This bill establishes the Maine Buy American and Build Maine Act and requires that all contracts for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of a public building or public work made by a state agency, board, commission or institution, except for the Department of Transportation and the Maine Turnpike Authority, contain a provision that any manufactured good valued over $5,000, including iron, cement and steel, and any article, material or supply acquired for public use used or
44 supplied in the performance of the contract or any subcontract to the contract must be
45 manufactured in the United States. This requirement does not apply to counties,
46 municipalities or school administrative units. The bill requires, in the case of a manufactured good valued over $5,000, other than an iron, cement or steel product, all of the manufacturing processes to take place in the United States, the origin of the manufactured good's components to meet a minimum level of domestic content as established by rule or the manufactured good to be assembled in the United States. Under the Act, a public agency may apply to the Governor or the Governor's designee for a waiver of the requirement if the executive head of the public agency finds that the application of the requirement would be inconsistent with the public interest, that the necessary manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality, that inclusion of manufactured goods made in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project contract by an unreasonable amount or that the total cost of the contract is below a minimum project cost established by rule. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services is directed to adopt rules to implement the Act. The bill requires that, if the department has reason to believe that any individual, business or other entity has intentionally made fraudulent representations about the domestic content of a manufactured good or has intentionally violated any provision of the Act, the department must, after a hearing, debar that individual, business or other entity from contracts or subcontracts with the State for 2 years. The bill provides that the provisions of this legislation must be applied in a manner consistent with the State's obligations under any applicable international agreements pertaining to government procurement and do not apply to emergency life safety and property safety goods. The bill also requires that, in the award of a contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of a public building or public work, for services to be provided to or on behalf of the State or for the purchase of manufactured goods, if 2 or more bids are submitted that are substantially similar, the public agency shall give the bid from an in-state contractor a preference of 10% applied in a manner determined by the department in rules. An in-state contractor may request that the Attorney General investigate the bidding and award process and act as a mediator between the in-state contractor and the public agency. The department is required to administer the Maine Buy American and Build Maine Act within existing resources.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1983, SP 812: 5.1743, 5.1745, 5.1811, 5.1812, 5.1815, 5.1819