Today we are a few days away from the month of October. In Harrisburg, it should be a time that our legislature is working on crucial issues – education, healthcare, energy, opioid epidemic, etc., but instead our state is still trying to complete its budget. One Pennsylvanian even tracks it daily and any minute today we should see his post about the budget now being 89 days late.
Every time I think about the budget debacle, as a construction professional I think about a major issue that drives up the cost of public construction, that being the Separations Act. 10 to 13% – that is amount that we overpay for construction services in Pennsylvania. Think about that every time you drive around and see a public construction project underway – our state is paying 10 to 13% more from your tax dollars to construct that building than what Maryland would pay for it. Next time you hear that your local school district is holding a school board meeting, think about all the topics they cover under their buildings and grounds report and how those projects will cost tax payers 10 to 13% more than what New Jersey would pay due to a meaningless mandate.
The Separations Act requires Pennsylvania to build in an archaic manner where multiple prime contractors take a lead role, and point fingers at each other while standing next to their attorneys every step of the way. Claims, lawsuits, delays – those are the norm for public construction projects in our state and those are the factors that drive up the cost of construction. In other states, like West Virginia, Ohio, and 47 other states in our nation, they are free to choose the most efficient construction delivery method. Our federal government and the entire private sector are also free to choose the most cost-effective delivery method.
So next time you read a newspaper article on the state budget impasse, just think about how we overpay for construction services by 10 to 13%. Let that fact sink in while you start your day, the 89th day that we are late on this year’s budget.
Please share this petition with your contacts, urging them to sign: https://www.change.org/p/pennsylvania-repeal-pa-separations-act. Also contact your legislators and let them know that you want action on Senate Bill 744 and House Bill 1529.
Building Pennsylvania 