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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1243 FILED ON: 1/14/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3524 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | William F. MacGregor |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to transparency in private utility construction contracts. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:William F. MacGregor10th Suffolk1/14/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/28/2025Brian W. Murray10th Worcester1/28/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/28/2025Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden1/28/2025Frank A. Moran17th Essex1/28/2025Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk1/28/2025Susannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin1/28/2025Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex1/28/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth1/28/2025Tara T. Hong18th Middlesex1/29/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex1/30/2025Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex1/30/2025Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk1/30/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex2/6/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/6/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/11/2025Daniel Cahill10th Essex2/11/2025 2 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | Kevin G. Honan17th Suffolk2/27/2025Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol3/7/2025Adrianne Pusateri Ramos14th Essex3/7/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1243 FILED ON: 1/14/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3524 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Representative MacGregor of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3524) of |
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| 20 | 20 | | William F. MacGregor and others relative to the availability of private utility construction |
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| 21 | 21 | | contracts. Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 3681 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act relative to transparency in private utility construction contracts. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 Chapter 164 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2amended by inserting after Section 76D the following section:-Section 76 E.(a) As used in this |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3section, the following words shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4meanings:- |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5 “Company,” a gas or distribution company |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6 “Contract," any agreement for the procurement of services specified under subsection |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7(b),regardless of what the parties call the agreement. |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8 “Responsible Bidder,” a person who has the capability to perform fully the contract |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9requirements, and the integrity and reliability which assures good faith performance. 2 of 3 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10 “Score,” the quantities or qualitatively rating or method utilized by the company to |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11award a contract |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12 (b) When entering into a contract in the amount of $100,000 or more for services related |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13to the excavation or construction upon, along, or across any public way, each company shall be |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14subject to this section. |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15 (c) A company shall(1) within two business days after the decision has been made,inform |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16any responsible bidder which submitted a bid of its decision in relation to the award of a |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17contract, and shall do so by notice in writing by the most rapid means of communication |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18possible; and (2) post on their website (i)name of the contractor, (ii)location of project,(iii) |
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| 50 | 50 | | 19duration of work. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20 (d) The written notice to each responsible bidder shall include (1) The criteria for the |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21award of the contract; and (2) the score obtained by the responsible bidder; and (3) winning |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22amount. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23 (e) Where there is only one response to a solicitation, a company need not comply with |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24this section. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25 (f) A company may withhold any information to be provided in accordance with the |
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| 57 | 57 | | 26section where disclosure of such information (1) would impede law enforcement,(2) would |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27otherwise be contrary to the public interest, (3) would prejudice the legitimate commercial |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28interests of any responsible bidder; or (4) might interfere with competition between responsible |
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| 60 | 60 | | 29bidders. 3 of 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 30 (g) The department shall be responsible for enforcing this section , and may promulgate |
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| 62 | 62 | | 31regulations and issue orders it deems in the public interest regarding the procurement practices of |
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| 63 | 63 | | 32companies. |
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