JOC and New Construction

When the Washington State Legislature amended the law re-authorizing Job Order Contracting (JOC) - SSHB 1506 - in 2007, they appear to have inadvertently cast a shadow over whether JOC could be used for new construction, or only for repair and renovation projects.

RCW 39.10.420 (3) states that JOC is “an effective means of reducing the total lead-time and cost for the construction of public works projects for repair and renovation required at public facilities…” This appears to limit JOC to only repair and renovation projects, while the previous law made it clear that JOC could be used for “public works projects or repair required at public facilities.”

However, I think that the definition of JOC in RCW 39.10.210 helps support the argument that JOC can still be used for new construction. The definition states that JOC may be used “for public works as defined in RCW 39.10.010.” There is no question that public works includes new construction.

Thus, it seems to me that even though the 2007 legislative changes to JOC were not written as clearly as they could have been, when you attempt to harmonize the provisions of RCW 39.10.420 (3) with the definition of JOC in RCW 39.10.210, you can easily come to the conclusion that JOC can be used for new construction.

Hopefully, the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB) will pick up this issue as one of many clean-up items needing to be addressed legislatively, and will make recommendations for the Legislature to consider in the 2009 legislative session.