AN ACT Relating to
county public works projects; amending RCW 36.32.240; and adding a new section
to chapter 36.32 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 36.32.240 and 1993 c
198 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) In any
county the county legislative authority may by resolution establish a county
purchasing department.
(2) In each
county with a population of less than one million which exercises this
option, the purchasing department shall contract on a competitive basis for all
public works, enter into leases of personal property on a competitive basis,
and purchase all supplies, materials, and equipment, on a competitive basis,
for all departments of the county, as provided in this chapter and chapter
39.04 RCW, except that the county purchasing department is not required to make
purchases for the county hospital, or make purchases that are paid from the
county road fund or equipment rental and revolving fund.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. A new section is added
to chapter 36.32 RCW to read as follows:
(1) In each county with
a population of one million or more which by resolution establishes a county
purchasing department, the purchasing department shall enter into leases of
personal property on a competitive basis and purchase all supplies, materials,
and equipment on a competitive basis, for all departments of the county, as
provided in this chapter and chapter 39.04 RCW, except that the county
purchasing department is not required to make purchases that are paid from the
county road fund or equipment rental and revolving fund.
(2) As used in this
section, "public works" has the same definition as in RCW 39.04.010.
(3) Except as otherwise
specified in this chapter or in chapter 36.77 RCW, all counties subject to
these provisions shall contract on a competitive basis for all public works
after bids have been submitted to the county upon specifications therefor.
Such specifications shall be in writing and shall be filed with the clerk of the
county legislative authority for public inspection.
(4) An advertisement
shall be published in the county official newspaper stating the time and place
where bids will be opened, the time after which bids will not be received, the
character of the work to be done, the materials and equipment to be furnished,
and that specifications therefor may be seen at the office of the clerk of the
county legislative authority. An advertisement shall also be published in a
legal newspaper of general circulation in or as near as possible to that part
of the county in which such work is to be done. If the county official
newspaper is a newspaper of general circulation covering at least forty percent
of the residences in that part of the county in which such public works are to
be done, then the publication of an advertisement of the applicable
specifications in the county official newspaper is sufficient. Such
advertisements shall be published at least once at least thirteen days prior to
the last date upon which bids will be received.
(5) The bids shall be
in writing, shall be filed with the clerk, shall be opened and read in public
at the time and place named therefor in the advertisements, and after being
opened, shall be filed for public inspection. No bid may be considered for
public work unless it is accompanied by a bid deposit in the form of a surety
bond, postal money order, cash, cashier's check, or certified check in an
amount equal to five percent of the amount of the bid proposed.
(6) The contract for
the public work shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Any or all
bids may be rejected for good cause. The county legislative authority shall
require from the successful bidder for such public work a contractor's bond in
the amount and with the conditions imposed by law.
(7) If the bidder to
whom the contract is awarded fails to enter into the contract and furnish the
contractor's bond as required within ten days after notice of the award,
exclusive of the day of notice, the amount of the bid deposit shall be
forfeited to the county and the contract awarded to the next lowest and best
bidder. The bid deposit of all unsuccessful bidders shall be returned after
the contract is awarded and the required contractor's bond given by the
successful bidder is accepted by the county legislative authority. Immediately
after the award is made, the bid quotations obtained shall be recorded and open
to public inspection and shall be available by telephone inquiry.
(8) As limited by subsection
(10) of this section, a county subject to these provisions may have public
works performed by county employees in any annual or biennial budget period
equal to a dollar value not exceeding ten percent of the public works
construction budget, including any amount in a supplemental public works
construction budget, over the budget period.
Whenever a county
subject to these provisions has had public works performed in any budget period
up to the maximum permitted amount for that budget period, all remaining public
works except emergency work under subsection (12) of this section within that
budget period shall be done by contract pursuant to public notice and call for
competitive bids as specified in subsection (3) of this section. The state
auditor shall report to the state treasurer any county subject to these
provisions that exceeds this amount and the extent to which the county has or
has not reduced the amount of public works it has performed by public employees
in subsequent years.
(9) If a county subject
to these provisions has public works performed by public employees in any
budget period that are in excess of this ten percent limitation, the amount in
excess of the permitted amount shall be reduced from the otherwise permitted
amount of public works that may be performed by public employees for that
county in its next budget period. Ten percent of the motor vehicle fuel tax
distributions to that county shall be withheld if two years after the year in
which the excess amount of work occurred, the county has failed to so reduce
the amount of public works that it has performed by public employees. The
amount withheld shall be distributed to the county when it has demonstrated in
its reports to the state auditor that the amount of public works it has
performed by public employees has been reduced as required.
(10) In addition to the
percentage limitation provided in subsection (8) of this section, counties
subject to these provisions containing a population of one million or more
shall not have public employees perform a public works project in excess of
seventy thousand dollars if more than a single craft or trade is involved with
the public works project, or a public works project in excess of twenty-five
thousand dollars if only a single craft or trade is involved with the public
works project. A public works project means a complete project. The
restrictions in this subsection do not permit the division of the project into
units of work or classes of work to avoid the restriction on work that may be
performed by public employees on a single project.
The cost of a separate
public works project shall be the costs of materials, supplies, equipment, and
labor on the construction of that project. The value of the public works
budget shall be the value of all the separate public works projects within the
budget.
(11) In addition to the
accounting and recordkeeping requirements contained in chapter 39.04 RCW, any
county which uses public employees to perform public works projects under RCW
36.32.240(1) shall prepare a year-end report to be submitted to the state
auditor indicating the total dollar amount of the county's public works
construction budget and the total dollar amount for public works projects
performed by public employees for that year.
The year-end report
submitted pursuant to this subsection to the state auditor shall be in
accordance with the standard form required by RCW 43.09.205.
(12) Notwithstanding
any other provision in this section, counties may use public employees without any
limitation for emergency work performed under an emergency declared pursuant to
RCW 36.32.270, and any such emergency work shall not be subject to the
limitations of this section. Publication of the description and estimate of
costs relating to correcting the emergency may be made within seven days after
the commencement of the work. Within two weeks of the finding that such an
emergency existed, the county legislative authority shall adopt a resolution
certifying the damage to public facilities and costs incurred or anticipated
relating to correcting the emergency. Additionally this section shall not
apply to architectural and engineering or other technical or professional
services performed by public employees in connection with a public works project.
(13) In lieu of the
procedures of subsections (3) through (11) of this section, a county may use a
small works roster process and award contracts for public works projects with
an estimated value of ten thousand dollars up to one hundred thousand dollars
as provided in RCW 39.04.155.
Whenever possible, the
county shall invite at least one proposal from a minority or woman contractor
who shall otherwise qualify under this section.
(14) The allocation of
public works projects to be performed by county employees shall not be subject
to a collective bargaining agreement.
(15) This section does
not apply to performance-based contracts, as defined in RCW 39.35A.020(3), that
are negotiated under chapter 39.35A RCW.
(16)
Nothing in this section prohibits any county from allowing for preferential
purchase of products made from recycled materials or products that may be
recycled or reused.
