SENATE BILL REPORT

                   SB 5469

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

          State & Local Government, February 17, 1999

Title:  An act relating to revising certain competitive bid dollar amounts to account for inflation.

Brief Description:  Revising certain competitive bid dollar amounts to account for inflation.

Sponsors:  Senators Patterson, Haugen, Kline, Jacobsen, Gardner and Winsley.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  State & Local Government:  2/11/99, 2/17/99 [DP].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Majority Report:  Do pass.

  Signed by Senators Patterson, Chair; Gardner, Vice Chair; Haugen, Horn and Kline.

Staff:  Eugene Green (786-7405)

Background:  A first class city may have public works performed by public employees, including county employees, in any budget period up to 10 percent of its public works construction budget.  Within this 10 percent limitation, a first class city with a population in excess of 150,000 (Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane), cannot perform by day labor a public works project in excess of $50,000 if more than a single craft or trade is involved, or a public works project in excess of $25,000 if only a single craft or trade is involved or the public works project is street signalization or street lighting.  For a first class city with a population below 150,000 the parallel bid limits are $35,000 and $20,000.  Bid limits for a second class city, town, or code city are $30,000 and $20,000, respectively.

Summary of Bill:  The bid limits of a first class city with a population over 150,000 are raised to $100,000 for a public works project if more than a single craft or trade is involved and to $50,000 if only a single craft or trade is involved or the public works project is street signalization or street lighting.  For a first class city with a population below 150,000, the bid limits are raised to $75,000 and $50,000, respectively.  Bid limits for a second class city, town, or code city are raised to $60,000 and $50,000, respectively.

Beginning on July 1, 2001, and on July 1 of each succeeding odd-numbered year, these dollar limits must be adjusted by the Office of Financial Management, using the appropriate federal inflationary index, to reflect the rate of inflation for the previous biennium.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  These bid limits have not been raised since at least 1987.  Inflation has eaten up our ability to do a moderate amount of in-house work.  These new bid limits will make us whole and the inflator will keep us even with inflation.

Testimony Against:  We believe all this work should be done by private workers.  It is more efficient.

Testified:  PRO:  Pat Thompson, County and City Employees; Dennis Ritter, City of Lacey; Jim Justin, AWC; CON: Rick Slunaker, Associated General Contractors; Larry Stevens, United Subcontractors Assn.