S-0311.1
SENATE BILL 5053
State of Washington
64th Legislature
2015 Regular Session
By Senators O'Ban, King, Conway, and Sheldon
Prefiled 01/08/15. Read first time 01/12/15. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to the reporting of highway construction project errors; and adding a new section to chapter 47.01 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 47.01 RCW to read as follows:
The department must submit a report to the legislature detailing engineering errors on highway construction projects resulting in project cost increases in excess of five hundred thousand dollars. The department must submit an initial report of an engineering error within thirty days of when the error occurred or when the department became aware of the error. A full report must be submitted within ninety days of the engineering error. The department may forego submitting an initial report and submit the final report after ninety days if the department and a contractor are contesting liability for the engineering error.
(1) The department's report must include an assessment and review of:
(a) How the engineering error happened;
(b) Who was responsible for the engineering error;
(c) What disciplinary action was taken;
(d) The amount of risk reserve on the project; and
(e) The amount of risk reserve used to address the engineering error.
(2) If the error resulted in a project cost increase in excess of one million dollars, the report must also assess:
(a) Why the responsible department employee or employees were not terminated; and
(b) What action the secretary recommends to avoid similar errors in the future.
(3) If the legislature finds that the actions taken by the secretary were inadequate, the legislature may take additional action to correct the problem.
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