ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 57th Arizona Legislature gaveled into its Second Regular Session this afternoon. Governor Katie Hobbs gave the joint session of the Legislature her annual State of the State address. Some of the highlights of the Governor’s address include:   Middle Class Tax Cut Package Governor Hobbs will call for the legislature to pass her Middle Class Tax Cut Package as the first bill of the session. Includes increased standard deduction, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, an addi

The U.S. Department of Transportation has published an updated set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) rule.   The new FAQ guidance is available here . It is also linked on our DBE Resource Page .   The document addresses some issues that we raised in our comment letter, providing more information on the process and timelines for reevaluating firms and the elements of economic hardship and systemic barriers to be incl

To the ACEC Community,   I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend filled with lots of family, friends, and great food. If you’re like me, you spent some time yesterday catching up on email and wading through message after message spotlighting Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Reports indicate that Cyber Monday will likely smash spending records this year. That’s good news: Cyber Monday has joined—and in some ways supplanted—Black Friday as make-or-break sales days f

It has been a very eventful week on the water and environment front here in DC, and I wanted to take a moment to update you on some recent developments and opportunities for future engagement.  Draft WOTUS Rule Released In big water news, the highly anticipated re-write of the Waters of the United States, or "WOTUS" rule was released earlier this week by the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers and published in the Federal Register yesterday.  As expected, the proposed rule would

To the ACEC Community,   Next Wednesday, the ACEC Research Institute will host an online roundtable discussing the findings of its newly released Firm of the Future study on Workforce . Part of the Institute’s larger Firm of the Future initiative, the report examines the talent landscape for our industry through 2035, integrating demographic analysis, dozens of in-depth personal interviews, and survey responses of more than 2,000 participants from across the engineering prof

We filed our comments on the changes to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program with U.S. DOT today. See attached.   We really appreciate the thoughtful comments and feedback we received from many of you and your members. Thank you!   This letter will be added to the Resource Page on our website: https://www.acec.org/advocacy/monitoring-u-s-dot-changes-to-the-disadvantaged-business-enterprise-dbe-program/ .   Please continue to pass along any updates and guidance from y

To the ACEC Community,   The U.S. Department of Transportation has released updated FAQs on recent changes to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, clarifying how new certification requirements will be implemented under the Interim Final Rule effective October 3, 2025.   In the new guidance, the U.S. DOT addresses how the IFR affects projects that are: Currently authorized/advertised and projects/contracts already awarded that have DBE goals. Open-ended perfor

To the ACEC Community, Fall Conference 2025 is now in the books, with a wonderful crowd that brought great energy and enthusiasm to every session. So, I’ll begin by reiterating my thanks to everyone who joined us in San Diego. We hope you enjoyed attending as much as we enjoyed having you.   On Saturday, we partnered with the City of San Diego and ACEC California to host an Engineering and Public Works Roadshow event at Pure Water San Diego, the city’s landmark program to pro

To the ACEC Community,    We’re closing the books on a very busy September and keeping our eyes on Capitol Hill for developments in the...

From ACEC National- Good afternoon, I have attached ACEC's draft comments on the Administration's proposed rule that would change the allocation of H-1B visas from a lottery to a weighted system based on highest compensation and skills. Although we requested an extension of the 30-day comment period, we need to operate according to the current comment deadline of October 24, 2025. Accordingly, please send me any feedback by Monday, October 20 . Thanks so much - Katharine...

To the ACEC Community,   We want to update you on the state of play in Congress on negotiations over federal spending and the prospects...

The Arizona State Board of Technical Registration has moved to an e-licensing system. All firms and branches should access business...

Hello! Your insights are vital in shaping ACEC Arizona's future. Please take 6 to 8 minutes to complete the 2025 Member Experience...

To the ACEC Community,   Ordinarily, I would begin this post-Independence Day weekend message on a lighthearted note about cookouts and...

To the ACEC Community,   When the ACEC Research Institute’s Q2 Engineering Business Sentiment Report surfaced pockets of deep concern for...

This afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee released its version of the tax bill. As with the House, we expect additional changes and...

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona (ACEC-AZ) recently traveled to Washington, D.C. for the ACEC National...

ACEC continues to closely monitor the pending legal challenges to the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program and potential regulatory changes. There were significant developments in the case ( Mid-America Milling ) this week.   Yesterday, the U.S. DOT and the plaintiff contractors filed a joint motion for a consent order to settle the case: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.kyed.103125/gov.uscourts.kyed.103125.82.0.pdf   The draft ruling th

To the ACEC Community,   One week ago today, we closed the books on our 2025 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit. This year’s...

To the ACEC Community, Less than two weeks remain until our Annual Convention and Legislative Summit; we recently added two senior...