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SENATE
BILL 6283
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Passed
Legislature - 2002 Regular Session
State of Washington 57th
Legislature 2002 Regular Session
By
Read
first time 01/14/2002. Referred to Committee on State & Local Government.
Changing the monetary threshold for competitive bidding
requirements for public hospital districts.
AN
ACT Relating to competitive bidding requirements for public hospital districts;
and amending RCW 70.44.140.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
70.44.140 and 2000 c 138 s 213 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
All materials purchased and work ordered, the estimated cost of which is in
excess of ((five)) fifty thousand dollars, shall be by contract.
Before awarding any such contract, the commission shall publish a notice at
least thirteen days before the last date upon which bids will be received,
inviting sealed proposals for such work. The plans and specifications must at
the time of the publication of such notice be on file at the office of the
public hospital district, subject to public inspection: PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
That the commission may at the same time, and as part of the same notice,
invite tenders for the work or materials upon plans and specifications to be
submitted by bidders. The notice shall state generally the work to be done,
and shall call for proposals for doing the same, to be sealed and filed with
the commission on or before the day and hour named therein. Each bid shall be
accompanied by bid proposal security in the form of a certified check,
cashier's check, postal money order, or surety bond made payable to the order
of the commission, for a sum not less than five percent of the amount of the
bid, and no bid shall be considered unless accompanied by such bid proposal
security. At the time and place named, such bids shall be publicly opened and
read, and the commission shall proceed to canvass the bids, and may let such
contract to the lowest responsible bidder upon plans and specifications on
file, or to the best bidder submitting his or her own plans and
specifications: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That no contract shall be let in excess of
the estimated cost of the materials or work, or if, in the opinion of the
commission, all bids are unsatisfactory, they may reject all of them and
readvertise, and in such case all bid proposal security shall be returned to
the bidders. If the contract is let, then all bid proposal security shall be
returned to the bidders, except that of the successful bidder, which is
retained until a contract shall be entered into for the purchase of such
materials for doing such work, and a bond to perform such work furnished, with
sureties satisfactory to the commission, in an amount to be fixed by the
commission, not less than twenty-five percent of contract price in any case,
between the bidder and commission, in accordance with the bid. If such bidder
fails to enter into the contract in accordance with the bid and furnish such
bond within ten days from the date at which the bidder is notified that he or
she is the successful bidder, the bid proposal security and the amount thereof
shall be forfeited to the public hospital district. A low bidder who claims
error and fails to enter into a contract is prohibited from bidding on the same
project if a second or subsequent call for bids is made for the project.
(2)
As an alternative to the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, a
public hospital district may let contracts using the small works roster process
under RCW 39.04.155.
(3)
Any purchases with an estimated cost of up to fifteen thousand dollars may be
made using the process provided in RCW 39.04.190.
(4)
The commission may waive the competitive bidding requirements of this section
pursuant to RCW 39.04.280 if an exemption contained within that section applies
to the purchase or public work.
Passed the Senate February 13, 2002.
Passed the House March 6, 2002.
Approved by the Governor
March 22, 2002.
Filed
in Office of Secretary of State March 22, 2002.
