Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Capital Budget Committee
SB 5017
Brief Description: Clarifying school district procurement requirements for personal service contracts for construction management, value engineering, constructibility review, and building commissioning.
Sponsors: Senators Wellman, Honeyford, Mullet and Wilson, C..
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Modifies the list of school district purchases that require public notification and bidding to include construction work by a contractor who meets the public works responsible bidder criteria, rather than "other work" generally.
Hearing Date: 3/16/21
Staff: John Wilson-Tepeli (786-7115).
Background:

School District Bid Requirements.
When the estimated cost of furniture, supplies, equipment, building, improvements, repairs, or other work or purchase exceeds certain thresholds, a school district must follow a public notification and bidding process.  The contract for the work or purchase must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after considering the following: 

  • the ability, capacity, and skill of the bidder to perform the contract;
  • the character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the bidder;
  • whether the bidder can perform the contract within the timeframe required;
  • the quality of performance from previous contracts;
  • the bidder's past compliance with state law regarding contracts and with state wage payment laws; and
  • other relevant information.

 

Responsible Bidder Criteria.
A contractor bidding on a public works project must meet certain responsible bidder criteria, to be awarded a public works contract.  To be a responsible bidder, the bidder must:

  • be a registered contractor;
  • have a current Unified Business Identifier number;
  • have applicable industrial insurance coverage, an Employment Security Department number, and a state excise tax registration number;
  • not be disqualified from bidding due to previous non-compliance with registration or prevailing wage requirements; and
  • not have been found out of compliance with certain apprenticeship requirements, if the project is subject to apprenticeship utilization requirements.
Summary of Bill:

The list of school district purchases that require public notification and bidding is modified to include "other construction work by a contractor" that meets the public works responsible bidder criteria.  This work is not specifically mentioned in the current list of purchases, which instead makes a general reference to "other work or purchases" as requiring public notification and bidding.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.