COMMITTEES
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES/MARYLAND COMMITTEE PROGRAMS
Each year, the newly elected ACEC/MD president staffs committees for the next fiscal year beginning July. If you or an employee of your firm is interested in serving on one of the many committees helping to shape the business environment in which your firm operates, please contact the ACEC/MD office.
PLEASE NOTE that even if you served on a committee during the current fiscal year, you must advise ACEC/MD of your continued interest in serving on that committee.
See below for a complete list of committees, or check with the ACEC/MD office.
CLIENT-FACING
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
The Transportation Committee shall act as a liaison and partner with MDOT and the various Transportation Business Units. The committee should be fully aware of any proposed MDOT requirements that could significantly affect the objectives of ACEC/MD. This committee is focused on items that affect our members but not efforts handled through MDQI.
ACEC/MD would have a committee of 12 ACEC/MD representatives, broken into subgroups for each TBU:
- SHA – 3 ACEC representatives (Chair of the committee plus 2)
- MTA – 2 ACEC representatives
- MAA – 2 ACEC representatives
- MDTA – 3 ACEC representatives
- MPA/MVA – 2 ACEC representatives
Focus is partnering with TBU’s on items specific to that TBU. TBU’s would identify specific staff for each group. Topics are focused on business and industry related topics and can be raised by either TBU or ACEC/MD.
Individual MDOT TBU Partnering meetings- individual partnering group for each business unit– FOCUS IS PARTNERING and communication –6 partnering groups (SHA, MTA, MDTA, MAA, MPA, MVA) – meeting schedule depends on TBU and issues; TBU leadership determined by Administrator/ExD based on us setting the goals of these meetings.
- TBU leadership– Program and policy updates, new initiative updates, “industry requests” (things we can help them with implementing)
- ACEC/MD group– industry, business and legislative updates, new initiatives, coordination challenges, any progress from subgroup work
- Individual TBU Subgroups (as needed) – Total of 4 people from ACEC/MD
- Precontract Execution (focused on procurement process and schedule and any issues) – will be a fixed subgroup for SHA – 2 ACEC representatives and staff as determined from SHA – likely Procurement, Audits?
- Post Execution (could be contract management, new initiatives) – will be a fixed subgroup for SHA – 2 ACEC representatives and whoever is needed from Agency
- MDQI – Technical/Quality issues are pushed to MDQI – there will be one representative from ACEC MD on MDQI
- Ad Hoc. Subgroups created to work through short term or strategic issues that come up
NOTE – ACEC MD will hold quarterly meetings with all membership to discuss transportation items and any actions or feedback from TBU meetings or subgroup meetings.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
The Local Government Liaison Committee shall be charged with maintaining contact with county and municipal governments throughout the state of Maryland in order to be fully aware of existing and/or proposed changes, or additional requirements that significantly affect the general business and engineering relationships with member firms of ACEC/MD. The committee shall monitor such activities by attendance at relevant public meetings, conventions, direct contact with governmental personnel, and other activities, as necessary. The committee shall report to the ACEC/MD Executive Committee on relevant matters.
The QBS Facilitator function should liaise with other committees to advocate for the protection and expansion of QBS to using agencies, jurisdictions, the design profession and the general public.
Subgroups will be set up by region:
- Eastern Shore
- Western MD
- Central MD (Baltimore County)
- Baltimore City
- ACEC MW coordination (Montgomery and PG) – this will be two members who will participate in coordination with ACEC MW
BUILDING/FACILITIES COMMITTEE
The committee is charged with acting as a liaison between ACEC/MD and clients in the facilities arena, including but not limited to: the Maryland State Department of General Services, the autonomous university and county school systems in the state, health care, institutional, municipal, private sector MEP-type clients, and related architectural-engineering professions. Legislation, regulations and other activities and programs related to these entities shall be monitored by the committee.
Committee members shall monitor legislation, regulations, and other activities and programs related to the Department of General Services and related client organizations. The committee is also charged with maintaining relationships with other design professional organizations and with industry trade organizations to develop programs, sponsor and/or support legislation, etc., of common interest to all interprofessional organizations.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LIAISON COMMITTEE
The committee is tasked with a liaison role with Federal agencies. These will include NAVFAC, Air Force, US Army Corps of Engineers, General Services Administration, and the Veteran’s Administration. They are responsible for setting up meetings to discuss items relevant to ACEC MD and our members.
UTILITIES COMMITTEE
The committee is charged with acting as a liaison between ACEC/MD and clients in the utilities arena, including but not limited to areas in water/wastewater and energy. Legislation, regulations, and other activities and programs related to these entities shall be monitored by this committee.
LEGISLATIVE AND ADVOCACY
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
The Legislative Committee is charged with continuous monitoring of the state, county and city legislative bodies, with emphasis on the state level with respect to such bills, laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations that affect the objectives of member firms of ACEC/MD, other members of the profession, allied professions and industries. The committee shall advise the ACEC/MD Executive Committee of impending legislation and develop recommendations for ACEC/MD’s positions. The committee shall provide testimony at legislative committee hearings and develop and issue policy statements. The committee should maintain a list of legislative members and personal contacts from member firms.
POLITICAL ACTION (CEPAC) COMMITTEE
CEPAC is ACEC/MD’s legally-designated political action committee and is charged with administering, under ACEC/MD’s Rules of Policies and Procedures and the state laws and regulations, the solicitation, collection and distribution of funds to candidates for public offices in the state of Maryland. The committee shall develop an annual financial plan and develop criteria for fund allocation. The committee shall solicit funds through contributions from member firms and/or other fund-raising activities approved by the ACEC/MD Executive Committee.
BEST PRACTICE FORUMS
BUSINESS FINANCE COMMITTEE
This committee provides a forum for CFOs and other individuals to discuss the financial aspects of the consulting engineering business. The committee will address topical matters such as overhead requirements and related overhead submissions, cognizant audits, professional liability insurance and the related insurance climate, legal matters and trends in litigation, accounting policies and procedures, business analytics and related trends.
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES COMMITTEE
This committee is tasks with sharing best practices in the construction services area. Through cooperative effort, the Committee is charged with bringing the Construction Management, Construction Inspection and Engineering firms together to discuss common issues facing the industry.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE
The ACEC/MD Environmental Committee provides an opportunity for member firms to discuss business practices and emerging trends related to environmental services, specifically: Water Quality Assessment, Practices and Permitting; Natural Resource Assessment; National Environmental Policy Act Compliance; Cultural Resources and Section 106 compliance; Air Quality; Industrial Hygiene/Hazardous Waste Assessment; and other emerging environmental issues and regulations. Further, the committee provides liaison with regulatory agencies to ensure a cooperative spirit between the environmental practitioners of member firms and the respective agency. The Committee is also responsible for planning and program development for the annual Spring Environmental Forum.
HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
The Human Resources (HR) Committee shall address various issues impacting employees of consulting engineering firms and act as a mechanism for disseminating this information to ACEC/MD member firms. The mission of the committee is to assist member firms by remaining up-to-date on the topics of recruiting and hiring, training, health and safety, employee relations, compensation and benefits. In turn, the dissemination and utilization of this information will provide tools for attaining the goals and strategies developed by each firm. Since HR is a constantly changing field and information from last year may be outdated this year, the Committee shall meet regularly to share information with member firms on topics of interest. This is accomplished by inviting guest speakers to attend committee meetings. The committee shall contribute articles to the ACEC/MD newsletter, as well as, providing timely information at periodic General Membership Meetings.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
The Information Systems Committee shall provide a forum for the exchange of non-proprietary information on computers and information systems support in an engineering environment.
SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (SBE) COMMITTEE
The Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Committee addresses issues of interest to members that are both MBE/DBE and non-MBE/DBE firms. Committee activities include:
- Provide a forum to promote small business development and success though workshops, roundtables, a web site, or other potential communications.
- Promote the use of Maryland’s Small Business Reserve Program for engineering work.
- Provide coordination for prime/DBE matchmaking events for MDOT and other agencies.
- Provide a forum to address MBE/DBE issues, as needed.
YOUNG MEMBERS COMMITTEE
The Young Members Committee shall strive to:
- Increase participation of young members (under 40)
- Promote growth and inclusion
- Foster opportunities for professional development
- Recruit ACEC/MD’s Leadership Class participants to join all appropriate committees
- Develop new outreach campaigns aimed at younger members
- Coordinate career and community outreach events with young members and other members.
ACEC OPERATIONS AND PROGRAMS
AWARDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS COMMITTEE
The Awards and Recommendations Committee is charged with conducting an awards program to obtain entries for engineering excellence among member firms of the American Council of Engineering Companies/Maryland. The committee shall publicize the program, determine the guidelines for awards, and obtain judges for reviewing entries. The committee shall award the winners at the Awards Banquet and present certificates to the winners. The committee shall endorse significant award winners for ACEC competitions. The Awards and Recommendations Committee shall also be charged with recommending representatives from member firms for other awards as applicable.
PROGRAMS COMMITTEE
The Committee is charged with obtaining presentations for general membership meetings. Programs should be of interest to all member firms and should be of a timely topic. Subjects related to marketing, financial management, employer-employee relationships, benefit packages and economic growth could be considered. The committee should consist of a chair and three members. This committee, in conjunction with the Executive Director, is also responsible for arranging the Annual Conference/Meeting at a site to be determined.
The Committee, in conjunction with the Executive Director, shall also be charged with continuing ACEC/MD’s annual Golf Outing, involving as many participants as possible from ACEC/MD member firms, and continuing to invite as guests members of the legislature, local governments and large corporations.
The annual conference and golf outing are subcommittees of this committee.
PUBLIC RELATIONS/WEBSITE COMMITTEE
The Public Relations Committee is charged with maintaining ACEC/MD’s website, and fostering public awareness of the activities of ACEC/MD and the profession through attendance at related community and civic affair activities, assisting the Community Outreach Committee, and representation in various media to effectively communicate the contributions of ACEC/MD member firms and the profession to society. The committee should work with the Executive Director to promote media coverage of events, such as Engineers Week, Engineering Excellence Awards, Scholarship Awards and other events.
ACEC OPERATIONS AND PROGRAMS (SET BY BYLAWS)
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
The Membership Committee is charged with membership retention and increasing firm membership in ACEC/MD by targeting prospective firms with written, telephone and personal contacts. The committee should be comprised of at least three members in addition to the chair. The Membership Committee’s official duties are outlined in Item II of the Rules of Policy and Procedure.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
The Nominating Committee is charged with selecting nominees for office in ACEC/MD in accordance with the Bylaws, Article III. The committee should seek equal representation from the major fields of engineering, as practiced by ACEC/MD member firms and representation from large and small firms. The committee should advise the nominees of the financial and time commitments extending beyond monthly meetings. Although ACEC/MD has not practiced a formal progression of offices, the Vice President should be advised of a potential time commitment of four years including service as a delegate to ACEC.
PAST PRESIDENTS AND FELLOWS ADVISORY/BYLAWS COMMITTEE
The Committee is charged with providing recommendations and guidance on strategic issues relative to the long term goals and objectives of ACEC/MD. The committee shall also provide recommendations on specific issues as requested by the President or Executive Committee.
The Bylaws Subcommittee shall be charged with redrafting the bylaws to be in compliance with present operational methods of ACEC/MD.
The Fellows Subcommittee shall be charged with presenting candidates for the honor of Fellow member to the Executive Committee.