HB168ENROLLED Page 0 KJ7EUA-3 By Representatives Underwood, Pettus, Rigsby, Lomax, Woods RFD: State Government First Read: 21-Mar-23 2023 Regular Session 1 2 3 4 5 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 1 Enrolled, An Act, Relating to public works contracts; to amend Sections 39-1-1, 39-2-1, 39-2-2, and 39-2-6, Code of Alabama 1975, to increase the threshold dollar amount for which competitive bidding is generally required; to further provide for certain notice procedures; to authorize the publication of notice by electronic means; to authorize the use of electronic sealed bids; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1. Sections 39-1-1, 39-2-1, 39-2-2, and 39-2-6, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows: "§39-1-1 (a) Any person entering into a contract with an awarding authority in this state for the prosecution of any public works shall, before commencing the work, shall execute a performance bond, with penalty equal to 100 percent of the amount of the contract price. In addition, another bond, payable to the awarding authority letting the contract, shall be executed in an amount not less than 50 percent of the contract price, with the obligation that the contractor or contractors shall promptly make payments to all persons supplying labor, materials, or supplies for or in the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 2 prosecution of the work provided in the contract and for the payment of reasonable attorneys'attorney fees incurred by successful claimants or plaintiffs in civil actions on the bond. (b) Any person that has furnished labor, materials, or supplies for or in the prosecution of a public work and payment has not been made may institute a civil action upon the payment bond and have their rights and claims adjudicated in a civil action and judgment entered thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a civil action shall not be instituted on the bond until 45 days after written notice to the surety of the amount claimed to be due and the nature of the claim. The civil action shall be commenced not later than one year from the date of final settlement of the contract. The giving of notice by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the surety at any of its places of business or offices shall be deemed sufficient under this section. In the event the surety or contractor fails to pay the claim in full within 45 days from the mailing of the notice, then the person or persons may recover from the contractor and surety, in addition to the amount of the claim, a reasonable attorney'sattorney fee based on the result, together with interest on the claim from the date of the notice. (c) Every person having a right of action on the last described bond as provided in this section shall, upon written application to the authority under the direction of whom the work has been prosecuted, indicating that labor, material, 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 3 foodstuffs, or supplies for the work have been supplied and that payment has not been made, shall be promptly furnished a certified copy of the additional bond and contract. The claimant may bring a civil action in the claimant's name on the bond against the contractor and the surety, or either of them, in the county in which the work is to be or has been performed or in any other county where venue is otherwise allowed by law. (d) In the event a civil action is instituted on the payment bond, at any time more than 15 days before the trial begins, any party may serve upon the adverse party an offer to accept judgment in favor of the offeror or to allow judgment to be entered in favor of the offeree for the money or as otherwise specified in the offer. If within 10 days after the service of the offer, the adverse party serves written notice that the offer is accepted, either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance together with proof of service and the clerk of the court shall enter judgment. An offer not accepted shall be deemed withdrawn and evidence of the offer shall not be admissible. If the judgment finally obtained by the offeree is less favorable than the offer, the offeree shall pay the reasonable attorney'sattorney fees and costs incurred by the offeror after the making of the offer. An offer that is made but not accepted does not preclude a subsequent offer. When the liability of one party to another party has been determined by verdict, order, or judgment, but the amount or extent of the liability remains to be determined by further proceedings, any party may make an offer of 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 4 judgment, which shall have the same effect as an offer made before trial if the offer is made no less than 10 days prior to the commencement of hearings to determine the amount or extent of liability. (e) This section shall not require the taking of a bond to secure contracts in an amount less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) . (f)(1) The contractor shall, immediately after the completion of the contract, shall give notice of the completion by an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation published within the city or county in which the work has been done, for a period of four successive weeks.publishing the notice for a minimum of three weeks using one or more of the following methods: a. In a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which the work, or some portion thereof, has been done. b. On a website that is maintained by a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which the work, or some portion thereof, has been done. c. On a website utilized by the awarding authority for publishing notices. (2) If no newspaper is published in the county in which the work was done, and if the awarding authority does not utilize a website for the purpose of publishing notices, the notice may be given by posting at the courthouse for 30 days, and proof of the posting of the notice shall be given by the awarding authority and the contractor. 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 5 (3) A final settlement shall not be made upon the contract until the expiration of 30 days after the completion of the notice. Proof of publication of the notice shall be made by the contractor to the authority by whom the contract was made by affidavit of the publisher or website owner and a printed copy of the notice published. If no newspaper is published in the county in which the work is done, the notice may be given by posting at the courthouse for 30 days, and proof of same shall be made by the judge of probate, sheriff, and the contractor. (4) For contracts for road resurfacing materials that are awarded on an annual basis, where the bid specifications include options such as a unit price for materials, a unit price for the delivery of materials, or a unit price for materials to be laid in place by the bidder, notice of completion pursuant to this subsection may be given on an annual basis upon completion of the project as a whole, rather than at the completion of each proceed order. (g) Subsection (f) shall not apply to contractors performing contracts of less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in amount. In such cases, the governing body of the contracting agency, to expedite final payment, shall cause notice of final completion of the contract to be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county of the contracting agency and shall post notice of final completion on the agency's bulletin board for one week, and shall require the contractor to certify under oath that all bills have been 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 6 paid in full. Final settlement with the contractor may be made at any time after the notice has been posted for one entire week." "§39-2-1 As used in this title, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows: (1) AWARDING AUTHORITY. Any governmental board, commission, agency, body, authority, instrumentality, department, or subdivision of the state, its counties and municipalities. This term includes, but shall not be limited to, the Department of Transportation, the State Building Commission the Division of Real Property Management of the Department of Finance , the State Board of Education, and any other entity contracting for public works. This term shall exclude the State Docks Department and any entity exempted from the competitive bid laws of the state by statute. (2) FORCE ACCOUNT WORK. Work paid for by reimbursing for the actual costs for labor, materials, and equipment usage incurred in the performance of the work, as directed, including a percentage for overhead and profit, where appropriate. (3) LIFE CYCLE COSTS. The total cost of ownership over the extended life of a public works project, taking into consideration the costs of construction, operation, and maintenance, less any value obtained from salvage and quantifiable environmental benefits, or the sum of all recurring and one-time (non-recurring) costs over the full life span or a specified period of a good, service, structure, 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 7 or system, including purchase price, installation costs, operating costs, maintenance and upgrade costs, and remaining (residual or salvage) value at the end of ownership or its useful life. (4) PERSON. Natural persons, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and other legal entities. (5) PUBLIC PROPERTY. Real property which the state, county, municipality, or awarding authority thereof owns or has a contractual right to own or purchase, including easements, rights-of-way, or otherwise. (6) PUBLIC WORKS. The construction, installation, repair, renovation, or maintenance of public buildings, structures, sewers, waterworks, roads, curbs, gutters, side walls, bridges, docks, underpasses, and viaducts as well as any other improvement to be constructed, installed, repaired, renovated, or maintained on public property and to be paid, in whole or in part, with public funds or with financing to be retired with public funds in the form of lease payments or otherwise." "§39-2-2 (a)(1) Before entering into any contract for a public works involving an amount in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) , the awarding authority shall advertise for sealed bids, except as provided in subsection (j). (2)a. If the awarding authority is the state ,or a county, or an instrumentality thereof, it shall advertise for sealed bids at least once each week for three consecutive 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 8 weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which the improvement, or some part thereof, is to be made. b. If the awarding authority is a municipality, or an instrumentality thereof, it shall advertise for sealed bids at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published in the municipality where the awarding authority is located. If no newspaper is published in the municipality, the awarding authority shall advertise by posting notice thereof on a bulletin board maintained outside the purchasing office and in any other manner and for the length of time as may be determined. In addition to bulletin board notice, sealed bids shall also be solicited by sending notice by mail to all persons who have filed a request in writing with the official designated by the awarding authority that they be listed for solicitation on bids for the public works contracts indicated in the request. If any person whose name is listed fails to respond to any solicitation for bids after the receipt of three such solicitations, the listing may be canceled. (3) With the exception of the Department of Transportation, for all public works contracts involving an estimated amount in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), awarding authorities shall also advertise for sealed bids at least once in three newspapers of general circulation throughout the state. (4)(3) The advertisements shall briefly describe the improvement, state that plans and specifications for the improvement are on file for examination in a designated office 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 9 of the awarding authority, state the procedure for obtaining plans and specifications, state the time and place in which bids shall be received and opened, and identify whether prequalification is required and where all written prequalification information is available for review. (5)(4) All bids shall be opened publicly at the advertised time and place. (6)(5) No public work, as defined in this chapter, involving a sum in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be split into parts involving sums of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or less for the purpose of evading the requirements of this section. (b)(1) An awarding authority may let contracts for public works involving fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or less with or without advertising or sealed bids. (2) An awarding authority may enter into a contract for public works if an advertisement for sealed bids for the contract was submitted by the awarding authority to a newspaper and the newspaper only published the advertisement for two weeks if the authority can provide proof that it, in good faith, submitted the advertisement to the newspaper with instructions to publish the notice in accordance with the provisions of this section. (c) All contracts for public works entered into in violation of this title shall be void and violative of public policy. Anyone who willfully violates this article concerning 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 10 public works shall be guilty of a Class C felony. (d)(1) Excluded from the operation of this title shall be contracts with persons who shall perform only architectural, engineering, construction management, program management, or project management services in support of the public works and who shall not engage in actual construction, repair, renovation, or maintenance of the public works with their own forces, by contract, subcontract, purchase order, lease, or otherwise. (2) Excluded from operation of the bidding requirements in this title are contracts for the purchase of any heating or air conditioning units or systems by any awarding authority subject to Chapter 13B of Title 16, or Article 3, commencing with Section 41-16-50, of Chapter 16 of Title 41, or Article 5, commencing with Section 41-4-110, of Chapter 4 of Title 41, provided the contract is entered into with an Alabama vendor who has been granted approved vendor status for the sale of heating or air conditioning units or systems as a part of a purchasing cooperative, and each of the following occur: a. The heating or air conditioning unit or system being purchased is available as a result of a competitive bid process conducted by a governmental entity which has been approved by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. b. The purchase of the heating or air conditioning unit or system is not available on the state purchasing program at the time or the purchase under the purchasing cooperative is available at a price that is equal to or less than that available through the state purchasing program. 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 11 c. The entity entering into the contract for the purchase of the heating or air conditioning unit or system has been notified by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts that the competitive bid process utilized by the cooperative program offering the goods complies with this subdivision. d. Upon request, the vendor has provided the purchasing entity with a report of sales made under this subdivision during the previous 12-month period, to include a general description of the heating or air conditioning units and systems sold, the number of units sold per entity, and the purchase price of the units. e. The exemption from the requirement to utilize sealed bids for the purchase of heating or air conditioning units or systems authorized by this section shall not serve to exempt any public works project from the remaining provisions of this article, including, but not limited to, design, installation, and review requirements, compliance with all applicable codes, laws, specifications, and standards, and the compensation of engineers, architects, or others as mandated by state law or rule. (e)(1) In case of an emergency affecting public health, safety, or convenience, as declared in writing by the awarding authority, setting forth the nature of the danger to the public health, safety, or convenience which would result from delay, contracts may be let to the extent necessary to meet the emergency without public advertisement. The action and the reasons for the action taken shall immediately be made public 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 12 by the awarding authority upon request. In case of an emergency for which a delay in remedying would cause immediate harm to a person or public property, contracts may be let to the extent necessary to meet the emergency without public advertisement or bidding. (2) In case of an emergency affecting public health, safety, or convenience, as declared in writing by the awarding authority, setting forth the nature of the danger to the public health, safety, or convenience which would result from delay, contracts may be let to the extent necessary to meet the emergency without public advertisement. (3) Any action taken under subdivision (1) or (2), and the reasons for the action taken, shall immediately be made public by the awarding authority and published in writing. (f) No awarding authority may specify in the plans and specifications for the improvement the use of materials, products, systems, or services by a sole source unless all of the following requirements are met: (1) Except for contracts involving the construction, reconstruction, renovation, or replacement of public roads, bridges, and water and sewer facilities, the awarding authority can document to the satisfaction of the Division of Construction Management Division of Real Property Management of the Department of Finance, or in the case of an educational institution or state educational institution as provided pursuant to Sections 41-4-353 and 41-4-400, to the satisfaction of its governing board, that the sole source product, material, system, or service is of an indispensable 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 13 nature for the improvement, that there are no other viable alternatives, and that only this particular product, material, system, or service fulfills the function for which it is needed. (2) The sole source specification has been recommended by the architect or engineer of record as an indispensable item for which there is no other viable alternative. (3) All information substantiating the use of a sole source specification, including the recommendation of the architect or engineer of record, shall be documented and made available for examination in the office of the awarding authority at the time of advertisement for sealed bids. (g) In the event of a proposed public works project, acknowledged in writing by the Alabama Homeland Security Department as: (1) having a direct impact on the security or safety of persons or facilities; and (2) requiring confidential handling for the protection of such persons or facilities, contracts may be let without public advertisement but with the taking of informal bids otherwise consistent with the requirements of this title and the requirements of maintaining confidentiality. Records of bidding and award shall not be disclosed to the public and shall remain confidential. (h) If a pre-bid meeting is held, the pre-bid meeting shall be held at least seven days prior to the bid opening except when the project has been declared an emergency in accordance with subsection (e). (i) The awarding authority may not offer a contract for 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 14 bidding unless confirmation of any applicable grant has been received and any required matching funds have been secured by or are available to the awarding authority. (j) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Department of Transportation may enter into contracts for road construction or road maintenance projects that do not involve more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) without advertising for sealed bids, provided the project is listed on the department website for at least seven calendar days before entering into the contract. The total cost of all projects not subject to advertising and sealed bids pursuant to this subsection may not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) in the aggregate per year. (k) For the purposes of this chapter, sealed bids may also be solicited and submitted through electronic means including, but not limited to, electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or any other similar technology, provided that the awarding authority adopts rules and policies to ensure that all electronic submissions are transmitted securely and bids remained sealed until bid opening. (l)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any entity subject to this chapter that is an awarding authority of a contract for public works, by resolution or board action, may purchase materials or equipment pursuant to subdivisions (14), (16), 17), (18), or (19) of Section 41-16-51(a), even when those materials or equipment are otherwise part of the contract for public works subject to the requirements of this title. 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 15 (2) Except for those materials or equipment described in subdivision (1), the remaining portion of the public works project shall be subject to the requirements of this title, even if the remaining portion would involve an amount less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) as a result of the exclusion of the purchase of the materials or equipment as described in subdivision (1). " "§39-2-6 (a) The contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, unless the awarding authority finds that all the bids are unreasonable or that it is not toin the interest of the awarding authority to accept any of the bids. A responsible bidder is one who, among other qualities determined necessary for performance, is competent, experienced, and financially able to perform the contract. A responsive bidder is one who submits a bid that complies with the terms and conditions of the invitation for bids. Minor irregularities in the bid shall not defeat responsiveness. The bidder to whom the award is made shall be notified by telegram, confirmed facsimile, electronic mail, or letter at the earliest possible date. If the successful bidder fails or refuses to sign the contract, to make bond as provided in this chapter, or to provide evidence of insurance as required by the bid documents, the awarding authority may award the contract to the second lowest responsible and responsive bidder. If the second lowest bidder fails or refuses to sign the contract, make bond as provided in this chapter, or to provide evidence of insurance as required by the bid 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 16 documents, the awarding authority may award the contract to the third lowest responsible and responsive bidder. (b) If no bids or only one bid is received at the time stated in the advertisement for bids, the awarding authority may advertise for and seek other competitive bids, or the awarding authority may direct that the work shall be done by force account under its direction and control or, with the exception of the Department of Transportation, the awarding authority may negotiate for the work through the receipt of informal bids not subject to the requirements of this section. Where only one responsible and responsive bid has been received, any negotiation for the work shall be for a price lower than that bid. (c) When With the exception of the Department of Transportation, when two or more bids are received, and all bids exceed available funding for the contract, a local board of education or a public two-year or four-year institution of higher education the awarding authority may negotiate for the work with the lowest responsible and responsive bidder , provided that the local board of education or public two-year or four-year institution of higher education awarding authority can document the shortage of funding, that time is of the essence, and that the negotiated changes are in the public interest and do not materially alter the scope and nature of the project. (d) If the awarding authority finds that all bids received are unreasonable or that it is not to the interest of the awarding authority to accept any of the bids, the awarding 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 17 authority may direct that the work shall be done by force account under its direction and control. (e) On any construction project on which the awarding authority has prepared plans and specifications, has received bids, and has determined to do by force account or by negotiation, the awarding authority shall make available the plans and specifications, an itemized estimate of cost, and any informal bids for review by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts and, upon completion of the project by an awarding authority, the final total costs together with an itemized list of cost of any and all changes made in the original plans and specifications shall also be made available for review by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. Furthermore, the above described information shall be made public by the awarding authority upon request. Upon the approval of the awarding authority, its duly authorized officer or officers, when proceeding upon the basis of force account, may let any subdivision or unit of work by contract on informal bids. (f) No provision of this section shall be interpreted as precluding the use of convict labor by the awarding authority. This section shall not apply to routine maintenance and repair jobs done by maintenance personnel who are regular employees of the awarding authority, nor shall it apply to road or bridge construction work performed by an awarding authority's regular employees and own equipment. (g) No contract awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder shall be assignable by the successful bidder 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 18 without written consent of the awarding authority, and in no event shall a contract be assigned to an unsuccessful bidder whose bid was rejected because he or she was not a responsible or responsive bidder. (h) Any agreement or collusion among bidders or prospective bidders in restraint of freedom of competition to bid at a fixed price or to refrain from bidding or otherwise shall render the bids void and shall cause the bidders or prospective bidders to be disqualified from submitting further bids to the awarding authority on future lettings. Any bidder or prospective bidder who willfully participates in any agreement or collusion in restraint of freedom of competition shall be guilty of a felony and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or, at the discretion of the jury, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than three years. (i) Any disclosure in advance of the terms of a bid submitted in response to an advertisement for bids shall render the proceedings void and require advertisement and award anew. (j) The lowest responsible and responsive bidder on a public works project may be determined to be the bidder offering the lowest life cycle costs. The lowest responsible and responsive bidder shall otherwise meet all of the conditions and specifications contained in the invitation to bid, except that a bidder may still be considered responsive if he or she responds with a bid using different construction 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 19 materials than those specified in the invitation to bid if the materials' use would result in lower life cycle costs for the public works project. To utilize this provision to determine the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, the awarding authority must include a notice in the invitation to bid that the lowest responsible and responsive bidder may be determined by using life cycle costs, and must also include in the invitation to bid the criteria under which it shall evaluate the life cycle costs." Section 2. Although this bill would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further requirements and application under Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, because the bill defines a new crime or amends the definition of an existing crime. Section 3. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law. 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 HB168 EnrolledHB168 Enrolled Page 20 ________________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives ________________________________________________ President and Presiding Officer of the Senate House of Representatives I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and was passed by the House 23-May-23, as amended. John Treadwell Clerk Senate 01-Jun-23 Passed 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552