WCOE News

As we're all aware, the Affordable Care Act has the potential to drastically change how you structure your benefits policy and the cost of your insurance premiums. As part of an outreach project, the SBA (www.sba.gov) is educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act and the provision that they need to know about. The SBA has upcoming webinars scheduled for the following dates:

Affordable Care Act Implementation: What Small Businesses Need to Know
Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 2:00pm ET

The Affordable Care Act & Women Small Business Owners –
Webinar with US Women's Chamber of Commerce
Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 1:30pm ET

Update on the New Health Care Law – Conference Call with Small Business Majority
Thursday, April 18 at 1:00pm ET

We encourage all small business owners to participate in these informative webinars. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Van Es, Special Assistant for Public Engagement – SBA, at
202-205-7660 or christopher.vanes@sba.gov.

Contract is First of its Kind for the Design and Construction Industry

WASHINGTON – ConsensusDocs released the new ConsensusDocs 299 Joint Venture LLC Agreement today, which provides the first industry standard contract for joint ventures of contractors, contract managers, design builders and design professionals utilizing an LLC model. The agreement is flexible to accommodate joint ventures between contractors, construction managers and design builders, as well as those incorporating an architect, engineer or other design professional.

Joint venture arrangements have long been an important tool in construction industry procurement. The new joint venture LLC agreement makes it easier for multiple parties to combine efforts, pool and increase capacity, combine expertise and resources, share risks on specific projects, and further the socio-economic goals of federal set-aside programs such as the SBA mentor-protégé program.

“In today’s market, we’re seeing an increase in joint ventures between general contractors, and the new joint venture document provides a solid contractual foundation for all involved parties,” said Kory D. George, partner at Woods & Aitken LLP and chair of the ConsensusDocs joint venture working group.

Firms working on joint ventures now have an additional standardized form that simplifies getting contracts signed and work performed. It can be used at the teaming or proposal development stage, as well as for project performance.

The newly-published agreement furthers the coalition’s goal of writing fairer contracts to deliver better project results with less litigation. Similar to all ConsensusDocs standard contract documents, this agreement takes a project-first approach and promotes collaboration, communication and integration.

ConsensusDocs are the only standard contracts written and endorsed by 38 leading design and construction industry associations. For more information, visit www.ConsensusDocs.org.