Existing law creates the Department of Transportation, which is administered by a seven-member Board of Directors and has various powers and duties relating to the construction, improvement and maintenance of the highways in this State. (Chapter 408 of NRS) Under existing law, the Department consists of a Director, three Deputy Directors, a Chief Engineer and certain Divisions, which are headed by assistant directors. (NRS 408.111) Section 1 of this bill revises the education and experience required for appointment as a Deputy Director. Existing law requires the Department to prepare a written analysis of the costs and benefits of certain highway projects expected to cost at least $25 million before the Department submits a proposal for the project to the Board of Directors. (NRS 408.3195) Section 2 of this bill increases the minimum expected cost of a project from $25 million to $50 million for which the Department is required to prepare a cost-benefit analysis. Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires the Director of the Department to use a process of competitive bidding to contract for work to construct, reconstruct, improve or maintain highways. (NRS 408.323, 408.327, 408.367, 408.3875-408.3888) Under existing law, the Director is authorized, with the approval of the Board, to execute certain work or improvements with facilities and employees of the Department rather than through competitive bidding. (NRS 408.323) Section 3 of this bill eliminates the requirement for the Director to obtain the approval of the Board when the Director is authorized by existing law to execute work or improvements with facilities and employees of the Department rather than through competitive bidding. Section 3: (1) further eliminates the requirement for the Director to obtain the approval of the Board to hire, employ or contract for labor, materials or equipment without the use of competitive bidding in a disaster or great emergency; and (2) instead, requires the Director to report each such hiring, employment or contract to the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Existing law authorizes the Director to use an informal bidding process to award contracts for highway construction, reconstruction, improvements or maintenance if the project is estimated to cost $250,000 or less and the Director obtains the approval of the Board to use such an informal bidding process. (NRS 408.367) Sections 4 and 8 of this bill increase the maximum cost of a project for which the Director may use an informal bidding process from $250,000 to $750,000. Section 8 also eliminates the requirement for the Director to obtain the approval of the Board to use an informal bidding process. Finally, section 8 increases the cost of a project for which the Director may solicit a bid from only one properly licensed contractor from $50,000 or less to less than $100,000. Under existing law, when the Director is required to use a competitive bidding process to contract for work to construct, reconstruct, improve or maintain highways, the Director is required to advertise for bids for such work by satisfying certain requirements for publishing the advertisement in newspapers. (NRS 408.327) Section 4 removes requirements for publishing an advertisement for bids in certain newspapers and, instead, section 4 requires the Department to post an advertisement for bids on the Internet website of the Department for a certain period. Section 11 of this bill similarly removes the requirement for the Department to advertise in certain newspapers for preliminary proposals for the design and construction of a project when the Department uses a design-build team to design and construct a project and, instead, requires the Department to post such an advertisement for preliminary proposals on its Internet website for a certain period. Under existing law, before the Director may furnish plans and specifications for an advertised work to a person proposing to bid for the work, the person is required to become qualified to bid by establishing to the satisfaction of the Director that the person has the financial ability and experience to perform the work. (NRS 408.333) Instead of requiring a person proposing to bid for work to become qualified to bid before the Director furnishes plans and specifications for the work to that person, section 5 of this bill requires the person to become qualified by the Director before submitting a bid. Section 8 similarly requires that when the Director is using the informal bidding procedure to award a contract, a person wishing to bid is required to submit certain information to the Director before submitting a bid rather than before the Director furnishes the person with plans and specifications for the work. Section 6 of this bill updates statutory language to clarify that a person submitting a bid for work to construct, reconstruct, improve or maintain a highway may be a business entity. Section 7 of this bill removes the authority of an authorized representative of a bidder to execute a document to withdraw a bid and, instead, requires the bidder to execute such a withdrawal. Existing law requires the successful bidder for a contract for work to construct, reconstruct, improve or maintain a highway to furnish one or more surety bonds to secure: (1) faithful performance of the contract; and (2) payment of workers and suppliers used for the performance of the contract. (NRS 408.357) Under existing law, any such worker or supplier who has not been paid by a contractor or subcontractor and who wishes to recover from the surety bond is required to file a claim with the Department within 30 days from the date of final acceptance of the contract. (NRS 408.363) To provide notice of the final acceptance of the contract, the Department is required to publish a notice of the final acceptance of the contract in certain newspapers. (NRS 408.387) Section 9 of this bill removes the requirement to publish this notice in certain newspapers and, instead, requires the Department to post notice of the date of final acceptance of a contract on the Internet website of the Department. Existing law requires the Department to obtain the approval of the Board before purchasing any equipment which exceeds $50,000. (NRS 408.389) Section 12 of this bill increases the purchase price of equipment which requires approval of the Board from $50,000 to $150,000. Under existing law, any legal notice or advertisement required by law to be published in a newspaper is a legal notice or advertisement and must be published in a newspaper that satisfies certain requirements. (NRS 238.010-238.080) Section 10 of this bill clarifies that the notice of a public meeting at which the Board makes the determinations that are necessary to authorize the Department to contract with a design-build team for the design and construction of a project is a legal notice that must be published in a newspaper that satisfies the requirements of existing law. (NRS 408.3881) Sections 13 and 14 of this bill clarify that notices of certain dispositions of property of the Department are legal notices that must be published in a newspaper that satisfies the requirements of existing law. (NRS 408.507, 408.533) Section 15 of this bill clarifies that notice of a public hearing required upon an application to close a public road on public land is a legal notice that must be published in a newspaper that satisfies the requirements of existing law. (NRS 408.537)

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 408.178, 408.3195, 408.323, 408.327, 408.333, 408.337, 408.343, 408.367, 408.387, 408.3881, 408.3883, 408.389, 408.507, 408.533, 408.537
BDR: 408.178, 408.3195, 408.323, 408.327, 408.333, 408.337, 408.343, 408.367, 408.387, 408.3881, 408.3883, 408.389, 408.507, 408.533, 408.537