(1)(a) A state highway shall be constructed, altered, repaired, or improved, and improvements located on property acquired for right-of-way purposes may be repaired or renovated pending the use of such right-of-way for highway purposes, by contract or state forces. The work or portions thereof may be done by state forces when the estimated costs thereof are less than fifty thousand dollars and effective July 1, 2005, sixty thousand dollars.
(b) When delay of performance of such work would jeopardize a state highway or constitute a danger to the traveling public, the work may be done by state forces when the estimated cost thereof is less than eighty thousand dollars and effective July 1, 2005, one hundred thousand dollars.
(c) When the department of transportation determines to do the work by state forces, it shall enter a statement upon its records to that effect, stating the reasons therefor.
(d) To enable a larger number of small businesses and veteran, minority, and women contractors to effectively compete for department of transportation contracts, the department may adopt rules providing for bids and award of contracts for the performance of work, or furnishing equipment, materials, supplies, or operating services whenever any work is to be performed and the engineer's estimate indicates the cost of the work would not exceed eighty thousand dollars and effective July 1, 2005, one hundred thousand dollars.
(2) The rules adopted under this section:
(a) Shall provide for competitive bids to the extent that competitive sources are available except when delay of performance would jeopardize life or property or inconvenience the traveling public; and
(b) Need not require the furnishing of a bid deposit nor a performance bond, but if a performance bond is not required then progress payments to the contractor may be required to be made based on submittal of paid invoices to substantiate proof that disbursements have been made to laborers, material suppliers, mechanics, and subcontractors from the previous partial payment; and
(c) May establish prequalification standards and procedures as an alternative to those set forth in RCW
47.28.070, but the prequalification standards and procedures under RCW
47.28.070 shall always be sufficient.
(3) The department of transportation shall comply with such goals and rules as may be adopted by the office of minority and women's business enterprises to implement chapter
39.19 RCW with respect to contracts entered into under this chapter. The department may adopt such rules as may be necessary to comply with the rules adopted by the office of minority and women's business enterprises under chapter
39.19 RCW.
(4)(a) Work for less than one hundred thousand dollars may be performed on ferry vessels and terminals by state forces.
(b) When the estimated cost of work to be performed on ferry vessels and terminals is between one hundred thousand dollars and two hundred thousand dollars, the department shall contact, by mail or electronic mail, contractors that appear on the department's small works roster as created pursuant to procedures in chapter
39.04 RCW to do specific work the contractors are qualified to do to determine if any contractor is interested and capable of doing the work. If there is a response of interest within seventy-two hours, the small works roster procedures commence. If no qualified contractors respond with interest and availability to do the work, the department may use its regular contracting procedures. If the secretary determines that the work to be completed is an emergency, procedures governing emergencies apply.
(c) The department shall hire a disinterested, third party to conduct an independent analysis to identify methods of reducing out-of-service times for vessel maintenance, preservation, and improvement projects. The analysis must include options that consider consolidating work while vessels are at shipyards by having state forces perform services traditionally performed at Eagle Harbor at the shipyard and decreasing the allowable time at shipyards. The analysis must also compare the out-of-service vessel times of performing services by state forces versus contracting out those services which in turn must be used to form a recommendation as to what the threshold of work performed on ferry vessels and terminals by state forces should be. This analysis must be presented to the transportation committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 1, 2010.
(d) The department shall develop a proposed ferry vessel maintenance, preservation, and improvement program and present it to the transportation committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 1, 2010. The proposed program must:
(i) Improve the basis for budgeting vessel maintenance, preservation, and improvement costs and for projecting those costs into a sixteen-year financial plan;
(ii) Limit the amount of planned out-of-service time to the greatest extent possible, including options associated with department staff as well as commercial shipyards; and
(iii) Be based on the service plan in the capital plan, recognizing that vessel preservation and improvement needs may vary by route.
(e) In developing the proposed ferry vessel maintenance, preservation, and improvement program, the department shall consider the following, related to reducing vessel out-of-service time:
(i) The costs compared to benefits of Eagle Harbor repair and maintenance facility operations options to include staffing costs and benefits in terms of reduced out-of-service time;
(ii) The maintenance requirements for on-vessel staff, including the benefits of a systemwide standard;
(iii) The costs compared to benefits of staff performing preservation or maintenance work, or both, while the vessel is underway, tied up between sailings, or not deployed;
(iv) A review of the department's vessel maintenance, preservation, and improvement program contracting process and contractual requirements;
(v) The costs compared to benefits of allowing for increased costs associated with expedited delivery;
(vi) A method for comparing the anticipated out-of-service time of proposed projects and other projects planned during the same construction period;
(vii) Coordination with required United States coast guard dry dockings;
(viii) A method for comparing how proposed projects relate to the service requirements of the route on which the vessel normally operates; and
(ix) A method for evaluating the ongoing maintenance and preservation costs associated with proposed improvement projects.