BONUS CONTENT: Federal Shifts, Design-Build Impacts

In this bonus episode of Design-Build Delivers, we’re zooming out from state-level policy to explore the federal developments shaking up the AEC industry.

From Project Labor Agreement (PLA) rulings to sweeping new tariffs and shifting immigration policies, recent federal activity is already influencing how projects are planned, priced and staffed.

Back to help us break it all down:

• Richard Thomas, DBIA’s Director of State and Local Legislative Affairs
• Vince Campanella, Chair of DBIA’s Legislative Committee and longtime design-build leader

📲 Want to share your thoughts? Tap the link in the episode description to text the show — it’s quick, easy and we just might feature your message in a future episode.

🔗 Articles and Resources Mentioned:

• Construction Dive: Executive Order Targets PLAs
• Holland & Knight: Federal Court Declares PLA Mandate Unlawful
• Dodge Construction Network: Tariff Impact on Construction
• Building Design + Construction: Tariffs Could Raise Development Costs by as Much as 10%
• Building Design + Construction: Construction Industry Fears Immigration Crackdown 

🛠️ Strengthen your design-build readiness:
Explore tools and resources at store.dbia.org, including:

• Design-Build Done Right® Universal Best Practices
• State Statute Report
• Guide for Enactment of Design-Build Legislation
• Customizable contract documents, position statements and more

🎙️ This episode is brought to you by:
U.S. CAD, An ARKANCE Company

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Transcript

March bonus episode 

Fri, Mar 28, 2025 11:40AM • 8:32

SPEAKERS

Vince Campanella, Richard Thomas, Erin Looney

Erin Looney  00:07

If you caught our most recent design build delivers podcast episode advocating for design build without squeezing the life out of it. You know, we have been deep in the trenches of state level legislation in this bonus content episode brought to you by us, CAD and Archons, company, we are zooming out, way out, because while states and municipalities continue to drive the expansion of design build, recent federal actions could still reshape the playing field across the industry, and there has been no shortage of headlines to support this construction dive. Reports that a new executive order has rolled back policies that previously encouraged the use of project labor agreements or PLAs on federally funded projects. Legal experts say that while PLAs are not disappearing entirely, their use may decrease significantly. This follows a recent federal court ruling reported by Holland and Knight that found PLA mandates were unlawful on certain contracts, a decision that's already beginning to influence how some projects are structured in bid. Tariffs are also making news dodge construction network reports that new tariffs on materials like steel, aluminum and lumber, with some rates reaching 25% could increase input costs across the construction industry, building design and construction notes, these tariffs could raise development costs by as much as 10% especially for projects that rely heavily on steel, like high rise buildings and large infrastructure. The threat of retaliatory tariffs from key trade partners only adds to the uncertainty impacting both supply chains and pricing and as for labor, policy, shifts around immigration enforcement are putting added pressure on an already strained workforce building design and construction reports that nearly 30% of the US construction workforce is made up of immigrants, a figure that's even higher in some states as enforcement increases, some workers are avoiding job sites out of fear, Leaving firms struggling to staff projects. So what does all this mean for project delivery, risk and timelines, and where does design build fit into the federal policy conversation? To help us wade through it, we have brought back our guests from the squeezing the life out of it. Episode. Richard Thomas DBIA is director of state and local legislative affairs, and Vince Campanella Chair of DBIA, is legislative committee and a long time design build leader with decades of field experience. And you mentioned PLAs, which have been in the news lately, and we're not going to get into it, but it does set us up nicely for going back to a broad view of the US we've been talking about state legislation, but there is still a federal level that affects the states and the states that affect the federal level, you know, the whole idea of this United States. So let's look at that relationship a bit in this segment. First, we've seen federal policies shift in areas like tariffs, immigration and the Federal workforce. How did these changes impact state level, design, build, authority and project execution? Well,

Richard Thomas  02:59

there's a lot to unpack there. I think with the tariffs, I think that remains to be seen. I think it's going to depend where, where in the country the project is, and where materials are coming from. I think immigration, I don't see that as an issue that's going to affect us that much. Maybe I should back up a little bit at least. As far as the tariffs, I think we're going to have to wait and see. I think for some of the other things, as far as federal funding and things like that, I think that's a little bit easier. I'll leave that to Vince. What do you think?

Erin Looney  03:34

I mean, I think the tariffs,

Vince Campanella  03:38

we've been through this before, we went through this eight years ago, and I think a lot of it's just a wait and see approach. There's obviously when it first happens, like, what's going on now, there's a knee jerk reaction to things, and usually it settles out fairly quickly. We're a contractor. We monitor things that impact pricing, especially for projects that are out a little ways, quite heavily. And we're not seeing people running for the hills with their hair on fire right now. So I think there are people are kind of just waiting to see what happens over the next 3045, days with the tariffs, I think on the immigration side, a lot of our workers, a lot of our field workers and trades people, are immigrants. We have a fairly robust, diverse workforce here in Washington State. There's some concern over the immigration things, but there's also very clear rules around it, work visas and things like that, that a lot of the workers that we have all adhere to, and so we usually don't have that much of a problem. But I think again, people are in kind of a wait and see attitude at this point in time. You know, the PLAs, we had a bill here in Washington state that came through the legislature that they wanted to add PLAs to all K 12 school construction that, luckily, it looks like it died in the committee, so that's not going to happen. But, you know, that just puts more pressure on the budgets that we deal with. From a national association perspective, there's a large group of our membership that's non union, so it would have put them at a disadvantage. You know, obviously something probably DBIA would not have advocated for. There's a lot to impact. With the feds, there's a lot, there's a lot going on at light speed right now with the feds. There's a lot of just kind of wait and see attitude going on with with a lot of folks right now. I

Richard Thomas  05:09

would add, in regards to the PLAs, that especially in the transportation side, I think any project that has federal funding in it, there's not going to be any PLAs, and that's something that D O TS most projects have at least some federal funding in that's where you're really going to

Erin Looney  05:23

see a difference. I know we are waiting and seeing it really hasn't been that long, but we do have this new administration, and they do, they're pretty clear about what they're focused on, efficiency, innovation, cost savings. So what opportunities do you think this could possibly open up for project delivery methods like design build, and

Vince Campanella  05:40

hopefully just the success design build has on projects in general, just the time savings, the cost savings, the earlier cost certainty from an owner's perspective, the risk shift of the design and things onto a design builder, those should all be huge selling points to the Feds for how progressive design build, and design build can be more efficient, more cost of way to deliver projects. They should be hopefully focusing some effort on expanding their use of design build in the federal sector.

Erin Looney  06:11

That was such a neatly tied up answer. Thank you. That really is a perfect way to tie things up and a great reminder that even with so much in flux, design build is built to handle it big. Thanks to Richard and Vince for helping us unpack the latest federal shifts and what they could mean for design build teams across the country. If today's conversation raised questions, sparked ideas, or even made you shout at your phone on the train, I've been there, we want to hear from you. Just tap the link in the episode description to text the show. It's quick, it's easy, and you never know. We might feature your thoughts in a future episode. We've also included links in the show notes to the articles I mentioned today, in case you want to dig deeper into tariffs, immigration and the evolving labor landscape, and remember, this is just the beginning of the conversation, as Vince and Richard both said, we are kind of in a wait and see phase. There's still a lot of important design build legislation moving at the state and local level, and those efforts will continue to shape how teams deliver projects across the country. At the same time, much of what's happening federally is still unfolding, and it will take time to understand the full impact. The good news, design build is nicely poised to handle change and uncertainty, whether it's shifting supply chains, workforce challenges or evolving policy landscapes. Design builds emphasis on collaboration, flexibility and early risk management means project teams are better prepared to absorb and adapt no matter what comes next. So if you're looking to strengthen your own design build readiness, DBIA has you covered from customizable contract docs to best practices position statements and in depth guides like the design build done right universal best practices and legislative resources like the state statute report and guide for enactment of design build legislation. You can find it all@store.dbia.org And finally, if you haven't yet listened to our full length episode advocating for design build without squeezing the life out of it, be sure to check that out. Vince and Richard focus on what's happening at the state and local level and why those efforts matter so much right now. This bonus content episode of the design build delivers podcast was brought to you by us, CAD and our cons company. Learn more at us, cad.com/dbia,