HB 1198 Would Increase Public Works Bid Limits

House Bill 1198, introduced into the 2009 Legislative session of the Washington State Legislature, would increase the dollar amounts at which various types of public agencies could perform public works construction projects with their own forces, rather than bidding and contracting the work out.

The legislation would affect institutions of higher education, first class cities, second class and code cities, and counties.

The following chart describes the proposed changes:

	Multiple Trades	Single Trade
Higher Education	$55,000 to $90,000	$35,000 to $45,000
First Class Cities	$70,000 to $90,000	$35,000 to $45,000
Second class and code cities	$45,000 to $60,000	$30,000 to $40,000
Counties (more than 1 million population)	$70,000 to $90,000	$25,000 to $45,000
All other Counties	$10,000 to $40,000	$10,000 to $40,000

The House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee will hear testimony on the bill on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.