Public Works Selection Processes and Requirements

The State of Washington has a number of different selection (or project delivery) processes that may be used for public works projects.  Despite the different processes, certain requirements apply to all public works projects.

Public Works Selection Processes:  In Washington State, the following are the basic options for selecting a contractor for a public works project:

• Advertise the Project:  Publicly advertise the project and award to the responsible bidder submitting the low responsive bid.

• Small Works Roster:  Solicit bids or quotations from contractors on the agency's Small Works Roster and award to the responsible bidder submitting the low responsive bid, consistent with RCW 39.04.155.

• Limited Public Works:  Use the Limited Public Works process for projects less than $35,000 (part of the Small Works Roster), and award to the responsible bidder submitting the low responsive bid.

• Direct Selection if Less than the Bid Limit:  Select a contractor without competition (or consistent with the agency's policies) if the dollar amount of the project is less than the threshold for competition for that type of public agency (often referred to informally as the "bid limit").  Different types of public agencies (cities, counties, port districts, school districts, fire protection districts, etc.) often have separate state laws that apply to their procurement of public works, services, and goods and supplies. 

• Job Order Contracting:  This alternative public works process provides for the selection of a job order contractor to perform certain public works for less than $300,000 based on a unit price book.  The contractor is selected based on qualifications and their markup (coefficient) of the unit prices.  Under this process, outlined in RCW 39.10, 90% of the work must be subcontracted.  Not all public agencies are authorized to use this process.

• General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM):  This alternative public works process is also outlined in RCW 39.10 and provides for early selection of the contractor based on a combination of qualifications and limited pricing.  Generally used for projects of $10 million or more and requires approval of the State's Project Review Committee for a public agency to use this process.

• Design-Build:  Another alternative public works process outlined in RCW 39.10 in which the public agency contracts with one firm to provide both the design and construction of the project.  Limited to projects of $10 million or more and requires approval by the State's Project Review Committee for a public agency to use this process. 

Required for All Public Works Projects:  

• Mandatory Bidder Responsibility Criteria:  Regardless of the selection or project delivery process used, all public agencies in Washington must ensure, prior to award, that the successful contractor meets the mandatory bidder responsibility criteria outlined in RCW 39.04.350.

• Resident Bid Preference Requirements:  Under the recently adopted legislation (2SSB 5662), once the State Department of General Administration (GA) surveys the practices of other states and adopts regulations implementing the legislation, public agencies in Washington will be required to provide a bid preference to resident contractors over out-of-state contractors.  Because it appears the legislation was written primarily with traditional public works projects in mind, GA will need to address in their regulations how the bid preference will be applied, if at all, to the three alternative public works contracting procedures outlined above. The legislation, which has not yet been signed by the Governor, states the following:

• "In any bidding process for public works in which a bid is received from a nonresident contractor from a state that provides a percentage bidding preference, a comparable percentage disadvantage must be applied to the bid of that nonresident contractor."

Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog 

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