CHANTILLY, VA — The Sheet Metal and Air-Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) has gone on record as endorsing two House bills. The first bill (H.R. 1076) would provide $3.57 billion per year in leveraging tax incentives to generate more than $22 billion annually for state and local construction revenue bonds.

The bipartisan bill was introduced by Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Rep. Charles Rangle (D-NY) on March 15. According to SMACNA, the bill has nearly 225 bipartisan cosponsors with more commitments to floor votes. This level of support means the legislation has a majority of the House cosponsoring a school construction bill including prevailing wage coverage.

SMACNA is also supporting an independent contractor bill expected to be introduced later in the year. The legislation would close loopholes that allow for misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The organization says that the issue is gaining bipartisan sponsorship and that the bill would also establish a presumption of an employment relationship between a service provider and a service recipient.