SB 217 — Authorizing state and subdivisions to negotiate price for construction when all bids received exceed maximum budget

WESTSB217 VIRGINIAH LEGISLATUREGO REGULARAM SESSION#1Wiseman Enrolled3295 The Committee Substituteon forGovernment SenateOrganization Billmoved 217to BYSENATORSWOODRUM,amend WOPEANDDEEDSthe [Passedbill Marchon 8,page 2024;1 by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

in"article effect22. from passage] Enr CS for SB 217 AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §5-22-4, relating to providing the state and its political subdivisions with ability and process by which to negotiate lower price for construction work when all bids received exceed the maximum budgeted amount;

establishingGovernment abilityconstruction tocontracts. make negotiated award to lowest responsive and responsible bidder when there are multiple bidders;

and setting sunset date.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 22.

GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.

(b) To utilize the provisions of this section, the contracting public agency shall:shall:(1) establish a maximum budgeted amount;(2) maintain confidentiality of the maximum budgeted amount prior to the award of a contract;

(1)and(3) establishnot proceed with a maximumnegotiated budgetedaward amount;if that results in more than a ten percent change in scope or cost from the original base bid.(c) A negotiated award made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be made within 30 calendar days of the original bid opening date.(d) Negotiations under this section shall be completed in the following manner:(1) If only one responsive and responsible bidder responds to a solicitation the contracting agency may negotiate an award based solely on the specifications contained within the original solicitation;(2) If more than one bidder responds to a solicitation, the contracting public agency may negotiate with the apparent lowest qualified responsible bidder, as defined in §5-22-1 of this code:

(2)Provided, maintainany confidentialitysuch ofnegotiation must be based on the maximumscope budgetedand amountspecifications priorcontained towithin the awardoriginal ofsolicitation;(3) aThe contract;contracting public agency shall make available for public inspection all negotiated contracts;

andand(4) (3)The notcontracting proceedpublic withagency shall memorialize any change to the original project specifications that occur as a result of a negotiated award ifmade thatpursuant resultsto inthe moreprovisions thanof this section.(e) The provisions of this section are permissive and not mandatory for any contracting public agency.(f) An award of a tennegotiated percentcontract changepursuant to the provisions of this section may not be made to a bidder who fails to meet the other qualifications set forth in scopethis orarticle.(g) costFor fromthe purposes of this section, “construction project” does not mean the originalconstruction baseof bid.a road, bridge, or highway.(h) The provisions of this section expire and shall have no force and effect after December 31, 2029." AdoptedRejected

(c) A negotiated award made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be made within 30 calendar days of the original bid opening date.

(d) Negotiations under this section shall be completed in the following manner:

(1) If only one responsive and responsible bidder responds to a solicitation the contracting agency may negotiate an award based solely on the specifications contained within the original solicitation;

Enr CS for SB 217 (2) If more than one bidder responds to a solicitation, the contracting public agency may negotiate with the apparent lowest qualified responsible bidder, as defined in §5-22-1 of this code:

Provided, any such negotiation must be based on the scope and specifications contained within the original solicitation;

(3) The contracting public agency shall make available for public inspection all negotiated contracts;

and (4) The contracting public agency shall memorialize any change to the original project specifications that occur as a result of a negotiated award made pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(e) The provisions of this section are permissive and not mandatory for any contracting public agency.

(f) An award of a negotiated contract pursuant to the provisions of this section may not be made to a bidder who fails to meet the other qualifications set forth in this article.

(g) For the purposes of this section, “construction project” does not mean the construction of a road, bridge, or highway.

(h) The provisions of this section expire and shall have no force and effect after December 31, 2029.

Enr CS for SB 217 The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.

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Clerk of the Senate ...............................................................

Clerk of the House of Delegates Originated in the Senate.

In effect from passage.

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President of the Senate ...............................................................

Speaker of the House of Delegates __________ The within is ................................................

this the...........................................

Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2024.

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Governor 3