WSDOT Amends 2010 Standard Specs

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced amendments to the 2010 Standard Specifications, effective April 5, 2010.  

The amendments can be viewed by clicking here, which includes a six page summary of the most recent changes.

Wisconsin Fails in Contract Reporting

In 2005, the Wisconsin Legislative approved the Contract Sunshine Act.  The law requires that state agencies report and make available on a website information about all contracts of $10,000 or more.  Transparency in government contracting was a primary reason behind the law.

In a letter dated March 16, 2010, three legislators wrote to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle expressing their concern with the lack of compliance by state agencies with the law.  According to a recently released report, only 14 of the 98 agencies covered by the law had reported any information.  The legislators asked the Governor to "instruct state agency officials to comply with this law."

The agencies that have reported contract information have submitted the information in a variety of different formats.  In addition to ensuring compliance with reporting requirements, the online information would be more useful if it were reported in a consistent format.

Responsive or Non-Responsive?

Responsive or Non-Responsive Bid?  How do you determine if an irregularity in a bid makes the bid responsive or non-responsive.?

• A bid with a material irregularity must be rejected as non-responsive.

• A bid with an immaterial irregularity may be rejected as non-responsive or deemed responsive, at the discretion of the public agency.

Material or Immaterial Irregularity in Bid?  So what makes an irregularity material or immaterial?

"The test as to the materiality of a variance is whether it gives a bidder a substantial advantage or benefit not enjoyed by other bidders."

[Gostovich vs. City of West Richland, WA, March 1969, quoting Duffy v. Village of Princeton 240 Minn. 9 60 N.W.2d 27, 29 (1953)]

Whether an irregularity provides a bidder with substantial advantage or benefit not enjoyed by other bidders is a question that must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and is very much dependent on the specific facts relating to the bid.

Do You Have to Take the Low Bid?

I will be giving a brief talk on "Bidder Responsibility: Balancing the Interests of Owners and Contractors" on April 1, 2010 in Bellingham, Washington, at the Spring Workshop of the Pacific Northwest Public Purchasing Association (PNPPA).  

I will discuss how public agencies are using the Supplemental Bidder Responsibility Criteria permitted by RCW 39.04.350, and how some contractors are concerned that some of the criteria are overly restrictive of the bidding pool and limit competition.  

I will also update the group on the March 24, 2010 meeting of a task force established recently by the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB) to address the issue of bidder responsibility.

Integrated Project Delivery Presentation

When:  April 8, 2010 ((5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)

Speaker:  Lindsey Pflugrath, Attorney at Skellenger Bender, P.S.

Topic:  Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) - its origins, principles of IPD, standard IPD contract terms, and comparing the advantages of IPD to traditional delivery.

Where:  Doubletree Guest Suites (16500 Southcenter Parkway, Seattle, WA)

Sponsored by ACEC Washington

Information:  For more information and to register, click here.

Cost:  

• $30 (ACEC members by April 5, 2010)
• $35 (ACEC members after April 5, 2010)
• $40 (non-ACEC members by April 5, 2010)
• $45 (non-ACEC members after April 5, 2010)

Contracting Controversy in Pennsylvania

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania is embroiled in a controversy over professional service contracting selection procedures.

In a contentiously divided vote, the County's three commissioners recently voted to repeal a 1998 law requiring at least five solicitations to be sent out.  In its place, they have adopted a new law requiring the commissioners to approve all new contracts.

One commissioner, Bruce L. Castor, Jr. challenged previous commission actions that he maintains did not follow proper solicitation procedures.  In response, commissioner James R. Matthews asserted that "I will never admit there was any illegality in securing contracts." 

Commissioner Castor also chided the county for not enforcing an ethics ordinance approved in April 2009 that requires elected officials to publish financial campaign reports on a website, as part of a government transparency initiative.

Click here to read an article about this issue from The Times Herald.

What Contractors Must be Registered?

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries registers contractors in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 18.27 RCW.  

They register both general contractors and specialty contractors. According to L&I:

• A general contractor can perform or supervise numerous building trades or crafts
  
• A specialty contractor can perform one building trade or craft

L&I has published a list of specialty contractors to help contractors and public agencies determine when a contractor must be registered.  

You may view the list of specialty contractors on L&I's website by clicking here.