Bill Text: MS HB858 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State Board of Contractors; authorize to use funds from civil penalties for MS National Guard's Youth Challenge Construction Scholarships.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-02-05 - Died In Committee [HB858 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-HB858-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Military Affairs
By: Representative Jennings
House Bill 858
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 31-3-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE BOARD OF CONTRACTORS TO USE CERTAIN MONIES FROM CIVIL PENALTIES FOR YOUTH CHALLENGE CONSTRUCTION SCHOLARSHIPS OF THE MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL GUARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 31-3-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-3-21. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person who does not hold a certificate of responsibility issued under this chapter, or a similar certificate issued by another state recognizing such certificate issued by the State of Mississippi, to submit a bid, enter into a contract, or otherwise engage in or continue in this state in the business of a contractor, as defined in this chapter. Any bid which is submitted without a certificate of responsibility number issued under this chapter and without that number appearing on the exterior of the bid envelope, as and if herein required, at the time designated for the opening of such bid, shall not be considered further, and the person or public agency soliciting bids shall not enter into a contract with a contractor submitting a bid in violation of this section. In addition, any person violating this section by knowingly and willfully submitting a bid for projects without holding a certificate of responsibility number issued under this chapter, as and if herein required, at the time of the submission or opening of such bid shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) All bids submitted for public or private projects where the bid is in excess of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) shall contain on the outside or exterior of the envelope or container of such bid the contractor's current certificate number, and no bid shall be opened or considered unless such contractor's current certificate number appears on the outside or exterior of said envelope or container, or unless there appears a statement on the outside or exterior of such envelope or container to the effect that the bid enclosed therewith did not exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) with respect to public or private projects. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(3) In the letting of
public contracts preference shall be given to resident contractors, and a
nonresident bidder domiciled in a state having laws granting preference to
local contractors shall be awarded Mississippi public contracts only on the
same basis as the nonresident bidder's state awards contracts to Mississippi
contractors bidding under similar circumstances; and resident contractors
actually domiciled in Mississippi, be they corporate, individuals, or
partnerships, are to be granted preference over nonresidents in awarding of
contracts in the same manner and to the same extent as provided by the laws of
the state of domicile of the nonresident. When a nonresident contractor
submits a bid for a public project, he shall attach thereto a copy of his
resident state's current law pertaining to such state's treatment of
nonresident contractors. Any bid submitted by a nonresident contractor which
does not include the nonresident contractor's current state law shall be
rejected and not considered for award. As used in this section, the term
"resident contractors" includes a nonresident person, firm or
corporation that has been qualified to do business in this state and has maintained
a permanent full-time office in the State of Mississippi for two (2) years
prior to January 1, 1986, and the subsidiaries and affiliates of such a person,
firm or corporation. Any public agency awarding a contract shall promptly
report to the * * * Department of Revenue the following
information:
(a) The amount of the contract.
(b) The name and address of the contractor reviewing the contract.
(c) The name and location of the project.
(4) In addition to any
other penalties provided in this chapter, and upon a finding of a violation of
this chapter, the State Board of Contractors may, after notice and hearing,
issue an order of abatement directing the contractor to cease all actions
constituting violations of this chapter until such time as the contractor
complies with Mississippi state law, and to pay to the board a civil penalty to
be deposited into the State Board of Contractors' Fund, created in Section 31-3-17,
of not more than three percent (3%) of the total contract being performed by
the contractor. In addition to, or in lieu of, such civil penalty, the board
may require the performance of community service for a specified number of
hours as determined by the board. The funds collected from civil penalty
payments shall be used by the State Board of Contractors for enforcement * * *
or education, and
the Youth Challenge Construction Scholarships of the Mississippi National Guard.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.