杏吧论坛

杏吧论坛 is proud to participate in our democratic and political processes.

As the world鈥檚 trusted infrastructure consulting firm with significant business across the United States, we advocate for legislative, administrative and regulatory solutions and engage with and support candidates and causes that can have a positive impact on our communities, operations, employees and key stakeholders. These activities align with our core values as an organization and our purpose 鈥� delivering a better world.

杏吧论坛 participates in the political, legislative, administrative, and regulatory processes in four primary ways:

• Lobbying activities: Like many companies and organizations, 杏吧论坛 engages in lobbying to ensure our views are considered in the formation of public policy.
• Political contributions to candidates and ballot measures: 杏吧论坛 seeks to support and partner with those that support good public policy and help us meet the needs of our clients, employees, and shareholders.
• The 杏吧论坛 Political Action Committee (PAC): This separate, segregated fund complements 杏吧论坛鈥檚 corporate efforts to support candidates through the voluntary contributions of its eligible employee members.
• Trade associations and coalitions: These memberships and partnerships allow us to extend our voice on behalf of our industry in supporting policies that advance our ability to deliver complex and critical infrastructure projects to meet our clients鈥� evolving needs.

Oversight & Compliance

杏吧论坛 acts responsibly in all its political activities, ensuring that our decisions and actions involve our Legal, Ethics & Compliance, and Government Relations functions. The 杏吧论坛 Board of Directors has ultimate oversight of our operations and performance, and we ensure that our Board has visibility into our political activities and routinely reviews them.

Oversight of 杏吧论坛鈥檚 political and lobbying activities resides with the Nominating and Governance Committee of our Board of Directors. This Committee, comprised entirely of independent directors, annually reviews our lobbying and political activities, policies, and expenditures (including corporate contributions and payments to trade associations and other tax-exempt organizations that may engage in political activity), to ensure these activities align with our values and stakeholder needs.

All decisions and actions related to political activity are subject to a comprehensive internal review process, administered by 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Office of Risk Management, which requires the involvement and approval of executives representing 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Legal, Ethics & Compliance, and Government Relations functions.

杏吧论坛鈥檚 government relations team, which manages the day-to-day political activities of the company, ensures that risk management, ethical standards and compliance are an integral part of its culture.

Every action we take is in strict compliance with local, state, and federal law. All political expenditures and all lobbying activities are properly disclosed as required by law.

Under no circumstances are our political or advocacy activities or contributions motivated by the personal political preferences of our Board of Directors or any officer, executive or employee of 杏吧论坛. 聽

Lobbying Activities

杏吧论坛 has robust policies and procedures in place to effectively oversee decisions regarding lobbying activities

杏吧论坛 has a comprehensive internal review process administered by its Government Relations, Legal, and Ethics & Compliance teams to oversee its lobbying activities. This group of executives ensures that:

• 杏吧论坛 complies with all applicable laws when engaging in lobbying or political activity.
• Any outside firm retained to supplement 杏吧论坛鈥檚 lobbying efforts at the federal, state or local level is adequately vetted and required to be properly registered as a lobbyist in the relevant jurisdiction.
• Any lobbyist engaged by 杏吧论坛 must contractually agree to abide by the high ethical standards set forth in 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Code of Conduct, Anticorruption Policy, and Insider Trading Policy.
• All 杏吧论坛 employees receive annual training regarding the company鈥檚 Code of Conduct, and specialized training is provided for employees involved in retaining and managing lobbyists.

In addition, external compliance consultants ensure the company stays abreast of changes in state and local compliance laws, as well as disclosure requirements.

杏吧论坛 provides substantial disclosure regarding its lobbying activities

杏吧论坛 is fully committed to complying with state and federal laws regarding public disclosure.

At the federal level, 杏吧论坛 submits quarterly filings to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate that disclose overall federal lobbying expenses and the specific legislative and regulatory issues that were the subject of those lobbying efforts.

• Our quarterly filings are available on the lobbying disclosure websites hosted by the House of Representatives () and the Senate ().
• In Calendar Year 2024, we reported lobbying expenditures of $1,137,000. These include payments to external firms and internal expenditures for employees registered as lobbyists.
• Key subjects on which 杏吧论坛 lobbies include funding and policy issues related to transportation, water and general infrastructure programs; energy and environmental programs; disaster recovery and resilience; and certain defense programs.

At the state and local level, 杏吧论坛 files regular publicly available reports about the Company鈥檚 lobbying activities as required by the applicable state and local laws. In many jurisdictions, external lobbyists acting on behalf of 杏吧论坛 must independently file.

Click here for additional detail related to 杏吧论坛鈥檚 lobbying expenditures in 2024.

Direct Political Contributions                                                

杏吧论坛 makes contributions, where permissible, from corporate funds to candidates running for state and local offices and in support of state, regional and local ballot initiatives across the country. 杏吧论坛 occasionally makes contributions to state and local political parties and political committees. Consistent with federal law, 杏吧论坛 does not make corporate contributions to candidates for federal office.

• 杏吧论坛鈥檚 direct contributions to candidates are not made on a partisan basis.
• We support candidates and eligible political organizations of any party that share our priorities, even if we do not agree on every issue.
• Past support of a candidate or an organization does not mean that the company is providing similar support today or will in the future. A political contribution is not an endorsement from 杏吧论坛; 杏吧论坛 does not endorse candidates for public office.
• Increasingly, governments are turning to voters to approve revenues and bonds for critical public infrastructure investments.聽 杏吧论坛 believes in supporting these critical measures to help meet community needs and improve health, safety and the overall quality of life.聽

Each decision to contribute corporate funds to a candidate for elected office or a ballot measure receives rigorous internal review, administered by 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Office of Risk Management.

• This includes multiple layers of review and approval by regional, business group, and corporate executives representing the corporation鈥檚 Legal, Ethics & Compliance, Finance, and Government Relations functions.
• As part of this process, all 杏吧论坛 political contributions require approval of both 杏吧论坛鈥檚 General Counsel, Corporate & Global Head of Public Affairs and 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer.

From time to time, 杏吧论坛 makes contributions to national organizations organized under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. However, as a federal contractor, 杏吧论坛 categorically does not contribute to 鈥淪uper PACs鈥� as defined in federal law and precedent.

杏吧论坛 generally does not engage in independent expenditures that expressly advocate the election or defeat of candidates or ballot measures.

From time to time, 杏吧论坛 does make contributions to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations.

杏吧论坛 discloses its corporate contributions on its website annually. Click here for additional details related to 杏吧论坛鈥檚 corporate contributions in 2024.

杏吧论坛 Political Action Committee

The 杏吧论坛 Political Action Committee (PAC) is a voluntary, non-partisan fund that supports candidates seeking office at the federal, state, and local levels of government. 

The 杏吧论坛 PAC is overseen by a Board of Directors 鈥� including representatives from our Government Relations, Legal, Ethics, and operations teams 鈥� that reviews and acts on contribution requests received from 杏吧论坛 PAC members and candidates.  The 杏吧论坛 PAC is also supported by an employee Advisory Council that provides input to inform the policy priorities underpinning the 杏吧论坛 PAC鈥檚 contribution decisions. 

The contributions made by the 杏吧论坛 PAC are based on multiple criteria designed to identify candidates that will help ensure the best outcomes for our clients, communities, employees, and shareholders. All 杏吧论坛 PAC decisions are reviewed for legal and compliance purposes as part of the approval.

Our Government Relations team and the 杏吧论坛 PAC Board of Directors evaluate a candidate鈥檚 eligibility for receiving a political contribution based on a review of the criteria below:

• Commitment to advancing infrastructure investment
• Commitment to advancing business-friendly policies
• Commitment to 杏吧论坛鈥檚 environmental, social and governance (ESG) values
• Track record of leadership and sponsorship of priority legislation
• Representation of jurisdictions with key 杏吧论坛 offices and employees
• Leadership and membership roles on key executive and legislative bodies

Contributions are not determined on the basis of political party affiliation. The 杏吧论坛 PAC has a bipartisan track record, having supported candidates of all parties and consistently strives to maintain that balance, even if we do not agree on every issue. For the 杏吧论坛 PAC, bipartisanship is a critical element in the development of certain, long-lasting and effective public policy. 

A political contribution is not an endorsement from the 杏吧论坛 PAC. The 杏吧论坛 PAC does not endorse candidates for public office. Past support of a candidate or organization does not mean that the PAC is providing similar support today or will in the future.

The 杏吧论坛 PAC discloses its contributions on the 杏吧论坛 website annually. Click here for additional details related to 杏吧论坛 PAC鈥檚 contributions in 2024.

杏吧论坛鈥檚 Membership and Participation in Associations and Coalitions

As a leader in the infrastructure industry, 杏吧论坛 supports trade associations and other industry groups that represent a broad spectrum of views on infrastructure or public policy more generally. The breadth of the markets we serve and services we provide means that 杏吧论坛 has historically been involved with an equally broad range of associations and coalitions.

These partnerships allow 杏吧论坛 to share policy insights with, and learn from, our peer companies and clients, maintain critical relationships within the infrastructure sector, and allow us to jointly advocate for policies that support a healthy and competitive industry. We also benefit from the opportunity to share and obtain technical expertise and operational knowledge that leads to better safety, customer service and overall efficiency.

While trade associations may conduct lobbying on a wide range of issues, 杏吧论坛鈥檚 membership in any specific association is not an endorsement of every policy that such association supports.

Pursuant to federal law, 杏吧论坛 discloses the percentage of its membership dues and special assessments paid to trade associations that have been allocated to federal lobbying activity and deemed nondeductible (based on information received from each association). These disclosures, required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act, are accounted for in 杏吧论坛鈥檚 quarterly lobbying expenditure reports to Congress.  

Click here for additional details related to dues paid by 杏吧论坛 to trade associations in 2024.

Above and beyond 杏吧论坛鈥檚 requirements under law, 杏吧论坛 discloses and discusses its strategy, memberships and payments regarding industry and trade associations with its Board of Directors, through the specific oversight responsibility of its Nominating and Governance Committee.