Public Works and Competitive Bidding.
Public work is all work, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement, other than ordinary maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any municipality. Every city, county, town, port district, district, or other public agency authorized to execute public work must follow specified requirements for competitive bidding for public works projects. Specific requirements vary by the type of municipality and certain exemptions are provided.
Notice inviting sealed bids must state the work to be done or the material to be purchased.
Responsive bids are bids submitted on time with all of the information the agency requested. A responsible bidder must meet certain specified criteria. No contract may be let for more than 15 percent in excess of the estimated cost of materials or work.
Competitive bid requirements may be waived for:
Public Utility Districts.
A public utility district (PUD) is a type of special purpose district authorized for the purpose of generating and distributing electricity, providing water and sewer services, and providing telecommunications services. PUDs are governed by a board of either three or five elected commissioners. Public utility districts are authorized to establish rates and charges for providing water and sewer services.
A PUD must contract for:
Contracts are not required for work accepted as an industry practice under prudent utility management. Prudent utility management means performing work with regularly employed personnel, utilizing material of a worth not exceeding $300,000 in value without a contract. This limit does not include the value of individual items of equipment.
"Nonemitting electric generation" means electricity from a generating facility or a resource that provides electric energy, capacity, or ancillary services to an electric utility and that does not emit greenhouse gases as a by-product of energy generation and does not include renewable resources.
"Renewable resource" means: (a) Water; (b) wind; (c) solar energy; (d) geothermal energy; (e) renewable natural gas; (f) renewable hydrogen; (g) wave, ocean, or tidal power; (h) biodiesel fuel that is not derived from crops raised on land cleared from old growth or first growth forests; or (i) biomass energy.
Until January 1, 2045, any work ordered by a PUD for the construction, maintenance, operation, or repair of new or existing nonemitting electric generation, electric generation from a renewable resource, energy storage, or transmission or distribution projects estimated to cost more than $500,000, not including sales tax, must be by contract.
A PUD may have its own regularly employed personnel perform work which is an accepted industry practice under prudent utility management without a contract. Prudent utility management means performing work with regularly employed personnel utilizing material worth up to $1 million in value without a contract. The $1 million limit does not include the value of individual items of equipment.
Utilities with a purchasing department are authorized to receive hard copy or electronic bids. Contracts must be let to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. A contract may not be let for more than 25 percent in excess of the estimated cost of materials or work, rather than 15 percent.
A PUD may use an alternative purchase contract process for contracts awarded for items, materials, equipment, or supplies for nonemitting electric generation, electric generation from a renewable resource, energy storage, transmission, or distribution projects totaling between $50,000 and $250,000 in any calendar month, not including sales tax.
Until January 1, 2045, competitive bidding requirements may be waived for purchases involving projects that are common facilities or relating to energy generation, storage, transmission, or distribution facilities meeting certain requirements.