According to data published in the Beck Group’s latest construction cost report, nonresidential construction costs increased about 5% last year, which falls within the range of normal cost escalation. In 2026, construction cost inputs are expected to trend close to last year’s level, pending no major hiccups, such as a prolonged Middle East conflict.

Expectations of another year of stable construction costs, along with potentially lower interest rates and reduced inflationary pressures, helped buoy AEC firms’ hopes of improved business conditions later this year.   

The report lists input costs for markets in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, South and West Florida, and Raleigh. It presents construction costs for healthcare, higher education, hospitality, office, multifamily, faith-based, parking and site work.    

Tariff Impacts Overblown

Many AEC firms feared significantly higher prices for imported construction materials when the Trump administration unleashed an unprecedented flurry of global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other statutes in the first quarter of 2025. The IEEPA tariffs had their greatest impact on metal products, such as aluminum, steel and copper.

But a Supreme Court decision in February ruled that the tariffs were deemed illegal. That led the administration to impose a 15% tariff increase under a different statute to replace the invalidated tariffs.   

Surging demand for data centers and mission-critical infrastructure projects contributed to higher prices for metal products. But prices for other construction materials were largely capped by slower activity in nonresidential projects.

Significant construction cost escalation failed to materialize for various reasons. That included the administration successfully negotiating lower tariffs with some countries and no new 2025 tariffs following the initial round that year.

Other contributing factors included AEC firms implementing cost-containment strategies, such as negotiating supplier deals or purchasing materials from countries with lower tariffs. Some AEC firms’ workflow models, such as Beck’s highly collaborative design-build model, also proved valuable in stabilizing project costs.

Demand for Skilled Trades Heats Up in Cooling Labor Market  

Additionally, input costs remained affected by the ongoing shortage of construction workers. That trend is exacerbated by a proliferation of data center and other large-scale construction projects, which are siphoning skilled workers from other projects by offering higher pay and other attractive incentives.  

However, overall demand for construction labor has cooled amid fewer commercial projects, particularly in the office and multifamily segments. Higher borrowing costs have made it difficult for owners and developers to pencil in these projects profitably. But steady demand exists for healthcare and educational projects, which are typically funded with public investments.      

Costs are also impacted by building codes and regulations, building designs and other factors. Those costs generally gradually rise over time and are in addition to material and labor costs.

Firms still face headwinds that could push construction costs above anticipated levels this year. More costly tariffs and other event risks could potentially lead to supply disruptions, material scarcity and higher energy costs.

Regional Cost Disparities

In the breakdown of building costs in Beck’s markets, there are significant differences across regions and industry sectors. Size, location, project type and complexity, labor wages and material prices are among the mix of factors influencing construction costs.

South Florida had the highest input costs in Beck’s operating regions. West Florida, Denver and Atlanta were also at the high end of costs, while Raleigh, Austin and Dallas/Forth Worth were on the lower end.  

The report shows significant cost differences across several building categories in Beck’s markets.

Below are examples of building costs in Beck’s markets. The building sectors listed below reflect the lowest (generally Dallas/Foth Worth) and highest (generally South Florida) construction costs in the firm’s markets. 

• Healthcare–In Beck’s seven markets, the cost of building an acute care hospital ranges from a low of between $705 to $832 per square foot to a high between $795 and $938 per square foot. Costs for a core-and-shell medical office building (without tenant improvements) range from $225 to $265 per square foot to $292 to $345 per square foot. Many industry veterans may recall that the cost to build complex healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, ranged from $500 to $600 per square foot. Those costs are now approaching $1,000 per square foot, reflecting technical requirements and long-term escalation.

• Hospitality–Construction costs for a five-star hotel range from a low of $594,392 to $701,338 per key to a high of $990,654 to $1.168 million per key. The cost of a four-star hotel ranges from $235,945 to $278,397 per key to $499,093 to $588,892 per key.
• Higher Education–Building costs for general classroom and office buildings range from a low of $403 to $476 per square foot to a high of $621 to $733 per square foot. The projects’ renovation costs range from $355 to $418 per square foot to $433 to $511 per square foot.
• Multifamily–Input costs for a rental high-rise project range from a low of $330,956 to $390,503 per square foot to a high of $623,130 to $735,246 per square foot.
• Office–Input costs for a seven-plus-story, core-and-shell office building (without interior finishes and parking facilities) range from a low of $237 to $279 per square foot to a high of between $326 and $385 per square foot. The cost of constructing office buildings is approaching $300 per square foot nationwide, up from the historically lower end of $200 per square foot. The office market has undergone structural changes since the pandemic, with many older or underutilized buildings being used or planned for residential or mixed-use projects. There is a general lack of interest in speculative, ground-up office buildings due to higher borrowing costs and concerns over their profitability in the current environment.
• Faith-Based–Worship space construction costs range from a low of $424 to $500 per square foot to a high of $659 to $778 per square foot. Renovation costs for this building type range from $189 to $223 per square foot to $231 to $272 per square foot.
• Parking–Construction costs for a precast parking structure range from $18,672 to $41,420. For an above-grade podium parking structure, the cost to build this facility ranges from $43,179 to $84,824.
• Sitework–For work on urban sites less than five acres, costs range from $1.45 million to $2.32 million. For non-urban sites between 5-15 acres, the cost ranges from $911,808 to $1.45 million; for non-urban sites larger than 15 acres, the cost ranges from $561,674 to $896,639.

Barring any unforeseen bearish events in 2026, construction cost inputs are expected to mirror cost escalation in 2025. This year also marks a period of guarded optimism among AEC firms, following a turbulent year. Beck will publish an update on nonresidential construction costs in the markets listed above later this year, providing a snapshot of how building costs are transforming a dynamic built environment.    

SEE ALSO:

The post Construction Costs Should Stabilize for 2026 Despite Persistent Global Pressures first appeared on Construction Executive.

View ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index for June. View the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.

Only the Middle States region experienced backlog growth on a monthly basis in June. In the Northeast region, backlog contracted sharply in June and is down by over a month from a year ago. 

ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales and staffing levels increased in June, while the reading for profit margins inched lower. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.

“While backlog declined in June, it’s still longer than any point from September 2023 to April 2026,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This strength is the result of continued booming data center construction. The 13% of ABC members under contract to work on data centers have significantly higher backlog (11.0 months) than the 87% that are not (8.5 months). This trend is noticeable headwind for smaller contractors—just 8% of contractors with less than $100 million in annual revenues have data center work under contract, well below the 41% share of contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.  

“The effect of rising input prices may be weighing on contractor profitability,” said Basu. “Contractor confidence regarding profit margins fell to a seven-month low in June, though expectations remain above the prevailing level from the second half of 2025.”

SEE ALSO: HOW CONTRACTORS ARE SHIFTING HEADCOUNT BUDGETS TO AGENT BUDGETS

The post ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator Slips, Contractors Remain Confident in June first appeared on Construction Executive.

Overall construction materials prices are 9.6% higher than one year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 9.7% higher. Prices increased in 2 of the 3 energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices increased 11.8% and unprocessed energy materials increased 6.9%. Natural gas prices were down 18.2% in May.

“Construction input prices surged again in May and are now up nearly 10% year over year,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Oil prices, pushed higher by the ongoing Iran conflict, made a significant contribution to the rise in overall materials prices, yet the greater concern is the continuing price growth in tariff-affected inputs like iron, steel and copper. Contractors remain optimistic that their profit margins will expand over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, yet it appears likely that materials price escalation and stubbornly high borrowing costs could eventually weigh on profitability.”

SEE ALSO: THE FUTURE OF PRECONSTRUCTION: LOOKING AHEAD TO 2030

The post Construction Materials Prices Surge 2.6% in May, Up Nearly 10% Year Over Year first appeared on Construction Executive.

Overall construction input prices are 7.0% higher than one year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 7.4% higher. Prices increased in all three energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices increased 11.3%, while unprocessed energy materials and natural gas prices were up 9.2% and 4.9%, respectively, in April.

“Construction input prices surged again in April,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Input prices have now risen more during the first four months of 2026 (6.2%) than over the prior three years (4.8%). While much of the recent rise can be traced to soaring oil prices, escalation was widespread in April, with tariff-affected materials like iron and steel posting particularly large price increases.

“In addition to the direct impact of this reemerging materials price escalation, too-hot inflation data coupled with upbeat labor market indicators suggest that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut rates this year,” said Basu. “While contractors remain busy, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, these cost pressures will likely weigh on construction activity over the coming months.”

SEE ALSO: TRIMBLE LAUNCHES NEW SURVEY AT ANNUAL DIMENSIONS CONFERENCE

The post Construction Materials Prices Soar in April, Up 6.2% Since January first appeared on Construction Executive.

Basu covers all of these points—and more—and how they affect the construction industry, per sector, per per state, per region and as a whole. But regardless of the industry, the bottom line remains steadfast: The U.S. needs lower interest rates.

POLLS

Which of these is the leading challenge for your company today?

Over the last three months, how has your company’s backlog fared?

Where do you expect your company’s profit margins to be a year from now?

QUOTES

“If I made this presentation yesterday it would be a lot more pessimistic (in reference to the stock market jump and the ceasefire in the Middle East).” 6:00

“People are in such a foul mood…some of that is politics, but most of that is prices keep rising rapidly.” 7:00

“Interest rates are going to be higher for longer.” 10:37

“Significant segments of the U.S. economy continue to perform quite well.” 13:00

“Last year the hyperscalers in the aggregate spent $450 billion on AI infrastructure; latest estimates are between $700-725 billion.” 15:00

“There are some recent indications in slowing in economic activity.” 25:00

“The economy is still growing; we’re not in recession.” 26:00

“Job growth has become more erratic.” 27:00

“Silicon valley—fine; Wall Street—fine; Main Street—a little rocky.” 39:00

“A lot of people are back in the office five days a week.” 45:00

“State and local governments will be asked to spend more on infrastructure financing.” 52

“One industry stands out in terms of wage growth not slowing and that is construction.” 51:30

“We need lower interest rates.” 55:40

THINGS TO NOTE

The U.S. South is growing; more people are moving to Texas and out of California than to and from any other state; but, overall, Americans are moving less than they have in recent decades.

Artificial intelligence and M&A activity is booming.

Layoffs at construction companies are down; they aren’t letting people go because they’re desperate for talent.

Class-A architecture in large markets is mainly where office vacancies are (i.e. San Francisco) and many of these buildings are losing value; AI is poised to push these vacancies higher, with its ability to replace entry level positions like computer programming.

Q&A

Questions focused heavily on data center spending and construction; some focused on the war in the Middle East, especially when considering today’s ceasefire and the intended opening of the Strait of Hormuz. There was minor focus on nuclear power, as well as mergers and acquisitions. There were no questions on tariffs.

SEE ALSO: DATA CENTERS, TARIFFS, INFLATION, OH MY: ANIRBAN BASU ON CONSTRUCTION ECONOMY AT YEAR’S END

The post ‘We Need to Lower Interest Rates’: Anirban Basu on 2026 Q1 Construction Economy first appeared on Construction Executive.

Spending was down on a monthly basis in 9 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending was down 0.4%, while public nonresidential construction spending was up 0.6% in January.

“Private nonresidential construction spending contracted for the fourth consecutive month in January and is now down 8% from the December 2023 all-time high,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While harsh winter weather likely bears some blame, the major issue is the ongoing decline in computer/electronic manufacturing construction. With CHIPS Act-incentivized megaprojects wrapping up, spending in that subcategory is down nearly 40% over the past 18 months.

“With the exception of data centers, which saw another 2% jump in spending during January, there are few sources of momentum to offset the precipitous decline in manufacturing construction activity,” said Basu. “This lackluster performance is especially concerning in light of the ongoing conflict in Iran, which will ignite materials price escalation and heighten already elevated levels of economic uncertainty. While ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator rebounded slightly in February, rising 0.1 months from January’s four-year low, it may be a difficult first half of 2026 for many contractors.”

SEE ALSO:

The post Private Nonresidential Construction Slows for Fourth Straight Month in January Despite Jump in Data Center Spending first appeared on Construction Executive.

Overall construction input prices are 2.3% higher than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 2.9% higher. Prices increased in 2 of 3 energy categories last month. Crude petroleum and unprocessed energy materials prices were up 1.8% and 0.4%, respectively, while natural gas prices were down 2.9% in January.

“Nonresidential construction input prices rebounded in January, surging at a blistering 7.1% annualized rate for the month,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While this sharp monthly rise can be traced to significant increases in prices for tariff-affected products like copper wire and cable, iron and steel, and industrial controls equipment, aggregate input price escalation is not particularly concerning right now. Nonresidential materials prices are up just 2.9% over the past year and have been virtually flat over the past several months, rising just 0.2% since September despite some large monthly fluctuations.

“Trade policy may continue to put upward pressure on certain input prices, especially those subject to the large Section 232 tariffs,” said Basu. “Even so, input escalation is unlikely to rise too sharply as long as energy prices remain tame and demand remains subdued. Contractor sentiment seems to reflect this; optimism regarding profit margins improved in January, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, although it remains lower than one year ago.”

SEE ALSO: ABC STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S 2026 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

The post Construction Materials Prices Surge in January, Driven Again by Tariffs first appeared on Construction Executive.

Sellers often underestimate how closely buyers scrutinize financial statements. The good news is you can use this to your advantage.

Here’s what buyers really look for in financials and how to turn them into a strategic asset that drives up the value of your business.

Profit and Loss: Proving Repeatable Profitability

Purpose: Shows earnings performance over time. It’s the first place a buyer goes to evaluate whether your business is profitable and how predictable those profits are.

What Buyers Look For:

• Revenue consistency and trends (monthly/quarterly/yearly)
• Gross and net margins by business line or service type
• Customer and job mix (repair vs. replacement, residential vs. commercial)
• Normalized EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) with owner-related and one-time adjustments
• Seasonality and how well it’s managed

Actionable Insights:

• Segment revenue and margin by job type or market (this shows where your profit comes from).
• Normalize EBITDA: strip out personal expenses, non-operational costs or one-time anomalies.
• Be ready to explain revenue dips or margin compression—buyers will assume the worst unless told otherwise.

Why It Matters:
A strong, clean profit and loss builds confidence that the business is healthy and transferable. If your profits are erratic, unexplained or inflated with personal perks, buyers will discount accordingly.

Balance Sheet: Revealing Financial Stability and Risk

Purpose: Offers a snapshot of the company’s financial health at a given moment—its liquidity, solvency and how much financial risk the buyer is inheriting.

What Buyers Look For:

• Working capital: Can the company meet short-term obligations?
• AR and AP aging: Are you collecting and paying on time?
• Debt levels: Especially short-term debt or high-interest liabilities
• Owner loans or unusual liabilities: These complicate transactions
• Equity composition: Does the capital structure make sense?

Actionable Insights:

• Clean up AR: write off bad debts and demonstrate collection discipline.
• Refinance or restructure any short-term or high-cost debt.
• Eliminate shareholder loans or reclassify them clearly.
• Document any major asset values (trucks, equipment, real estate) and depreciation schedules.

Why It Matters:
A messy balance sheet suggests poor financial management, even if the business is profitable. It can lead to escrows, earnouts or worse: a buyer walking away.

Cash-Flow Statement: Validating Operational Reality

Purpose: Tracks the actual movement of cash, which is crucial for construction businesses where revenue and expenses don’t always align.

What Buyers Look For:

• Cash flow from operations: Are you generating real cash from your core business?
• CapEx needs: Are you reinvesting in the business at sustainable levels?
• Debt service and distributions: Are you overleveraged or bleeding cash?
• Free cash flow: Is there excess cash to reinvest or distribute?

Actionable Insights:

• Demonstrate steady cash generation from operations—not just on paper, but in bank statements and reconciliations.
• Align CapEx and debt payments to show sustainability.
• Forecast cash flow going forward, not just retroactively.

Why It Matters:
EBITDA might be the headline number, but cash flow is what buyers care about when evaluating their real return. If your business consumes cash or relies on payment delays, it weakens trust and value.

Red Flags That Trigger Buyer Skepticism

Even great businesses can get picked apart during due diligence. Here are common red flags that you’ll want to address—and how to address them—before listing your company for sale:

Customer concentration: If more than 25% of your revenue comes from one client, diversify before going to market, or be ready to justify the relationship’s durability.

Inconsistent financials: Fluctuating revenue, irregular margins or major accounting changes raise eyebrows. Explain the “why” behind the numbers.

Poor documentation: Buyers want clean, accrual-based books with clear job costing. If your statements look like an internal cheat sheet, invest in cleanup now.

Excessive debt or legal issues: Outstanding tax liens, unresolved lawsuits or vendor disputes can torpedo a deal. Disclose and mitigate them early.

The Strategic Role of an M&A Advisor

A good mergers and acquisitions advisor, like Axia Advisors, doesn’t just “list” your business. They help you frame your story, clean up your numbers and protect your value throughout the due diligence process.

Advisors help owners:

• Normalize and defend EBITDA with clear documentation
• Frame your financials to reduce buyer-perceived risk
• Use industry comps and strategic positioning to justify a premium multiple
• Navigate tough negotiations with data, not emotion
• Avoid the “death by a thousand questions” that derails unprepared sellers
• Get you the best terms and deal structure

Final Word: The Exit Is in the Details

Your financials don’t just reflect past performance—they shape buyer confidence. And in mergers and acquisitions, confidence equals value. Make sure your books are ready before you start shopping for a buyer.

Whether you’re three months or three years from selling, it’s never too early to start preparing. Because when the numbers tell the right story, you don’t just sell your business—you maximize what it’s worth.

SEE ALSO: PRIORITIZING SUCCESS: SUCCESSION PLANNING BEYOND THE COMPANY WALLS

The post What Buyers Really See in Your Financial Statements—And How to Make Them Count first appeared on Construction Executive.

A builder who understands the details of jobsite construction may struggle with the financial and administrative demands in the office, while someone with strong office management skills may not grasp the challenges that come with directing, managing and communicating with labor or the critical nature of scheduling all aspects of a job in the field. That dynamic makes running a construction company among the most complex and stressful—and makes the role of construction consultants so valuable. Working with the right consultants can help bridge the gap and bring necessary balance between both worlds.   

The four main and vital pillars of construction consulting are finance, human resources, technology and risk management. Each is indispensable when building, managing, growing and optimizing a construction firm. 

FINANCE CONSULTING

Construction projects involve high capital demands, tight margins, variable payment terms and significant risk, all of which require critical data, timely analysis, in-depth understanding and decisive action—all elements of the disciplined financial oversight needed to run a successful operation. 

A finance consultant evaluates every financial element that supports the company’s growth, from estimating and job costing, to insurance, banking and surety relationships, to the debt service. This ensures the business operates efficiently, manages credit effectively and maintains access to the capital required to perform and expand as needed. A consultant will provide financial statements and tax analyses, cash flow and backlog planning, and overall finance and strategic credit optimization—all critical to improve profitability, cash flow, bonding capacity, banking credit and operational stability.

The consultant’s role is both analytical and strategic, bringing cohesion to field operations and office departments. The consultant also empowers the executive leadership team to see the road forward while creating the financial team, system and processes that enable the organization to respond to challenges while supporting growth.

HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING

With labor shortages, generational turnover, rising safety expectations and increasingly complex compliance requirements, human resource strategy is more critical than ever.

HR consulting for construction companies focuses on hiring, training, aligning, retaining and developing personnel to support operational and strategic objectives. The workforce is a construction company’s most critical asset. Teamwork and coordinating the numerous aspects of building a project onsite and managing that job from the office are primary objectives for an HR consultant. 

HR consulting offers a comprehensive approach to building capabilities, while ensuring that every employee, from laborer to executive, is effectively trained, managed and supported to perform safely, efficiently and profitably in harmony with each other. This includes designing and implementing systems that manage the entire employee lifecycle, establishing competitive compensation and benefits programs, developing performance management and training systems, and ensuring compliance with complex employment, safety and labor laws. The consultant evaluates the company’s structure, leadership and culture, identifying areas where improved communication, accountability or workforce planning can directly enhance productivity and reduce turnover.

TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING

Technology has allowed the construction industry to become more data-driven and analytical. But while this trend has afforded the industry process innovation, improved management and advanced productivity, working with data may not come easily to those in the field. Procurement and enterprise risk management, financial management and project management software programs are examples of technology that enables the construction business to evolve exponentially, creating greater opportunities for owners to leverage data to advance their business and innovate the industry.

Specifically, a technology consultant works with company leadership to evaluate existing systems such as estimating software, project management platforms, accounting systems and field applications to determine how well they support business objectives. The consultant also identifies gaps, inefficiencies and redundancies, and then designs an integrated technology strategy that aligns people, processes and data. This may include implementing enterprise resource planning systems, upgrading field-to-office communication tools, digitizing jobsite reporting or automating workflows like change orders, submittals or billing.

A consultant will also focus on optimizing information flow throughout the company to ensure that data is accurate, accessible, actionable and secure, while enabling leadership to make faster, smarter decisions and teams to perform at their highest potential. They also can help the field and office better understand how this data can impact the construction company’s business for their unique perspectives.

With the increasing importance of data security, cyber protection and digital compliance, technology consulting also helps contractors safeguard sensitive information. Consultants ensure that proper protocols, backups and access controls are in place to protect the company’s assets and reputation as well as clients and employees.

Ultimately, a tech consultant can help a construction company keep pace with industry complexity and client expectations, reduce redundancy and improve accuracy in estimating and scheduling all while enhancing communication between the field and the office. 

RISK MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

Construction is inherently risky. Every project involves multiple stakeholders, complex contracts, changing conditions, hazardous work environments and significant financial commitments. Without disciplined risk management, even a profitable project can become a financial disaster due to a single claim, accident or contractual dispute.

Risk management consulting for a construction company encompasses identifying, evaluating, mitigating and managing the risks that threaten a contractor’s financial stability, project performance and long-term success. It covers every aspect of construction exposure, from jobsite safety and contractual obligations to insurance, bonding, subcontractor management and legal compliance to ensure that risks are controlled and insured.

A risk management consultant works with ownership and executive leadership to build a comprehensive risk strategy that aligns with the company’s size, structure and project portfolio. This involves assessing current exposures, reviewing contracts, evaluating insurance and bonding programs, and developing policies and procedures that anticipate and prevent loss before it occurs. The consultant also evaluates subcontractor prequalification, safety programs, jobsite controls and financial safeguards to ensure the company is protected from both predictable and unforeseen exposures, and integrates risk awareness into the company’s culture, ensuring that field and office personnel understand their role in protecting the organization.

Ultimately, risk management consulting turns reactive problem-solving into proactive risk control, strengthening both operational execution and financial performance, and ensures that the company’s insurance program is properly structured and competitively priced, that contracts allocate risk fairly and that operational procedures minimize the likelihood of injury, delay or litigation.

Effective risk management also enhances a contractor’s reputation with clients, insurers and sureties, as well as its competitive advantage; a company with strong risk controls often benefits from lower insurance premiums, better bonding terms and improved access to capital.

The role of construction consultants has evolved with technology and the speed at which business moves. Even when consulting functions are eventually replaced by in-house personnel, periodic engagement with external consultants helps established departments maintain awareness of evolving best practices, compliance changes and innovations across the industry and maintain a fresh perspective. Consultants bring benchmarking data, lessons from peer companies and a broader view of system performance to ensure the organization remains aligned with emerging standards and competitive trends.

SEE ALSO: RECRUITING WOMEN TO THE WORKFORCE AS SAFETY CONSULTANTS

The post The Four Pillars of Construction Consulting: Finance, Human Resources, Technology and Risk Management first appeared on Construction Executive.

• Passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Signed into law on July 4, 2025, the landmark tax and spending bill focused on maintaining and expanding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s beneficial tax provisions for American businesses and workers. It also revised the environmental review structure, creating a fee-for-service option that guarantees completion times. Project owners who pay 125% of a review’s estimated cost receive six-month environmental assessments and 12-month impact statement completion times, compared with 2024 averages of 9.6 months and 2.2 years, respectively, according to the Council on Environmental Quality. The law exempts reviews for which a fee is paid from further administrative and judicial reviews, frequently used by activists to delay or block projects.
• Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations: On February 25, 2025, the CEQ issued an interim final rule repealing all previously issued NEPA regulations. The rule, effective April 11, 2025, stated that the CEQ no longer has authority to issue binding NEPA regulations and tasked federal agencies with developing their own NEPA rules. Following this, numerous federal agencies have established or revised their own NEPA regulations with the goal of establishing a coordinated, predictable and transparent process to streamline permitting while maintaining necessary environmental safeguards.

With more than a year remaining in the 119th Congress and three years left in the Trump administration, the Republican majority and executive branch are advancing the following additional permitting reforms: 

• A Final Rule Clarifying the Definition of “Waters of the United States”: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water aims to issue a final rule defining WOTUS in a manner consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision by January 2026. This rulemaking is expected to clarify which waters fall under federal jurisdiction following ambiguous and expansive definitions of WOTUS promulgated by the Biden administration. 
• The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act: The SPEED ACT would codify NEPA’s intent to prescribe necessary processes rather than mandate particular results, narrow the scope of NEPA review, clarify that federal funding and assistance should not be the determinant of whether an agency action is determined to be a “major Federal action” and establish reasonable timelines for filing judicial review claims. The legislation awaits a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee. 
• The Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act: The PERMIT Act would clarify the definition of WOTUS, expedite jurisdictional determinations, streamline the Section 404 dredge and fill permit process, extend National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit terms and reduce the amount of time that the EPA has to deny or restrict the use of a defined space as a disposal site to the period between a completed application and permit issuance. The legislation awaits a House floor vote. 

With Congress and the White House’s actions and objectives, the construction industry can expect a more transparent, consistent and predictable permitting process that provides developers and contractors with the ability to plan and execute even the most complex projects while safeguarding our communities, maintaining a healthy environment and successfully stewarding public funds.

SEE ALSO: ABC URGES SENATE TO PASS A CLEAN CR TO END SHUTDOWN

The post Permitting America to Build first appeared on Construction Executive.