This bill authorizes the department of transportation to award contracts using a design-build procedure. A "design-build" contract is defined as an agreement that may include the design, right of way acquisition, and/or utility relocation, along with the construction of a project by a single entity. The contract may also provide for the maintenance, operation and/or financing of the project. The agreement may be in the form of a design-build contract, a franchise agreement, or any other form of contract approved by the department.
Selection criteria must include the cost of the project and may include design-build firm qualifications, time of completion, innovation, design and construction quality, design innovation, or other technical or quality-related criteria.
This bill authorizes the department to award a stipulated fee to the design-build firms that submit responsive proposals but are not awarded the contract. If the department elects to award such a fee, the amount of the stipends and the terms under which stipends are to be paid must be stated in the request for proposals.
ON APRIL 19, 2007, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2196, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 adds the following limitations to the department's authority to use design-build contracting procedures:
(1) The department may initiate up to 15 design-build contracts in any one fiscal year if the contract has a total estimated contract amount of less than $1,000,000;
(2) The department may not initiate more than five design-build contracts in any one fiscal year if the contract has a total estimated contract amount in excess of $1,000,000; and
(3) If the proposed design build contract has a total estimated contract amount in excess of $70,000,000, the department must specifically identify the project as a proposed design-build project in the transportation improvement program submitted annually to the general assembly in support of the commissioner's annual funding recommendations.
This amendment removes from a non-exclusive list, specific authorization for design-build contracts to include provisions for the maintenance, operation or financing of a project. This amendment also removes specific authorization for design-build agreements to be in the form of a franchise agreement.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 38-1-101(a)(2), 38-1-101