By: Simmons H.B. No. 3109
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the requirements for request for proposals for
design-build contracts for highway projects and the scope of and
limitation on design-build contracts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 223.246(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall issue a request for proposals to
proposers short-listed under Section 223.245. A request for
proposals must include:
(1) information on the overall project goals;
(2) publicly available cost estimates for the
design-build portion of the project;
(3) materials specifications;
(4) special material requirements;
(5) [a schematic design approximately 30 percent
complete;
[(6)] known utilities, provided that the department is
not required to undertake an effort to locate utilities;
(6) [(7)] quality assurance and quality control
requirements;
(7) [(8)] the location of relevant structures;
(8) [(9)] notice of any rules or goals adopted by the
department relating to awarding contracts to disadvantaged
business enterprises or small business enterprises;
(9) [(10)] available geotechnical or other
information related to the project;
(10) [(11)] the status of any environmental review of
the project;
(11) [(12)] detailed instructions for preparing the
technical proposal required under Subsection (d), including a
description of the form and level of completeness of drawings
expected;
(12) [(13)] the relative weighting of the technical
and cost proposals required under Subsection (d) and the formula by
which the proposals will be evaluated and ranked; and
(13) [(14)] the criteria to be used in evaluating the
technical proposals, and the relative weighting of those criteria.
(b) The formula used to evaluate proposals under Subsection
(a)(12) [(a)(13)] must allocate at least 70 percent of the
weighting to the cost proposal.
SECTION 2. Section 370.401(d), Transportation Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. Section 370.406(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) An authority shall issue a request for detailed
proposals to proposers qualified or short-listed under Section
370.405. A request for detailed proposals must include:
(1) information on the overall project goals;
(2) the authority's cost estimates for the
design-build portion of the work;
(3) materials specifications;
(4) special material requirements;
(5) [a schematic design approximately 30 percent
complete;
[(6)] known utilities, provided that an authority is
not required to undertake an effort to locate utilities;
(6) [(7)] quality assurance and quality control
requirements;
(7) [(8)] the location of relevant structures;
(8) [(9)] notice of any rules or goals adopted by the
authority pursuant to Section 370.183 relating to awarding
contracts to disadvantaged businesses;
(9) [(10)] available geotechnical or other
information related to the project;
(10) [(11)] the status of any environmental review of
the project;
(11) [(12)] detailed instructions for preparing the
technical proposal required under Subsection (c), including a
description of the form and level of completeness of drawings
expected;
(12) [(13)] the relative weighting of the technical
and cost proposals required under Subsection (c) and the formula by
which the proposals will be evaluated and ranked, provided that the
formula shall allocate at least 70 percent of the weighting to the
cost proposal; and
(13) [(14)] the criteria and weighting for each
element of the technical proposal.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a contract entered into on or after the effective date of this
Act. A contract entered into before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect when the contract was entered into,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect August 31, 2015.