This bill mandates that school districts or chartered public schools must engage the services of an owner's project manager (OPM) at the time they apply for school building aid, specifically for construction or reconstruction projects costing $1,000,000 or more. The current law only requires the engagement of an OPM after a school district has accepted a building aid award. The new legal language replaces "accepts" with "applies for" and specifies that the school must "have engaged" the services of an OPM, rather than just "engage" them. Additionally, the bill stipulates that the OPM must possess comprehensive liability and auto insurance, worker's compensation coverage, and professional liability coverage.

The bill is set to take effect 60 days after its passage and is expected to have an indeterminable impact on local school districts' expenditures, as the requirement to hire an OPM prior to application may incur costs without a guarantee of receiving funding. The Department of Education notes that the cost of OPM services typically ranges from 1% to 5% of the total project cost, which could affect the financial planning of school districts seeking building aid.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 198:15-c