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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 428
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 3193
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES RELATING TO
SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 10-286 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2022): 3
(c) In the computation of grants pursuant to this section for any 4
school building project authorized by the General Assembly pursuant 5
to section 10-283, as amended by this act, (1) after January 1, 1993, any 6
maximum square footage per pupil limit established pursuant to this 7
chapter or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education or 8
the Department of Administrative Services pursuant to this chapter 9
shall be increased by twenty-five per cent for a building constructed 10
prior to [1950] 1959; (2) after January 1, 2004, any maximum square 11
footage per pupil limit established pursuant to this chapter or any 12
regulation adopted by the Department of Administrative Services 13
pursuant to this chapter shall be increased by up to one per cent to 14 Raised Bill No. 428
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accommodate a heating, ventilation or air conditioning system, if 15
needed; (3) for the period from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2009, inclusive, 16
for projects with total authorized project costs greater than ten million 17
dollars, if total construction change orders or other change directives 18
otherwise eligible for grant assistance under this chapter exceed five per 19
cent of the authorized total project cost, only fifty per cent of the amount 20
of such change order or other change directives in excess of five per cent 21
shall be eligible for grant assistance; and (4) after July 1, 2009, for projects 22
with total authorized project costs greater than ten million dollars, if 23
total construction change orders or other change directives otherwise 24
eligible for grant assistance exceed five per cent of the total authorized 25
project cost, such change order or other change directives in excess of 26
five per cent shall be ineligible for grant assistance. 27
Sec. 2. Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-283 of the 2022 28
supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 29
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 30
(2) The Commissioner of Administrative Services shall assign each 31
school building project to a category on the basis of whether such project 32
is primarily required to: (A) Create new facilities or alter existing 33
facilities to provide for mandatory instructional programs pursuant to 34
this chapter, for physical education facilities in compliance with Title IX 35
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1972 where such 36
programs or such compliance cannot be provided within existing 37
facilities or for the correction of code violations which cannot be 38
reasonably addressed within existing program space; (B) create new 39
facilities or alter existing facilities to enhance mandatory instructional 40
programs pursuant to this chapter or provide comparable facilities 41
among schools to all students at the same grade level or levels within 42
the school district unless such project is otherwise explicitly included in 43
another category pursuant to this section; and (C) create new facilities 44
or alter existing facilities to provide supportive services, provided in no 45
event shall such supportive services include swimming pools, 46
auditoriums, outdoor athletic facilities, tennis courts, elementary school 47
playgrounds, site improvement or garages or storage, parking or 48 Raised Bill No. 428
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general recreation areas. All applications submitted prior to July first 49
shall be reviewed promptly by the Commissioner of Administrative 50
Services. The Commissioner of Administrative Services shall estimate 51
the amount of the grant for which such project is eligible, in accordance 52
with the provisions of section 10-285a, provided an application for a 53
school building project determined by the Commissioner of Education 54
to be a project that will assist the state in meeting its obligations 55
pursuant to the decision in Sheff v. O'Neill, 238 Conn. 1 (1996), or any 56
related stipulation or order in effect, as determined by the 57
Commissioner of Education, shall have until September first to submit 58
an application for such a project and may have until December first of 59
the same year to secure and report all local and state approvals required 60
to complete the grant application. The Commissioner of Administrative 61
Services shall annually prepare a listing of all such eligible school 62
building projects listed by category together with the amount of the 63
estimated grants for such projects and shall submit the same to the 64
Governor, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the 65
General Assembly on or before the fifteenth day of December, except as 66
provided in section 10-283a, with a request for authorization to enter 67
into grant commitments. On or before December thirty-first annually, 68
the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management may submit 69
comments and recommendations regarding each eligible project on 70
such listing of eligible school building projects to the school construction 71
committee, established pursuant to section 10-283a. Each such listing 72
shall include a report on the following factors for each eligible project: 73
(i) An enrollment projection and the capacity of the school, (ii) a 74
substantiation of the estimated total project costs, (iii) the readiness of 75
such eligible project to begin construction, (iv) efforts made by the local 76
or regional board of education to redistrict, reconfigure, merge or close 77
schools under the jurisdiction of such board prior to submitting an 78
application under this section, (v) enrollment and capacity information 79
for all of the schools under the jurisdiction of such board for the five 80
years prior to application for a school building project grant, (vi) 81
enrollment projections and capacity information for all of the schools 82
under the jurisdiction of such board for the eight years following the 83 Raised Bill No. 428
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date such application is submitted, and (vii) the state's education 84
priorities relating to reducing racial and economic isolation for the 85
school district. On and after July 1, 2022, each such listing shall include 86
an addendum that contains all grants approved pursuant to subsection 87
(b) of this section during the prior fiscal year. For the period beginning 88
July 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2012, no project, other than a project 89
for a technical education and career school, may appear on the separate 90
schedule of authorized projects which have changed in cost more than 91
twice. On and after July 1, 2012, no project, other than a project for a 92
technical education and career school, may appear on the separate 93
schedule of authorized projects which have changed in cost more than 94
once, except the Commissioner of Administrative Services may allow a 95
project to appear on such separate schedule of authorized projects a 96
second time if the town or regional school district for such project can 97
demonstrate that exigent circumstances require such project to appear a 98
second time on such separate schedule of authorized projects. 99
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, no projects which have 100
changed in scope or cost to the degree determined by the Commissioner 101
of Administrative Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of 102
Education, shall be eligible for reimbursement under this chapter unless 103
it appears on such list. The percentage determined pursuant to section 104
10-285a at the time a school building project on such schedule was 105
originally authorized shall be used for purposes of the grant for such 106
project. On and after July 1, 2006, a project that was not previously 107
authorized as an interdistrict magnet school shall not receive a higher 108
percentage for reimbursement than that determined pursuant to section 109
10-285a at the time a school building project on such schedule was 110
originally authorized. The General Assembly shall annually authorize 111
the Commissioner of Administrative Services to enter into grant 112
commitments on behalf of the state in accordance with the 113
commissioner's categorized listing for such projects as the General 114
Assembly shall determine. The Commissioner of Administrative 115
Services may not enter into any such grant commitments except 116
pursuant to such legislative authorization. Any regional school district 117
which assumes the responsibility for completion of a public school 118 Raised Bill No. 428
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building project shall be eligible for a grant pursuant to subdivision (5) 119
or (6), as the case may be, of subsection (a) of section 10-286 when such 120
project is completed and accepted by such regional school district. 121
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 10-283 of the 2022 supplement to the 122
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 123
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 124
(b) [(1)] Notwithstanding the application date requirements of this 125
section, at any time within the limit of available grant authorization and 126
within the limit of appropriated funds, the Commissioner of 127
Administrative Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of 128
Education, may approve applications for grants and make payments for 129
such grants, for any of the following reasons: (A) To assist school 130
building projects to remedy damage from fire and catastrophe, (B) to 131
correct safety, health and other code violations, (C) to replace roofs, 132
including the replacement or installation of skylights as part of the roof 133
replacement project, (D) to remedy a certified school indoor air quality 134
emergency, (E) to install insulation for exterior walls and attics, or (F) to 135
purchase and install a limited use and limited access elevator, windows, 136
photovoltaic panels, wind generation systems, building management 137
systems [, a public school administrative or service facility] or portable 138
classroom buildings, provided portable classroom building projects 139
shall not create a new facility or cause an existing facility to be modified 140
so that the portable buildings comprise a substantial percentage of the 141
total facility area, as determined by the commissioner. [, or (G) for school 142
security projects, including, but not limited to, making improvements to 143
existing school security infrastructure or installing new school security 144
infrastructure.] 145
[(2) Not later than seven calendar days following the discovery of a 146
reason described in subparagraphs (A) to (F), inclusive, of subdivision 147
(1) of this subsection, the superintendent of schools of a town or regional 148
school district shall notify the Commissioner of Administrative Services 149
in writing of such reason in order to be eligible for a grant under this 150
subsection. Such superintendent shall submit an application to the 151 Raised Bill No. 428
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commissioner not later than six months following such notification in 152
order to receive a grant under this subsection.] 153
Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 10-287 of the 2022 supplement to the 154
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 155
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 156
(d) (1) Each town or regional school district shall submit a final grant 157
application to the Department of Administrative Services within one 158
year from the date of completion and acceptance of the school building 159
project by the town or regional school district. If a town or regional 160
school district fails to submit a final grant application within said period 161
of time, the commissioner may withhold ten per cent of the state 162
reimbursement for such project. 163
(2) (A) On and after July 1, 2022, each town or regional school district 164
shall submit a notice of project completion within three years from the 165
date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the school building 166
project by the town or regional school district. If a town or regional 167
school district fails to submit such notice of project completion within 168
said period of time, the commissioner shall deem such project 169
completed and conduct an audit of such project in accordance with the 170
provisions of this chapter. 171
(B) For any school building project authorized by the General 172
Assembly prior to July 1, 2022, the commissioner shall deem as complete 173
any such project in which a certificate of occupancy has been granted, 174
but for which a notice of project completion has not been submitted by 175
the town or regional school district on or before July 1, 2025. 176
Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 10-292q of the general statutes is 177
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 178
2022): 179
(b) The School Building Projects Advisory Council shall (1) develop 180
model blueprints for new school building projects that are in accordance 181
with industry standards for school buildings and the school safety 182 Raised Bill No. 428
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infrastructure criteria, developed pursuant to section 10-292r, as 183
amended by this act, (2) conduct studies, research and analyses, [and] 184
(3) make recommendations for improvements to the school building 185
projects processes to the Governor and the joint standing committee of 186
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 187
appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, education and finance, 188
revenue and bonding, and (4) periodically review and update, as 189
necessary, the school safety infrastructure criteria developed pursuant 190
to section 10-292r, as amended by this act. 191
Sec. 6. Section 10-292r of the general statutes is repealed and the 192
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 193
[(a) There is established a School Safety Infrastructure Council. The 194
council shall consist of: (1) The Commissioner of Administrative 195
Services, or the commissioner's designee; (2) the Commissioner of 196
Emergency Services and Public Protection, or the commissioner's 197
designee; (3) the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's 198
designee; (4) one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, 199
who shall be a person with expertise in building security, preferably 200
school building security; (5) one appointed by the speaker of the House 201
of Representatives, who shall be a licensed professional engineer who is 202
a structural engineer; (6) one appointed by the majority leader of the 203
Senate, who shall be a public school administrator certified by the State 204
Board of Education; (7) one appointed by the majority leader of the 205
House of Representatives, who shall be a firefighter, emergency medical 206
technician or a paramedic; (8) one appointed by the minority leader of 207
the Senate, who shall be a school resource officer; (9) one appointed by 208
the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be a 209
public school teacher certified by the State Board of Education; and (10) 210
two appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a licensed 211
building official and one of whom shall be a licensed architect. The 212
Commissioner of Administrative Services shall serve as the chairperson 213
of the council. The administrative staff of the Department of 214
Administrative Services shall serve as staff for the council and assist 215
with all ministerial duties.] 216 Raised Bill No. 428
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[(b)] (a) The [School Safety Infrastructure Council] School Building 217
Projects Advisory Council, established pursuant to section 10-292q, as 218
amended by this act, shall [develop] periodically review and update, as 219
necessary, school safety infrastructure criteria for school building 220
projects awarded grants pursuant to this chapter and the school security 221
infrastructure competitive grant program, pursuant to section 84 of 222
public act 13-3*. Such school safety infrastructure criteria shall conform 223
to industry standards for school building safety infrastructure and shall 224
address areas including, but not be limited to, (1) entryways to school 225
buildings and classrooms, such as, reinforcement of entryways, ballistic 226
glass, solid core doors, double door access, computer-controlled 227
electronic locks, remote locks on all entrance and exits and buzzer 228
systems, (2) the use of cameras throughout the school building and at 229
all entrances and exits, including the use of closed-circuit television 230
monitoring, (3) penetration resistant vestibules, and (4) other security 231
infrastructure improvements and devices as they become industry 232
standards. [The council shall meet at least annually to review and 233
update, if necessary, the school safety infrastructure criteria and make 234
such criteria available to local and regional boards of education.] 235
[(c)] (b) [Not later than January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the 236
School Safety Infrastructure Council] The School Building Projects 237
Advisory Council shall submit any updates made to the school safety 238
infrastructure criteria to the Commissioners of Emergency Services and 239
Public Protection and Education [, the School Building Projects 240
Advisory Council, established pursuant to section 10-292q,] and the 241
joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance 242
of matters relating to public safety and education, in accordance with 243
the provisions of section 11-4a. 244
Sec. 7. Subsection (b) of section 10-287 of the 2022 supplement to the 245
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 246
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 247
(b) (1) All orders and contracts for school building construction 248
receiving state assistance under this chapter, except as provided in 249 Raised Bill No. 428
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subdivisions (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection, shall be awarded to 250
the lowest responsible qualified bidder only after a public invitation to 251
bid, [which shall be advertised in a newspaper having circulation in the 252
town in which construction is to take place,] except for (A) school 253
building projects for which the town or regional school district is using 254
a state contract pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-292, and (B) 255
change orders, those contracts or orders costing less than ten thousand 256
dollars and those of an emergency nature, as determined by the 257
Commissioner of Administrative Services, in which cases the contractor 258
or vendor may be selected by negotiation, provided no local fiscal 259
regulations, ordinances or charter provisions conflict. 260
(2) All orders and contracts for architectural services shall be 261
awarded from a pool of not more than the four most responsible 262
qualified proposers after a public selection process. Such process shall, 263
at a minimum, involve requests for qualifications, followed by requests 264
for proposals, including fees, from the proposers meeting the 265
qualifications criteria of the request for qualifications process. [Public 266
advertisements shall be required in a newspaper having circulation in 267
the town in which construction is to take place, except for school 268
building projects for which the town or regional school district is using 269
a state contract pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-292.] Following 270
the qualification process, the awarding authority shall evaluate the 271
proposals to determine the four most responsible qualified proposers 272
using those criteria previously listed in the requests for qualifications 273
and requests for proposals for selecting architectural services specific to 274
the project or school district. Such evaluation criteria shall include due 275
consideration of the proposer's pricing for the project, experience with 276
work of similar size and scope as required for the order or contract, 277
organizational and team structure, including any subcontractors to be 278
utilized by the proposer, for the order or contract, past performance 279
data, including, but not limited to, adherence to project schedules and 280
project budgets and the number of change orders for projects, the 281
approach to the work required for the order or contract and documented 282
contract oversight capabilities, and may include criteria specific to the 283 Raised Bill No. 428
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project. Final selection by the awarding authority is limited to the pool 284
of the four most responsible qualified proposers and shall include 285
consideration of all criteria included within the request for proposals. 286
As used in this subdivision, "most responsible qualified proposer" 287
means the proposer who is qualified by the awarding authority when 288
considering price and the factors necessary for faithful performance of 289
the work based on the criteria and scope of work included in the request 290
for proposals. 291
(3) (A) All orders and contracts for construction management services 292
shall be awarded from a pool of not more than the four most responsible 293
qualified proposers after a public selection process. Such process shall, 294
at a minimum, involve requests for qualifications, followed by requests 295
for proposals, including fees, from the proposers meeting the 296
qualifications criteria of the request for qualifications process. [Public 297
advertisements shall be required in a newspaper having circulation in 298
the town in which construction is to take place, except for school 299
building projects for which the town or regional school district is using 300
a state contract pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-292.] Following 301
the qualification process, the awarding authority shall evaluate the 302
proposals to determine the four most responsible qualified proposers 303
using those criteria previously listed in the requests for qualifications 304
and requests for proposals for selecting construction management 305
services specific to the project or school district. Such evaluation criteria 306
shall include due consideration of the proposer's pricing for the project, 307
experience with work of similar size and scope as required for the order 308
or contract, organizational and team structure for the order or contract, 309
past performance data, including, but not limited to, adherence to 310
project schedules and project budgets and the number of change orders 311
for projects, the approach to the work required for the order or contract, 312
[including on and after July 1, 2022, whether the proposer intends to 313
self-perform any project element and the benefit to the awarding 314
authority that will result from such self-performance,] and documented 315
contract oversight capabilities, and may include criteria specific to the 316
project. Final selection by the awarding authority is limited to the pool 317 Raised Bill No. 428
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of the four most responsible qualified proposers and shall include 318
consideration of all criteria included within the request for proposals. 319
As used in this subdivision, "most responsible qualified proposer" 320
means the proposer who is qualified by the awarding authority when 321
considering price and the factors necessary for faithful performance of 322
the work based on the criteria and scope of work included in the request 323
for proposals. 324
(B) [On and after July 1, 2022, upon the written approval of the 325
Commissioner of Administrative Services, an awarding authority may 326
permit a construction manager to self-perform a portion of the 327
construction work if the awarding authority and the commissioner 328
determine that the construction manager can self-perform the work 329
more cost-effectively than a subcontractor. All work not performed by 330
the construction manager shall be performed by trade subcontractors 331
selected by a process approved by the awarding authority and the 332
commissioner.] The construction manager's contract shall include a 333
guaranteed maximum price for the cost of construction. Such 334
guaranteed maximum price shall be determined not later than ninety 335
days after the selection of the trade [subcontractors. Construction] 336
subcontractor bids. Each construction manager shall invite bids and 337
give notice of opportunities to bid on project elements on the State 338
Contracting Portal. Each bid shall be kept sealed until opened publicly 339
at the time and place set forth in the notice soliciting such bid. The 340
construction manager shall, after consultation and approval by the town 341
or regional school district, award any related contracts for project 342
elements to the responsible qualified contractor submitting the lowest 343
bid in compliance with the bid requirements, provided that (i) the 344
construction manager shall not be eligible to submit a bid for any such 345
project element, and (ii) construction shall not begin prior to the 346
determination of the guaranteed maximum price, except work relating 347
to site preparation and demolition may commence prior to such 348
determination. 349
(4) All orders and contracts for any other consultant services, 350
including, but not limited to, consultant services rendered by an owner's 351 Raised Bill No. 428
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representatives, construction administrators, program managers, 352
environmental professionals, planners and financial specialists, shall 353
comply with the public selection process described in subdivision (2) of 354
this subsection. No costs associated with an order or contract for such 355
consultant services shall be eligible for state financial assistance under 356
this chapter unless such order or contract receives prior approval from 357
the Commissioner of Administrative Services. 358
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 10-286(c)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 10-283(a)(2)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2022 10-283(b)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2022 10-287(d)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2022 10-292q(b)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2022 10-292r
Sec. 7 July 1, 2022 10-287(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) eliminate the provision allowing construction managers to self-
perform on school construction contracts, (2) require the invitation of
bids through the State Contracting Portal instead of local newspapers,
and (3) make other revisions to the school construction grant program
process and requirements.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]