The Environmental Protection Agency sent out an alert announcing that only 100 days remain until contractors will be required to be trained, certified, and otherwise comply with its Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) regulation. The new rules impact a wide variety of trade contractors, including companies involved in window and door replacement, reported Window & Door. Full Story

The California Building Standards Commission voted this month to adopt the 2009 International Building, Existing Building, Fire, and Residential codes statewide, effective Jan. 1, 2011. The International Residential Code adoption is a first for the state of California. Additionally, the state of California adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code. The California action adds to the growing list of 2009 I-Code adoptions at the state and local levels; recent adoptions include PA, NJ, and NH, reported Consulting-Specifying Engineer. Full Story

A key Canadian lobbyist on the Buy American file says he still believes a deal will be reached between Canada and U.S. on the protectionist trade provisions, but warns time is rapidly running out and the result will be Canadian retaliation, reported Daily Commercial News. Full Story

Tyco International Ltd. reached a deal to buy Brink's Home Security Holdings Inc., also known as Broadview Security, for cash and stock worth approximately $2.0 billion, reported MarketWatch. Full Story

Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products.

* DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org

Now is the time when manufacturers and suppliers should be looking at their supply chain together and creating value, not just cutting waste. When times are good, and the volume of business covered inefficiencies, it was easy to capture cost savings by picking the low-hanging fruit. It becomes easy to show the value of integrated supply with a lot of small wins such as reduced inventories on high-moving items or increased production on long-running manufacturing operations, reported Modern Distribution Management. Full Story

On the heels of a more than three point drop in November, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) had a negligible increase of less than one point in December. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the December ABI rating was 43.4, up slightly from 42.8 in November. This score indicates a continued decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry score was 55.3, down more than three points. Full Story

A recent Building, Design & Construction article discusses five myths about fire-rated and protective glass. Full Story

Lenders across the country are being forced to make unpalatable choices, including putting up more cash, extending loans or agreeing to lower their rights to collect on the debts, as they try to keep commercial construction projects afloat, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story

Nearly nine-in-ten contractors say there will be no recovery in 2010 as part of a new national construction hiring and business outlook forecast released by the Associated General Contractors of America. As a result, fewer contractors plan to purchase construction equipment and after a year of near-record industry layoffs, many doubt they'll be able to hire new staff this year. Full Story

The December Producer Price Index for Wood Doors (flush & panel, interior & exterior) was up 0.4% from 2008 and the Other Wood Doors (Incl. garage, screen, storm, etc.) PPI was up 0.2% compared to a year earlier. Compared to November, the unadjusted December PPI was down 0.5% for Wood Doors and down 0.1% for Other Doors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI for Metal Doors, Sash & Trim was down 0.3% from November and down 2.9% from 2008. The PPI for Builders Hardware was down 3.1% from 2008 but up 0.3% from a month earlier. Click here to view the full December Producer Price Index report. (PDF file - Wood Door information is on page 16, Builders Hardware is on page 21 and Metal Door data are on page 22)

The construction materials market perked up in November reversing a brief soft spot in October. All of the November market measures were positive. Orders, production, unfilled orders and shipments increased slightly Manufacturers' inventory and the inventory/sales ratio continued to fall, reported Reed Construction Data. Full Story

While 2009 was likely the bottom in terms of percent decline in the construction industry, 2010 will be the bottom in terms of dollar volume. Residential construction is expected to begin recovering in 2010. Nonbuilding construction will continue to be a positive contributor, increasing another 5% in 2010, driven mostly by conservation and development construction, according to FMI's Construction Outlook: Fourth Quarter 2009 Report. Full Story

Green buildings will make up about half of the non-residential building stock by 2015, up from about 15% currently, according to a new study from venture capital firm Good Energies Inc. This projected rapid growth would represent a surprising change as green building was considered a small niche market only 10 years ago. Both new construction and renovation projects include green building practices, with many developers starting to realize the costs are not as high as they expected, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story

The Earth Advantage Institute has released a list of the top ten "green" building trends in 2010 that range from energy "scores" for homes to web-based displays that track energy usage in real time, reported Environmental Design. Full Story

Disparate types of fire protection equipment that aren't compatible are a significant problem for North American colleges, hospitals and schools, according to the 2009 Campus Safety Fire Survey results. More than one in four (25.4%) survey participants said they have many types of fire systems installed on their campuses that are not standardized and don't work well with each other, reported Security Sales & Integration. Full Story Click here to view the survey results.

Federal Debt Ceiling and Estate Tax Relief

The Senate will consider legislation this week to increase the federal government's debt ceiling to $13.029 trillion, an increase of $635 billion.  The federal government can "only" borrow up to the amount authorized by Congress.  The real story of the increase debate is the fate of two amendments.  The House had previously voted to increase the debt ceiling.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will apparently offer a version of a provision included in the House-passed bill to institute a statutory "pay-go" regime, requiring all tax cuts to be offset by revenue raisers or budget cuts -- which significantly complicates passage of all tax cuts.

The other amendment is to establish a debt reduction commission.  The idea is championed by Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH).  The responsibility of the commission is to come up with debt reduction recommendations.  Congress must then vote on them, with only an "up or down" vote option with no modifications.

At this point, we cannot tell whether the Senate version of pay-go will resemble the House version. 

If the Majority Leader were to offer an amendment identical to the House-passed version, it would allow for a wavier of the pay-go rule for four revenue losing items, including an estate tax freeze and a patch for the AMT. This does not include the actual passage of these items, just "permission" for the waivers.

If this were to pass, the proponents of an estate tax freeze would most likely still need the 60 votes to pass it, but at least they would not need the revenue to offset the cut.  On the other hand, the addition of the four waivers was among the reasons Conrad and others objected to the House’s statutory pay-go amendment in the first place.

The debt ceiling bill would only establish the “permission” for the waiver; it would not be the actual vehicle for the freeze. This could be done quickly after the debt ceiling increase is enacted; they would only lose a few weeks of estate tax revenue.

As of January 1st this year, there is no Federal estate tax for 2010. Leaders in both houses of Congress have pledged to act quickly in 2010 to reinstate a Federal estate tax, and some have said they plan to make it retroactive. On the debt commission concept, that could get watered down to such a degree that it is rendered ineffective.

AMT

Technically the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) income levels for 2010 have reverted to their 1960s' levels.  The 2009 AMT exemptions of $70,950 for married couples and $46,700 for unmarried filers have reverted in 2010 to the pre-2001 levels of $45,000 and $33,750, respectively.

Unlike the discussions regarding the various other expired deductions and credits and the estate tax at the end of 2009, there was no talk about renewing the "patch" that increased the income levels, temporarily, at which the AMT kicks in.  There is a variety of reasons for this, but one of them is the belief you can wait up to the end of the year to renew the patch as there is not much tax planning that goes on during the year based on the AMT (as opposed to, for example, the R&D Credit which influences business decisions during the year) and as long as you do it before taxpayers start filling out their tax forms for 2010 in 2011, you are okay. In 2007, they dragged it out until December 26th.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released new numbers on the impact on taxpayers. The number of taxpayers affected by the AMT will increase from four million in calendar year 2009 to 27 million in 2010.  Sixteen percent of all taxpayers—and 36% of married couples—will be affected by the AMT in 2010.  Says the CBO, "If nothing is changed this year, one in six taxpayers will be affected by the AMT, paying on average an additional $3,900 in tax, and nearly every married taxpayer with income between $100,000 and $500,000 will owe some alternative tax."

DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org.

This material is protected under copyright law and contains confidential information.  It is for the sole personal, informational use of DHI members. It cannot be distributed, reprinted, referenced as a source for attribution, or otherwise made public.

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DHI's National School April 25 – May 2, 2010 in Lansdowne, VA

DHI's National Education and Certification Program are designed to help you do just that! With only 2 National schools scheduled in 2010, take advantage of DHI's upcoming May 2010 National school in Lansdowne , VA., to increase your technical knowledge and hone your skills!  Register now! Our special Early Bird tuition rate offer ends March 22.

This upcoming school offers 28 different classes – including the Fire and Egress Door Assembly Inspection class (DAI 600)!

Please note that due to consistent high demand for DHI National Education, we recommend that you sign-up for classes as soon as possible to secure your spot BEFORE classes sell out. For a complete list of course offerings click here!

***Please be sure to go to www.dhi.org to register OR check out the February 2010 issue of Doors & Hardware for a summary of the Fall National School and complete registration information*** 

QUESTIONS:

• Travel expenses and time away from the office too costly to attend a DHI national school?
• Looking for DHI's education before or after the April/May 2010 National school to fulfill prerequisites or track requirements?

ANSWER:

• DHI Local Chapter/In House Education.

Let DHI's Education Advisors help guide you in each step along the way to conducting Chapter or In-House Education. From course and instructor selection to assistance in marketing your event and ordering materials, contact us at 703/222.2010 today to get your 2010 classes scheduled!

DHI's "Local Chapter" Education System provides convenient educational sessions for training your chapter members locally. Follow these simple steps to get your chapter started.

In addition, companies can provide DHI "In-House" Education conveniently for their employees, reducing time away from home. Learn how to deliver a successful in-house training system. 

Surviving to Thriving in 2010 and Beyond... 

If you were a registered attendee at the 2009 Conference & Expo, or you are a DHI Corporate Member, contact us at 703.222.2010, or send us an email at forumvideo@dhi.org, with your contact/mailing information to receive a free Forum for the Future DVD, transcripts of the presentation, and online viewing access.

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