups. • Convened monthly meetings among our members serving (you) on the Governmental Relations Committee. These are dedicated volunteers! • Communicated regularly with our members who value our efforts. • Decided to support numerous legislators' campaigns using a bipartisan and judicious evaluation process. • Initiated discussions to consider what bills we may introduce in January when the second half of the session convenes. In all, a very good year. Thanks to our leaders and YOUR continuing support! Be sure to attend our chapter meetings to learn more and bring a friend (Updated October 27, 2013)
AB 164 Contractor Payment
Protection on P3 Projects
Governor Brown signed AB 164 on August 13th, requiring bonding on Public Private Partnership projects (P3s) beginning January of 2014. In growing numbers, public agencies are turning to Public Private Partnership construction projects. P3s can make public construction possible, especially for financially strapped cities. However, unlike traditional public projects, P3s have no bond protection requirements to ensure contractors and suppliers will be paid for their work. The private entity could run out of money midway through a project and walk away, leaving the municipality with an only partially completed structure and subcontractors and laborers without a paycheck. Under AB 164, the performance bond protects the Government's financial interest in the P3, while the payment bond assures that subcontractors and suppliers get paid for the labor and materials they supply. AB 164 Q&A Q: What projects have been P3s in California ? Some examples of P3s in the state are: - Levi Stadium (49ers) - California Fuel Cell Partnership, Sacramento; - State Route 125, San Diego; - Riverside County Library System, Riverside; - LA Metro & Chevron (6,720 solar panels on Metro Service Center); - Long Beach Regional Courthouse. Q: How much additional cost would these bonds be? The amount would vary based on the magnitude and cost of the project. The typical bond rate for payment bonds and performance bonds is between .5% - 3.5% of the contracted amount. Q: Can all projects receive bonds? What if a proposed P3 isn't "bondable"? I have met with surety companies on AB 164 and I strongly believe that any project that is incapable of being bonded is a project that should not be completed as proposed. The fact that a project cannot be bonded would indicate that there are significant problems with that project. (Updated on October 27, 2013)
You Call the Shots!
Let ASAC know what issue / problem you want us to work on! The American Subcontractors Association California Inc. (ASAC) is here to serve subcontractors and suppliers, with a powerful presence in Sacramento. We can investigate and consider issues that YOU want changed, but you have to let us know. Send a quick e-mail to ASAC Executive Director Jordi Grant, and she will see that your issue gets on the agenda of the next Government Relations Committee. Be sure to explain the issue briefly and provide your contact information. asac@asacalif.com
Subcontractors lose a Champion Sam K.
Abdulaziz 1939 - 2013
 Sam K. Abdulaziz passed away in his sleep on Friday, October 11, 2013. Sam was born on April 10, 1939, in Baghdad, Iraq and migrated with his family at a young age to New York where he would frequently watch Dodger games at Ebbets Field through a knot hole in the fence. His family moved to the Los Angeles area before Sam began High School. While married with a small child, he attended UCLA, where he played baseball, beginning his lifelong love of Bruin athletics. He graduated from the UCLA School of Business Administration with a Bachelor's of Science in 1962, and began working in the aerospace industry. With a full time job and two children at home he attended Loyola University School of Law and earned his Juris Doctorate in 1971. He became a member of the California State Bar in 1972. He garnered a gigantic reputation over the past four decades as one of the foremost experts in construction law in the State of California and across the nation, earning various awards and accommodations along the way. He spent that time writing and publishing articles and books, lecturing, litigating and arbitrating cases, serving as arbitrator, mediator, and judge pro tem as well as representing several construction related trade associations and exchanges as well as making many lasting friendships. He had a great sense of humor and was well known for his practical jokes. Sam is survived by his wife of 53 years, Joyce, his children Mike and Debbie, daughter-in-law Michele, son-in-law Kyle, grandchildren Kevin, Sarah, Benjamin and Samantha and sister Blanche Murad. He now joins his grandson Joey and parents Joseph and Rachael Abdulaziz, and sister Marguerite Levis to watch over the family. He was greatly respected, admired and loved by those that knew him and will be greatly missed. Donations may be made in Sam's name to the Alzheimer's foundation. (Updated: October 27,2013)
Checklist a Handy
Tool for Subcontractors to Track Lien Rights on Each
Project
To help subcontractors ensure that their lien, stop notice, and bond rights are protected, McLENNNON LAW CORPORATION created a handy checklist for use with each project. It sets forth deadlines, suggested actions, and links to forms and relevant statutes. This link takes you to the "refreshed" MLC website, and while you are there, please do not hesitate to review and comment on any Law Note. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CHECKLIST Dan McLennon is on the Board of Directors for the Bay Area ASA, as well as Government Relations Chair for ASA California. (Updated October 27, 2013) Estate Plan Check Up - It's Time By Stuart G. Schmidt, Esq. & David J. Lee, Esq. Although a comprehensive estate plan should not require frequent extensive review, recent estate tax changes are significant enough that we recommend a formal review of your estate plan and particularly, your trust. Most clients have now learned that the estate tax exemption amount, the amount of property each person can pass tax free, has been raised to $5,250,000 for 2013. Although this issue alone does not necessarily require a change to your estate plan, a new feature called "portability" is important to understand. Portability refers to the fact that the estate tax exemption can now be passed on to your spouse when you die. Before this law, a married couple's revocable living trust had to create a Bypass Trust (also known as an Exemption Trust) to capture the deceased spouse's property and shelter it from estate tax. Without a Bypass Trust, the deceased spouse's estate tax exemption was lost. Portability solves this problem. Although a Bypass Trust can still serve an important role for controlling assets and protecting against creditors, for many married couples these issues are of no concern. If this is the case, your revocable living trust should be revised so that the creation of the Bypass Trust is an option as opposed to a requirement. This type of trust, called a Disclaimer Trust, allows the surviving spouse more control, flexibility, and a less expensive trust administration. Portability is an important estate planning concept that should be factored into your new or existing estate plan. Establishing an estate plan that incorporates the most advanced estate planning concepts is critical to your family's well-being. Did you know that: • When you die without a trust, a court process ("Probate") could be required to transfer everything you own to your heirs. Prob ate can cost thousands of dollars and can delay the transfer of assets. • Everyone has a default estate plan. If you do not properly designate who will inherit everything after your death, the State of California (through intestate laws) will make that decision for you. • If you have not made plans for who will raise your minor children, a Judge will decide that for you. • Without power of attorney documents, if you become incompetent it may cost your family thousands of dollars to have the right to take care of you and to direct your medical care (through a conservatorship). • "Joint Tenancy," the way many married couples hold property, does not avoid probate on the second death and may cause a substantial amount of capital gain tax if assets are sold after the first death. It is time to review your existing estate plan. If you don't yet have an estate plan, it's time to get it done. Your death or incapacity will be emotionally traumatic for your family; don't make it legally difficult as well. Contact one of our estate planners, Stuart G. Schmidt or David J. Lee, to assist in the creation, review and/or update of your estate plan. Our job as your attorneys is to make this process easy and painless and, most importantly, put a proper plan in place. The information provided is general in nature and is not intended to answer every question that may arise under different fact situations and should not be relied on in the place of professional advice in a given case. If you have specific questions please contact Sweeney, Mason, Wilson & Bosomworth. SWEENEY, MASON, WILSON & BOSOMWORTH is a Professional Law Corporation located at 983 University Avenue, Suite 104C, Los Gatos, California, 95032, telephone (408) 356-3000. This "Legal Notice" is designed to assist our clients and other business owners in spotting issues which may result in costly litigation and court awarded damages if allowed to continue unaddressed. (Updated Octber 27, 2013)
Notes on the ASAC Website Layout: The American Subcontractors Association of California (ASAC) website is divided into the sections covering ASAC strengths as an association. We have our Legislative Advocacy program tracking and developing the new construction laws in Sacramento. The ASAC, also, is very fortunate to have a Judicial Advocacy program run by the finest construction attorneys up and down California to follow and try the latest construction cases in California's courts. And, lastly, ASAC has an expanding Member Benefits program from insurance offerings, to the website which has been developed to help keep subcontractors and suppliers informed of the latest construction issues affecting their daily business. |
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