The BSCES Government Affairs & Professional Practice Committee (GA&PP) serves to extend the reach of our professional engineering expertise to those who develop and administer public policy affecting the built environment. Our goal is to educate and inform individuals in the public policy realm about issues that are important to our membership, to our communities, and to our Commonwealth. Toward that end, the GA&PP Committee participates in a number of activities throughout the year to engage state and federal legislative officials, as well as officials in the executive departments.
Due to the pandemic, last year suffered from a lack of movement with any legislation, both locally and federally, and uncertainty in funding for projects programmed into the Transportation Improvement Program. However, thanks to the development and distribution of the vaccine, there is the beginning of both relief and hope that things will return to normal faster than originally predicted. There is also a promise from the new federal administration to focus on infrastructure. Federally, locally, and privately there appears to be an emerging trend to focus and fund bills that support sustainability & resiliency. Of the 30 plus bills currently in review for Massachusetts, almost half are promoting clean, sustainable, resilient energy and climate preparedness. Many engineering firms are also beginning to focus on assuring their clients they can help them, and the state, move to a net-zero future. Even the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Regional Tansit Authority’s (RTA) are looking at increasing environmentally responsible projects and want to see a 50/50 split between funding transit & complete street projects with traditional major infrastructure projects. We are finally seeing the will to invest in infrastructure, but to do so utilizing new approaches, materials, and technologies to ensure our infrastructure can withstand or quickly recover from natural or man-made hazards. Of major importance was the release of ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, along with the Failure to Act Report were released in March of 2021. The country overall has scored a C-, up from the previous score of D- in 2017, but showing that there is still much left to do. For Massachusetts, ASCE wrote “Massachusetts faces infrastructure challenges of its own. For example, driving on roads in need of repair in Massachusetts costs each driver $620 per year, and 9% of bridges are rated structurally deficient. Drinking water needs in Massachusetts are an estimated $12.2 billion. 328 dams are considered to be high-hazard potential. The state’s schools have an estimated capital expenditure gap of $1.39 billion. This deteriorating infrastructure impedes Massachusetts’s ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace. Success in a 21st-century economy requires serious, sustained leadership on infrastructure investment at all levels of government. Delaying these investments only escalates the cost and risks of an aging infrastructure system, an option that the country, Massachusetts, and families can no longer afford.”
GA&PP intends on continuing to work with ASCE, as well as continuing to receive information and support from ACEC/MA, MPO’s and state legislators and other groups wishing to advance interests in all things infrastructure. If you would like to join the Government Affairs & Professional Practice committee, please contact AnaCristina Fragoso at ac.fragoso@wsp.com.