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House Bill 628 |
House Author: Callegari |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Jackson |
House Bill 628 amends the Government Code, Education Code, Local Government Code, Transportation Code, Special District Local Laws Code, and Water Code to add or amend provisions relating to government contracting, public works performance bonds, and payment bonds.
House Bill 628 prohibits the use of a reverse auction procedure to obtain services related to a public work contract for which a performance or payment bond is required.
House Bill 628 establishes that a prohibition on the use of school district resources for the design, construction, or renovation of improvements to real property does not prohibit a school district board of trustees from entering into an agreement for the design, construction, or renovation of improvements to real property not owned or leased by the district if the improvements benefit real property owned or leased by the district.
House Bill 628 includes the method set out in the bill's provisions for construction services among the methods that provide the best value for the district and removes from those methods a design/build contract; a contract to construct, rehabilitate, alter, or repair facilities that involves using a construction manager; and a job order contract for the minor construction, repair, rehabilitation, or alteration of a facility. The bill requires a district to consider a vendor's presence in Texas when contracting for certain goods and services.
House Bill 628 authorizes a school district to use competitive bidding to select a vendor, establishes certain exemptions for school districts from statutory provisions governing competitive bidding on public work contracts by local governments, and establishes requirements relating to best value, sealed proposals, contract negotiations, and change orders.
House Bill 628 requires a school district that brings an action for recovery of damages for the defective design, construction, renovation, or improvement of an instructional facility financed by bonds for which the district receives state assistance to provide the commissioner of education with written notice of the action and authorizes the commissioner to join in the action on behalf of the state to protect the state's share in the action. The bill provides for the distribution of proceeds from such an action.
House Bill 628 prohibits the comptroller of public accounts from listing a multiple award contract on a multiple award contract schedule if the goods or services provided by that contract are engineering or architectural services.
House Bill 628 establishes contracting and delivery procedures for construction projects applicable to a public work contract made by a governmental entity authorized by state law to make a public work contract, with certain exemptions. The bill sets out notice requirements with regard to the procedures and authorizes the governing body of a governmental entity to delegate its authority regarding an action authorized or required by the procedures under certain circumstances. The bill prohibits a governmental entity, in engaging in an activity to which these provisions apply, from considering whether a person is a member of or has another relationship with any organization and further requires the entity to ensure that its bid specifications and any subsequent agreement do not deny or diminish a person's right to work because of the person's relationship status with respect to an organization. The bill authorizes a governmental entity to consider several factors in determining the award of a contract and requires a governmental entity to consider certain criteria in doing the same.
House Bill 628 requires the governing body of a governmental entity that considers a construction contract using an authorized method other than competitive bidding to determine, before advertising, which method provides the best value and to base its selection among offerors on applicable criteria listed for the particular method used. The bill sets out requirements for such a method and provides for the selection or designation of an architect or engineer and certain other providers of professional services in accordance with existing law.
House Bill 628 repeals statutory provisions relating to school district purchasing contracts, building construction and acquisition, alternative project delivery methods for certain projects, design-build procedures for certain civil works projects, and the creation of a local government corporation and sets out similar provisions authorizing procurement and delivery procedures with regard to certain public work contracts made by a governmental entity. These procedures include the competitive bidding method, the competitive sealed proposal method, the construction manager-agent method, the construction manager-at-risk method, the building using design-build method, design-build procedures for certain civil works projects, and the job order contracts method.
House Bill 628 makes a contract, including a job order, entered into in violation of the bill's contracting provisions voidable as against public policy. The bill provides for the enforcement of the bill's contracting provisions, other than the enforcement of a contract entered into by a state agency, through an action for declaratory or injunctive relief filed not later than the 10th day after the date on which the contract is awarded.
House Bill 628 authorizes the governing body of certain municipalities to grant general authority to an administrative official of the municipality to approve certain change orders for a public work contract and authorizes the governing body of an issuer of a certificate of obligation to use a method of project delivery authorized by the bill as an alternative to submitting the proposed contract to competitive procurement if certain conditions are met.
House Bill 628 changes and expands a general prohibition on increasing an original contract price in a change order and removes a prohibition against decreasing the price by more than 25 percent without the consent of the contractor. The bill authorizes a municipality that has received a competitive sealed bid for the purchase of certain property from a bidder whose principal place of business is in the municipality and whose bid is within five percent of the lowest bid price from a bidder who is not a resident of the municipality to enter into a contract for purchases other than construction services in an amount of less than $500,000.
House Bill 628 authorizes the Texas Department of Transportation to contract with an owner of land adjacent to a highway to construct an improvement on the right-of-way without complying with competitive bidding procedures if the improvement is directly related to improving access to or from the owner's land. The bill establishes certain restrictions on the contract.
House Bill 628 exempts energy saving performance contracts and construction contracts, as applicable, for each of the following types of facilities and projects from its provisions relating to contracting and delivery methods: public school and higher education facilities, state and local government facilities, sports and community venue district facilities, hybrid delivery systems for certain construction projects by metropolitan mass transit authorities, professional and other services provided to a regional transportation authority consisting of one subregion governed by a subregional board, and purchase contracts and competitive bidding procurement by navigation districts and port authorities.