BILL REQ. #:  S-0650.1 

Read first time 01/21/09.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to retainage of funds on public works projects; amending RCW 39.04.901, 39.12.040, 39.12.050, 39.12.065, 39.76.020, 60.28.040, and 60.28.080; reenacting and amending RCW 60.28.011; and repealing RCW 39.04.140, 39.76.010, 60.28.010, 60.28.020, and 60.28.050.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 39.04.901 and 1992 c 223 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (((1))) RCW 39.76.011, 60.28.011, 60.28.021, 60.28.051, 39.04.250, and 39.04.900 are applicable to all public works contracts entered into on or after September 1, 1992, relating to the construction of any work of improvement.
     (((2) RCW 39.76.010, 60.28.010, 60.28.020, and 60.28.050 are applicable to all public works contracts entered into prior to September 1, 1992, relating to the construction of any work of improvement.))

Sec. 2   RCW 39.12.040 and 2007 c 210 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, before payment is made by or on behalf of the state, or any county, municipality, or political subdivision created by its laws, of any sum or sums due on account of a public works contract, it shall be the duty of the officer or person charged with the custody and disbursement of public funds to require the contractor and each and every subcontractor from the contractor or a subcontractor to submit to such officer a "Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages". For a contract in excess of ten thousand dollars, the statement of intent to pay prevailing wages shall include:
     (a) The contractor's registration certificate number; and
     (b) The prevailing rate of wage for each classification of workers entitled to prevailing wages under RCW 39.12.020 and the estimated number of workers in each classification.
     Each statement of intent to pay prevailing wages must be approved by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries before it is submitted to said officer. Unless otherwise authorized by the department of labor and industries, each voucher claim submitted by a contractor for payment on a project estimate shall state that the prevailing wages have been paid in accordance with the prefiled statement or statements of intent to pay prevailing wages on file with the public agency. Following the final acceptance of a public works project, it shall be the duty of the officer charged with the disbursement of public funds, to require the contractor and each and every subcontractor from the contractor or a subcontractor to submit to such officer an "Affidavit of Wages Paid" before the funds retained according to the provisions of RCW ((60.28.010)) 60.28.011 are released to the contractor. Each affidavit of wages paid must be certified by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries before it is submitted to said officer.
     (2) As an alternate to the procedures provided for in subsection (1) of this section, for public works projects of two thousand five hundred dollars or less and for projects where the limited public works process under RCW 39.04.155(3) is followed:
     (a) An awarding agency may authorize the contractor or subcontractor to submit the statement of intent to pay prevailing wages directly to the officer or person charged with the custody or disbursement of public funds in the awarding agency without approval by the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries. The awarding agency shall retain such statement of intent to pay prevailing wages for a period of not less than three years.
     (b) Upon final acceptance of the public works project, the awarding agency shall require the contractor or subcontractor to submit an affidavit of wages paid. Upon receipt of the affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency may pay the contractor or subcontractor in full, including funds that would otherwise be retained according to the provisions of RCW ((60.28.010)) 60.28.011. Within thirty days of receipt of the affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency shall submit the affidavit of wages paid to the industrial statistician of the department of labor and industries for approval.
     (c) A statement of intent to pay prevailing wages and an affidavit of wages paid shall be on forms approved by the department of labor and industries.
     (d) In the event of a wage claim and a finding for the claimant by the department of labor and industries where the awarding agency has used the alternative process provided for in subsection (2) of this section, the awarding agency shall pay the wages due directly to the claimant. If the contractor or subcontractor did not pay the wages stated in the affidavit of wages paid, the awarding agency may take action at law to seek reimbursement from the contractor or subcontractor of wages paid to the claimant, and may prohibit the contractor or subcontractor from bidding on any public works contract of the awarding agency for up to one year.
     (e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to allow an awarding agency to subdivide any public works project of more than two thousand five hundred dollars for the purpose of circumventing the procedures required by RCW 39.12.040(1).

Sec. 3   RCW 39.12.050 and 2001 c 219 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any contractor or subcontractor who files a false statement or fails to file any statement or record required to be filed under this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter, shall, after a determination to that effect has been issued by the director after hearing under chapter 34.05 RCW, forfeit as a civil penalty the sum of five hundred dollars for each false filing or failure to file, and shall not be permitted to bid, or have a bid considered, on any public works contract until the penalty has been paid in full to the director. The civil penalty under this subsection shall not apply to a violation determined by the director to be an inadvertent filing or reporting error. Civil penalties shall be deposited in the public works administration account.
     To the extent that a contractor or subcontractor has not paid wages at the rate due pursuant to RCW 39.12.020, and a finding to that effect has been made as provided by this subsection, such unpaid wages shall constitute a lien against the bonds and retainage as provided in RCW 18.27.040, 19.28.041, 39.08.010, and ((60.28.010)) 60.28.011.
     (2) If a contractor or subcontractor is found to have violated the provisions of subsection (1) of this section for a second time within a five year period, the contractor or subcontractor shall be subject to the sanctions prescribed in subsection (1) of this section and shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for one year. The one year period shall run from the date of notice by the director of the determination of noncompliance. When an appeal is taken from the director's determination, the one year period shall commence from the date of the final determination of the appeal.
     The director shall issue his or her findings that a contractor or subcontractor has violated the provisions of this subsection after a hearing held subject to the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW.

Sec. 4   RCW 39.12.065 and 2001 c 219 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Upon complaint by an interested party, the director of labor and industries shall cause an investigation to be made to determine whether there has been compliance with this chapter and the rules adopted hereunder, and if the investigation indicates that a violation may have occurred, a hearing shall be held in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW. The director shall issue a written determination including his or her findings after the hearing. A judicial appeal from the director's determination may be taken in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW, with the prevailing party entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorneys fees.
     A complaint concerning nonpayment of the prevailing rate of wage shall be filed with the department of labor and industries no later than thirty days from the acceptance date of the public works project. The failure to timely file such a complaint shall not prohibit a claimant from pursuing a private right of action against a contractor or subcontractor for unpaid prevailing wages. The remedy provided by this section is not exclusive and is concurrent with any other remedy provided by law.
     (2) To the extent that a contractor or subcontractor has not paid the prevailing rate of wage under a determination issued as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the director shall notify the agency awarding the public works contract of the amount of the violation found, and the awarding agency shall withhold, or in the case of a bond, the director shall proceed against the bond in accordance with the applicable statute to recover, such amount from the following sources in the following order of priority until the total of such amount is withheld:
     (a) The retainage or bond in lieu of retainage as provided in RCW ((60.28.010)) 60.28.011;
     (b) If the claimant was employed by the contractor or subcontractor on the public works project, the bond filed by the contractor or subcontractor with the department of labor and industries as provided in RCW 18.27.040 and 19.28.041;
     (c) A surety bond, or at the contractor's or subcontractor's option an escrow account, running to the director in the amount of the violation found; and
     (d) That portion of the progress payments which is properly allocable to the contractor or subcontractor who is found to be in violation of this chapter. Under no circumstances shall any portion of the progress payments be withheld that are properly allocable to a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier, that is not found to be in violation of this chapter.
     The amount withheld shall be released to the director to distribute in accordance with the director's determination.
     (3) A contractor or subcontractor that is found, in accordance with subsection (1) of this section, to have violated the requirement to pay the prevailing rate of wage shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars or an amount equal to twenty percent of the total prevailing wage violation found on the contract, whichever is greater, and shall not be permitted to bid, or have a bid considered, on any public works contract until such civil penalty has been paid in full to the director. If a contractor or subcontractor is found to have participated in a violation of the requirement to pay the prevailing rate of wage for a second time within a five-year period, the contractor or subcontractor shall be subject to the sanctions prescribed in this subsection and as an additional sanction shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for two years. Civil penalties shall be deposited in the public works administration account. If a previous or subsequent violation of a requirement to pay a prevailing rate of wage under federal or other state law is found against the contractor or subcontractor within five years from a violation under this section, the contractor or subcontractor shall not be allowed to bid on any public works contract for two years. A contractor or subcontractor shall not be barred from bidding on any public works contract if the contractor or subcontractor relied upon written information from the department to pay a prevailing rate of wage that is later determined to be in violation of this chapter. The civil penalty and sanctions under this subsection shall not apply to a violation determined by the director to be an inadvertent filing or reporting error. To the extent that a contractor or subcontractor has not paid the prevailing wage rate under a determination issued as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the unpaid wages shall constitute a lien against the bonds and retainage as provided herein and in RCW 18.27.040, 19.28.041, 39.08.010, and ((60.28.010)) 60.28.011.

Sec. 5   RCW 39.76.020 and 1981 c 68 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     RCW ((39.76.010)) 39.76.011 does not apply to the following:
     (1) Interagency or intergovernmental transactions;
     (2) Amounts payable to employees or prospective employees of state agencies or local governmental units as reimbursement for expenses;
     (3) Belated claims for any time of delinquency after July 31 following the second year of the fiscal biennium;
     (4) Claims subject to a good faith dispute, when before the date of timely payment, notice of the dispute is:
     (a) Sent by certified mail;
     (b) Personally delivered; or
     (c) Sent in accordance with procedures in the contract;
     (5) Delinquencies due to natural disasters, disruptions in postal or delivery service, work stoppages due to labor disputes, power failures, or any other cause resulting from circumstances clearly beyond the control of the unit of local government or state agency;
     (6) Contracts entered before July 26, 1981; and
     (7) Payment from any retirement system listed in RCW 41.50.030 and chapter 41.24 RCW.

Sec. 6   RCW 60.28.011 and 2007 c 494 s 504 and 2007 c 218 s 92 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Public improvement contracts shall provide, and public bodies shall reserve, a contract retainage not to exceed five percent of the moneys earned by the contractor as a trust fund for the protection and payment of: (a) The claims of any person arising under the contract; and (b) the state with respect to taxes imposed pursuant to Title 82 RCW which may be due from such contractor.
     (2) Every person performing labor or furnishing supplies toward the completion of a public improvement contract shall have a lien upon moneys reserved by a public body under the provisions of a public improvement contract. However, the notice of the lien of the claimant shall be given within forty-five days of completion of the contract work, and in the manner provided in RCW 39.08.030.
     (3) The contractor at any time may request the contract retainage be reduced to one hundred percent of the value of the work remaining on the project.
     (a) After completion of all contract work other than landscaping, the contractor may request that the public body release and pay in full the amounts retained during the performance of the contract, and sixty days thereafter the public body must release and pay in full the amounts retained (other than continuing retention of five percent of the moneys earned for landscaping) subject to the provisions of chapters 39.12 and 60.28 RCW.
     (b) Sixty days after completion of all contract work the public body must release and pay in full the amounts retained during the performance of the contract subject to the provisions of chapters 39.12 and 60.28 RCW.
     (4) The moneys reserved by a public body under the provisions of a public improvement contract, at the option of the contractor, shall be:
     (a) Retained in a fund by the public body;
     (b) Deposited by the public body in an interest bearing account in a bank, mutual savings bank, or savings and loan association. Interest on moneys reserved by a public body under the provision of a public improvement contract shall be paid to the contractor;
     (c) Placed in escrow with a bank or trust company by the public body. When the moneys reserved are placed in escrow, the public body shall issue a check representing the sum of the moneys reserved payable to the bank or trust company and the contractor jointly. This check shall be converted into bonds and securities chosen by the contractor and approved by the public body and the bonds and securities shall be held in escrow. Interest on the bonds and securities shall be paid to the contractor as the interest accrues.
     (5) The contractor or subcontractor may withhold payment of not more than five percent from the moneys earned by any subcontractor or sub-subcontractor or supplier contracted with by the contractor to provide labor, materials, or equipment to the public project. Whenever the contractor or subcontractor reserves funds earned by a subcontractor or sub-subcontractor or supplier, the contractor or subcontractor shall pay interest to the subcontractor or sub-subcontractor or supplier at a rate equal to that received by the contractor or subcontractor from reserved funds.
     (6) A contractor may submit a bond for all or any portion of the contract retainage in a form acceptable to the public body and from a bonding company meeting standards established by the public body. The public body shall accept a bond meeting these requirements unless the public body can demonstrate good cause for refusing to accept it. This bond and any proceeds therefrom are subject to all claims and liens and in the same manner and priority as set forth for retained percentages in this chapter. The public body shall release the bonded portion of the retained funds to the contractor within thirty days of accepting the bond from the contractor. Whenever a public body accepts a bond in lieu of retained funds from a contractor, the contractor shall accept like bonds from any subcontractors or suppliers from which the contractor has retained funds. The contractor shall then release the funds retained from the subcontractor or supplier to the subcontractor or supplier within thirty days of accepting the bond from the subcontractor or supplier.
     (7) If the public body administering a contract, after a substantial portion of the work has been completed, finds that an unreasonable delay will occur in the completion of the remaining portion of the contract for any reason not the result of a breach thereof, it may, if the contractor agrees, delete from the contract the remaining work and accept as final the improvement at the stage of completion then attained and make payment in proportion to the amount of the work accomplished and in this case any amounts retained and accumulated under this section shall be held for a period of sixty days following the completion. In the event that the work is terminated before final completion as provided in this section, the public body may thereafter enter into a new contract with the same contractor to perform the remaining work or improvement for an amount equal to or less than the cost of the remaining work as was provided for in the original contract without advertisement or bid. The provisions of this chapter are exclusive and shall supersede all provisions and regulations in conflict herewith.
     (8) Whenever the department of transportation has contracted for the construction of two or more ferry vessels, sixty days after completion of all contract work on each ferry vessel, the department must release and pay in full the amounts retained in connection with the construction of the vessel subject to the provisions of RCW ((60.28.020)) 60.28.021 and chapter 39.12 RCW. However, the department of transportation may at its discretion condition the release of funds retained in connection with the completed ferry upon the contractor delivering a good and sufficient bond with two or more sureties, or with a surety company, in the amount of the retained funds to be released to the contractor, conditioned that no taxes shall be certified or claims filed for work on the ferry after a period of sixty days following completion of the ferry; and if taxes are certified or claims filed, recovery may be had on the bond by the department of revenue and the material suppliers and laborers filing claims.
     (9) Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section, reservation by a public body for any purpose from the moneys earned by a contractor by fulfilling its responsibilities under public improvement contracts is prohibited.
     (10) Contracts on projects funded in whole or in part by farmers home administration and subject to farmers home administration regulations are not subject to subsections (1) through (9) of this section.
     (11) This subsection applies only to a public body that has contracted for the construction of a facility using the general contractor/construction manager procedure, as defined under RCW 39.10.210. If the work performed by a subcontractor on the project has been completed within the first half of the time provided in the general contractor/construction manager contract for completing the work, the public body may accept the completion of the subcontract. The public body must give public notice of this acceptance. After a forty-five day period for giving notice of liens, and compliance with the retainage release procedures in RCW 60.28.021, the public body may release that portion of the retained funds associated with the subcontract. Claims against the retained funds after the forty-five day period are not valid.
     (12) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section.
     (a) "Contract retainage" means an amount reserved by a public body from the moneys earned by a person under a public improvement contract.
     (b) "Person" means a person or persons, mechanic, subcontractor, or materialperson who performs labor or provides materials for a public improvement contract, and any other person who supplies the person with provisions or supplies for the carrying on of a public improvement contract.
     (c) "Public body" means the state, or a county, city, town, district, board, or other public body.
     (d) "Public improvement contract" means a contract for public improvements or work, other than for professional services, or a work order as defined in RCW 39.10.210.

Sec. 7   RCW 60.28.040 and 1985 c 80 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The amount of all taxes, increases and penalties due or to become due under Title 82 RCW, from a contractor or the contractor's successors or assignees with respect to a public improvement contract wherein the contract price is ((twenty)) thirty-five thousand dollars or more shall be a lien prior to all other liens upon the amount of the retained percentage withheld by the disbursing officer under such contract, except that the employees of a contractor or the contractor's successors or assignees who have not been paid the prevailing wage under such a public improvement contract shall have a first priority lien against the bond or retainage prior to all other liens. The amount of all other taxes, increases and penalties due and owing from the contractor shall be a lien upon the balance of such retained percentage remaining in the possession of the disbursing officer after all other statutory lien claims have been paid.

Sec. 8   RCW 60.28.080 and 1982 c 170 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) If any delay in issuance of notice to proceed or in construction following an award of any public construction contract is primarily caused by acts or omissions of persons or agencies other than the contractor and a preliminary, special or permanent restraining order of a court of competent jurisdiction is issued pursuant to litigation and the appropriate public contracting body does not elect to delete the completion of the contract as provided by RCW ((60.28.010(3))) 60.28.011(7), the appropriate contracting body will issue a change order or force account directive to cover reasonable costs incurred by the contractor as a result of such delay. These costs shall include but not be limited to contractor's costs for wages, labor costs other than wages, wage taxes, materials, equipment rentals, insurance, bonds, professional fees, and subcontracts, attributable to such delay plus a reasonable sum for overhead and profit.
     In the event of a dispute between the contracting body and the contractor, arbitration procedures may be commenced under the applicable terms of the construction contract, or, if the contract contains no such provision for arbitration, under the then obtaining rules of the American Arbitration Association.
     If the delay caused by litigation exceeds six months, the contractor may then elect to terminate the contract and to delete the completion of the contract and receive payment in proportion to the amount of the work completed plus the cost of the delay. Amounts retained and accumulated under RCW ((60.28.010)) 60.28.011 shall be held for a period of ((thirty)) forty-five days following the election of the contractor to terminate. Election not to terminate the contract by the contractor shall not affect the accumulation of costs incurred as a result of the delay provided above.
     (2) This section shall not apply to any contract awarded pursuant to an invitation for bid issued on or before July 16, 1973.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
     (1) RCW 39.04.140 (Contracts affected by increase in price of petroleum products -- Termination -- Continuation with contracting agency sharing increased costs -- Conditions) and 1974 ex.s. c 194 s 1;
     (2) RCW 39.76.010 (Interest on unpaid public contracts -- Timely payment) and 1981 c 68 s 1;
     (3) RCW 60.28.010 (Retained percentage -- Labor and material lien created -- Bond in lieu of retained funds -- Termination before completion -- Chapter deemed exclusive -- Release of ferry contract payments -- Projects of farmers home administration) and 2007 c 218 s 91, 1986 c 181 s 6, 1984 c 146 s 1, 1982 c 170 s 1, & 1981 c 260 s 14;
     (4) RCW 60.28.020 (Excess over lien claims to contractor) and 2007 c 218 s 93, 1975 1st ex.s. c 104 s 2, 1970 ex.s. c 38 s 2, 1967 ex.s. c 26 s 23, 1955 c 236 s 2, & 1921 c 166 s 2; and
     (5) RCW 60.28.050 (Duties of disbursing officer upon final acceptance of contract) and 1982 c 170 s 2, 1970 ex.s. c 38 s 3, 1967 ex.s. c 26 s 24, & 1955 c 236 s 5.