�鶹��ý

On September 23, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction partially halting certain aspects of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. Specifically, DOT is temporarily blocked from mandating the use of race- and gender-based “rebuttable presumptions” for contracts impacted by DBE goals upon which the plaintiffs bid.

Three new bid protests were recently filed by �鶹��ý members that incorporate �鶹��ý’s legal theory challenging the government’s new PLA mandate. While bid protests challenge specific project awards at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the legal theory developed for �鶹��ý by outside counsel at Fox Rothschild aims to strike down the government’s PLA mandate across the board. The �鶹��ý-legal theory challenges the lawfulness of the government’s new PLA mandate as an unlawful socio-economic set aside that Congress never authorized. Consequently, this violates the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA).

On August 15, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a second proposed rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program that places unified cybersecurity and information security requirements on DoD contractors and subcontractors. As �鶹��ý previously reported, the first proposed rule issued in December 2023 focused on the CMMC program and corresponding cybersecurity requirements for DoD prime and subcontractors. This latest proposed rule supplements the first proposed rule. Importantly, it contains DFARS revisions for contract clause requirements and additional guidance to federal contracting officers.

When choosing between the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ConsensusDocs design-build contract documents, owners and contractors must understand how each will yield vastly different results on critical issues such as managing timely and sufficient design services. Both ConsensusDocs and the AIA publish coordinated families of standard design-build contract documents. This article explores why ConsensusDocs offers more balanced provisions that better protect design-builders and owners, making it a more favorable choice for managing design services effectively.

In a new “Why Should YOU Adopt Lean” educational material series, members of the �鶹��ý Lean Construction Committee integrate impactful research with approachable “get started” guide to help more contractors adopt Lean Construction Methodology in the field.

The �鶹��ý's Contract Documents Forum's first ever Townhall, which is free to all �鶹��ý members and chapters, will take place at noon EST on June 4th. The townhall will include a presentation overview of the ConsensusDocs and American Institute of Architects (AIA) Contract Documents, as well as an open discussion on the topic. We will also share an interesting construction case law development and hear about volunteer opportunities and projects from the �鶹��ý Construction Law and Operations Committee.

Help Us Generate a Comprehensive Outlook for 2024 by Taking the Survey Each year around this time, �鶹��ý asks you – our members – to predict what next year will be like for your business. �鶹��ý has partnered with Sage to prepare questions that focus on expectations for market performance, hiring, labor market conditions, etc. Please take a moment to complete the survey here. �鶹��ý of America will use the survey results to help make the case with elected and appointed officials in support of key member priorities. The more people who complete the survey by Thursday, December 7, the more effective the results will be in supporting our work on your behalf.