A trio of workers’ comp reform bills were passed by the State Senate last week. Three others may be voted on soon.

The bills that passed are:

• Senate Bill 5112 – Allows claims representatives for retro employers and groups to schedule independent medical examinations and vocational rehabilitation assessments, subject to certain conditions. Click here for vote tally.
• Substitute Senate Bill 5127 – Addresses the arbitrary 55-year-old age limitation on structured settlement availability. Original bill would have removed the age restriction on voluntary claims settlements but an amendment lowered the age restriction to 40 rather than eliminating it. Click here for the vote tally.
• Senate Bill 5128 – Also deals with structured settlements, the bill streamlines the program in keeping with the legislation that passed in 2011 with a strong bipartisan vote. Click here for the vote tally.

These bills must still be passed by the State House of Representatives. The three other workers’ comp bills are:

• Senate Bill 5124 – Streamlines the way time-loss benefits are calculated for injured workers by replacing the current formula, which varies based on the worker’s marital status and number of children to a standard two-thirds percent.
• Senate Bill 5126 – Addresses a recent Supreme Court ruling by reaffirming that the state and self-insured companies can reimburse their benefit costs when a third party outside of the employment relationship causes a workers’ injury on the job.
• Senate Bill 5125 – Redefines “occupational diseases” to be a condition that must arise out of the course of employment and be proximately caused by the distinctive conditions of that employment. The increased frequency of occupational diseases for the natural aging process is one that has been seen on many cases. This legislation would put back in place the original intent of what the law was designed to cover for Industrially related Occupational Diseases.

These bills will help stem a looming $110 million a year surcharge on employers. The reforms passed in 2011 slowed big rises in premiums but didn’t solve all of the problems plaguing the system. Unless lawmakers take the next step, employers are facing a $110 million surcharge for each of the next 10 years as L&I attempts to rebuild its depleted reserve fund. Building reserves is a good thing, but doing it with large surcharges will hinder job creation.

Thanks partly to an ambitious expansion by Amazon.com, apartment projects in Seattle are going up at a dizzying pace: According to a recent CBRE study, 18,500 apartment units will be added over the next three years.

Are developers still on board with the apartment boom, or are they suffering anxiety over the surge in new units? Tim Overland of Security Properties tackles that question in the DJC’s Real Estate Marketplace Northwest special section.

Readers can also learn from local pros about what’s next in the office, industrial and retail markets.

Check it out!

Did the Great Recession slow down sustainable projects? Not so, according to Jim Kleppe of Golder Associates. Kleppe was one of the authors in the DJC’s A&E Perspectives special section, which hit the newsstand today.
Read Kleppe’s article by clicking here.
But, don’t stop there. Brian Runberg wrote about how sustainable living doesn’t have to be expensive. Then there’s the TAF building, a really cool project built in Lakewood Park in White Center.
Finally, to get a good pulse on what designers are thinking, check out the DJC’s A&E Surveys. For example, Baylis talks about its stellar year here.

Contractor Ken Coleman has learned that old dogs can be taught new tricks. The owner of Compass Construction writes about what has changed over the past 25 years in mixed-use construction in the DJC’s special section covering urban development.
While you’re reading about Ken’s adventures, make sure to check out the numerous articles on the local apartment market that has heated up in the past few years.

Enjoy!

Washington STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and Boeing are hosting a summit July 11-12 around the opportunities associated with preparing our state’s students in STEM.  STEM is supported by several AGC members, including McKinstry’s Dean Allen who serves as STEM board chairman.  Members of the construction community are invited to participate in this important event which will include a discussion with gubernatorial candidates Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee. Click STEM Summit for info and registration.

Kathleen recently wrote about how the economy is looking up, at least in the near term.

That may be good news for workers with a few years of experience under their belts, but how does that bode for today’s high-school kids, who face high unemployment, more competition to get into college and skyrocketing tuition if they get there?

The solution may be found in career fields such as construction, utilities, manufacturing and transportation, where some are forecasting a shortage of skilled workers in the coming years. The problem is vocational education has been stripped from most public schools, so kids may not be aware of all of their options.

Fortunately, local industry has stepped up to fill some of that gap with Pierce County Career Day, which will be held Wednesday at the Western Washington Fair Grounds in Puyallup. Now in its fourth year, the program has interactive exhibits that show students which technical skills are needed for trades such as construction. Kids also learn about internships, apprenticeships and training resources.

Dozens of local companies, unions, training programs and municipalities have stepped up to support the event. Some familiar names include the Washington Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Team, Tacoma Power, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Clover Park Technical College, IBEW Local 76, AGC of Washington, Workforce Central, Pierce County, and the Washington State Building & Construction Trades.

More than 1,500 students are expected at this week’s event. For more information, check out Pierce County Construction Partnership’s website: www.buildingyourcareer.com.

Last month, Jerry remarked how tower cranes are making a comeback from the brink of extinction in Seattle. I’d like to add my observations as I drive northbound to Seattle on my daily commute.

It does look like construction is rebounding – at least in the local market. My point? Crews from Icon Materials recently finished a paving job in my neighborhood that included a fresh topping of asphalt right in my cul-de-sac. In back of my house, Schnieder Homes is in the midst of building out a 14-home development and just down the block has plans for 202 single-family lots.

Traveling north on I-5 from the Federal Way area, Mowat Construction is busy building new connections to SR 18, a $112 million project.

Farther north, near Southcenter, Lydig Construction is building the $43 million Bow Lake Recycling and Transfer Station.

Continuing north, this time on Airport Way South to avoid the crowds on I-5, Mowat Construction is repaving the roadway in preparation for a $16.7 million renovation to the Airport Way South Viaduct over the Argo Railroad Yard.

Nearing downtown, Skanska USA Civil is busy reconfiguring the southern mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct so it will fit to the future deep-bore tunnel along the waterfront. That project is estimated at $114.6 million.

Arriving at work, I need only to look across the street to see Goodman Real Estate’s Colman Residence tower rising out of the ground at Columbia and Western. Turner Construction is building that one.

There you have it – construction literally from one door to another. Looks like things are finally getting better for local construction folks.

They were once so ubiquitous some thought the species should be the official state bird.  Then, within just a couple of years, there were nearly none.  But today volunteers (me and my colleague Stacy Mullane) counted nine!

The construction tower crane is back from the brink of extinction in Seattle!  See these photos as evidence.

From our AGC offices on the shores of Lake Union, we have a pretty good view of the Seattle skyline — from downtown to Capitol Hill to the U District.  Just four years ago, we counted no fewer than 20 tower cranes from our windows.  Then, as the economy crashed, their numbers dwindled over the next few years to nearly zero.  Now…nine!  That’s nowhere near the level it once was, and it does not diminish the distressing fact that the construction industry has lost 35 percent of its jobs since the 2007 peak with little or no growth expected soon. 

But it’s something.

At a time when a silver lining among the clouds of market slumps, Greek debt, political dysfunction and foreclosures can barely be detected…let the tower crane soar!

The DJC is publishing its annual Urban Development special today. This year’s version has an interesting article by upcoming architect Daniel Toole on alleyways. Toole recently toured alleys of cities across the U.S. and in foreign countries such as Japan and Australia.

You also can learn about what’s changed in Seattle’s multifamily code, Sheraton’s Garden Walk project and who the new apartment renters are.

Enjoy!