NECA Contractor Testifies Before Congress

(NECA) — An electrical contractor and member of the National Electrical Contractors Association testified before Congress on Tuesday, March 26, in support of legislation passed in 2018 that extended the calculation time period for determining a company’s small businesses size status from three to five years.

Brian Morales, the president and CEO of Vista, Calif.-based Pro-Cal Lighting, told the Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure that he is extremely encouraged by efforts to revise and strengthen the Small Business Runway Extension Act. Moving to the five-year standard for average receipts is beneficial, he added.

“Upon the passing of this legislation, Pro-Cal Lighting can begin to acquire new clients on long-term contracts, becoming long-lasting revenue sources and subsequently moving our company into a safer financial position,” Morales said.

Morales said being classified as a small business continues to allow Pro-Cal Lighting and other NECA contractors the opportunity to understand the risk, learn from it and be better suited to grow. Thanks to that classification, he added, the company has been able to competitively secure government subcontracts working on energy efficient projects.

“The Small Business Administration allows us to present our company in a satisfactory way while mitigating our risk of overexposure,” he said.

Morales, who appeared on behalf of NECA, noted that approximately 80 percent of NECA contractors are small businesses.

“Legislation like this, allowing our contactors to use the small business classification for any additional length of time, is of the utmost importance,” he said.

Subcommittee Chairman Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, led the hearing, titled “Cleared for Take-Off? Implementation of the Small Business Runway Extension Act” and held at the Rayburn House Office Building.

“Because of these firms’ crucial role in our economy, it is critical that Congress enact policies that promote small business entrepreneurship and job creation and also provide opportunities for growth,” Golden said. “The Small Business Runway Extension Act is a move in the right direction to ensure that small businesses can mature, become prosperous and create additional jobs that spur economic growth, without having one or two particularly good years or contracts bump that firm out of the small business category before its ready to compete with larger firms.”

Other members of the panel testifying before the subcommittee included David Black, partner, Holland & Knight in Tyson, Va., Megan C. Connor, partner, PilieroMazza PLLC in Washington, D.C.; and Erin Allen, president, Contemporaries, Inc., in Silver Spring, Md.