About Legislative Programs

The CAWV is a highly proactive force with a dynamic legislative and lobbying program of specific goals to advance the interests of the construction industry.  The association works diligently to keep members informed of the latest issues being discussed and debated. In addition to the Monday morning Legislative Bulletin distributed while the Legislature is in session, the CAWV sends out Legislative Alerts to members via email. Members will be encouraged to contact their senators and delegates on key legislative issues.

In addition to the Legislative Bulletin and Alerts, the CAWV shares a list of all bills introduced that have an impact on the construction industry. We follow these bills and work with legislators to ensure that our industry has input into the bill and receives a fair hearing on the issues.

Major accomplishments include:

• Passage of legislation to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund by raising the wholesale gas tax rate calculation floor and preventing a loss of $23 million, allowing the transfer of $27 million allotted to the WVDOH by the WV Legislature and eliminating the 2013 expiration date of the "temporary" 5 cent tax component that began in 1993 keeping it at a permanent 20.5 cents per gallon.
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• S.B. 297, which passed during the 2008 regular session, allows the School Building Authority of West Virginia to use their pay-as-you-go lottery funds as debt service on nearly $200 million in bonds adding over $1 billion to the state’s economy. This effort stopped the boom-bust cycle of school construction by generating a predictable and regular construction program for the state's schools.
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• The Infrastructure & Jobs Development Council (IJDC) was created to establish a revolving loan fund for development of water, wastewater and economic development projects through the issuance of bonds. The IJDC is a clearinghouse for distribution of the money in the fund to water infrastructure projects statewide.
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• Creation of the School Building Authority in 1989 to facilitate and provide state funds for the construction and maintenance of school facilities to meet the educational needs of the people of the state in an efficient and economical manner.
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• The CAWV continues to have integral influence over crane operator certification requirements, ensuring that regulations are workable for West Virginia's contractors and do not impose undue burdens on the industry.
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• Ensuring that environmental rules and regulations are balanced with the needs of the quarry industry throughout the years, including a rewrite of regulations and updates to various rules.
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• Funding for higher education, regional jails and state parks have all been influenced by HUB/PAC along with rules pertaining to competitive bidding, Design-Build, Public Private Partnerships, Construction Management, Abandoned Mine Lands, State Purchasing rules and procedures, Workers' Compensation, drug and alcohol testing and tax reform.