Bill Text: NJ A1690 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes certain procedures for awarding design-build contracts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A1690 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A1690-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman UPENDRA J. CHIVUKULA
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Giblin
SYNOPSIS
Establishes certain procedures for awarding design-build contracts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing certain procedures for awarding design-build contracts and supplementing Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Acceptance" means the adoption of a law, ordinance, or resolution by the State of New Jersey, any of its political subdivisions, any authority created by the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, and any instrumentality or agency of the State of New Jersey or of any of its political subdivisions, authorizing the execution of a design-build contract.
"Design-bid-build" means the delivery system used in public projects in which a registered design professional develops the project design in its entirety, and the contracting unit then solicits bids and awards the contract to the lowest responsible bidder that demonstrates the ability to complete the project specified in the design.
"Design-build contract" means a contract between a contracting unit and a design-builder to provide labor, materials, and other construction services for a public project. A design-build contract may be conditional upon subsequent refinements in scope and price, and may permit the contracting unit to make changes in the scope of the project without invalidating the design-build contract.
"Design-build delivery system" means a project delivery method in which there is a single contract between the contracting unit and a design-builder to furnish the architectural, engineering, and related design services of a project in addition to the labor, materials, supplies, equipment, and construction services for any project.
"Design-builder" means the entity, whether natural person, partnership, joint stock company, corporation, trust, professional corporation, business association, or other legal business entity or successor, that proposes to design and construct any public project, who is registered pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.48 et seq.), and classified by the New Jersey Division of Property Management and Construction or the Department of Transportation, where applicable, to perform work on a design-build project.
"Request for proposal" means a document issued by a contracting unit to solicit technical proposals from prequalified design-builders for a project.
"Request for qualifications" means a document issued by a contracting unit to prequalify potential design-builders.
2. a. If a contracting unit can demonstrate why the design-build approach meets their needs better than the traditional design-bid-build approach established under New Jersey public procurement statutes for the project or projects under consideration, it shall be the public policy of this State to permit that contracting unit to enter into design-build contracts as defined in section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), provided the contracting unit shall, for each public project under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), make a determination based on the timeliness of the project that it is in the best interest of the public to enter into a design-build contract to complete the public project.
b. After deciding to proceed with a design-build delivery system, a contracting unit shall establish a two-phase procedure for awarding design-build contracts as provided for in sections 3 and 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. All workers employed in a design-build construction project shall be paid the prevailing wage determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to the provisions of the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act," P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.).
d. All design-build construction projects shall be encouraged to adhere to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System as adopted by the United States Green Building Council.
3. a. After the contracting unit has determined to utilize a design-build delivery system pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the contracting unit shall prepare a request for qualifications to qualify design-builders.
b. The request for qualifications shall include, but not be limited to, the following criteria, which shall be weighted by the contracting unit:
(1) the minimum qualifications of design-builders necessary to meet the requirements for acceptance;
(2) requirements for construction experience, design experience, financial, personnel, and equipment resources available from design-builders for the project, and experience in other design-build delivery systems similar projects, provided that these requirements may not unduly restrict competition;
(3) a scope of work statement and schedule;
(4) documents and reference materials made available by the contracting unit defining the project requirements;
(5) the form of contract to be awarded;
(6) a description of the request for proposal requirements;
(7) the maximum time allowed for design and construction;
(8) the contracting unit's estimated cost of design and construction;
(9) a statement that "past performance" or "experience" does not include the exercise or assertion of a person's legal rights;
(10) a statement that all employees have graduated from a registered apprenticeship program, providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, and registered by the Employment and Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor and meeting the standards established by the administration, or registered by a State apprenticeship agency recognized by the administration; and
(11) any other factor the contracting unit deems appropriate.
c. The contracting unit shall evaluate the qualifications of the design-builders responding to the request for qualifications and prepare a list of at least two, but no more than five, design-builders that meet the criteria established pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and shall solicit from those design-builders a request for proposals in accordance with section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. The contracting unit shall prepare and solicit a request for proposals from the list of qualified design-builders as determined by the contracting unit pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The request for proposals shall include any information a design-builder may need, including, but not limited to, the weighted criteria to be used to score the request for proposals, and require separate submissions for a technical proposal, price bid, and any other information the contracting unit deems appropriate. The request for proposals shall establish and provide the date on which the technical proposal and price bids are to be submitted to the contracting unit by the qualified design-builder. The technical proposal and price bids shall be clearly identified and include the date and time of the submittal deadline.
5. a. The contracting unit shall create a technical review committee whose purpose and function shall be to evaluate and score the technical proposals submitted to the contracting unit by qualified design-builders in accordance with section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The technical review committee shall establish and provide a detailed description of the criteria to be used in the technical proposal and shall weight the established criteria for the technical proposal as the committee sees fit. The technical review committee shall have the authority to reject any technical proposal submitted by a qualified design-builder it deems incomplete for any reason.
b. The technical proposal shall be reviewed by the technical review committee appointed by the contracting unit pursuant to subsection a. of this section. This technical proposal shall include, but need not be limited to, the following criteria, which shall be weighted by the technical review committee in accordance with subsection a. of this section:
(1) the scope of the project, including, but not limited to, performance and technical standards, design, and functional and operational elements, which shall be prepared by a registered or licensed professional engineer;
(2) the maximum time expected for design and construction;
(3) estimated cost range for design and construction;
(4) a critical path method, bar schedule of the work to be performed, or similar schematic;
(5) design plans and specifications, technical reports, and calculations;
(6) permit requirements and applicable development fees;
(7) a statement that the contracting unit may provide an appropriate owner control insurance program for the project;
(8) copies of the contract documents that the successful design-build entity will be expected to enter into; and
(9) any other information deemed relevant to the project by the contracting unit.
c. The technical review committee shall score the technical proposals using the criteria in the request for proposals. The technical review committee shall then submit a technical proposal score for each design-build entity submitting a proposal to the contracting unit.
6. a. (1) The contracting unit shall set a minimum technical proposal score that a design-builder is required to meet or exceed in order to be eligible to be awarded the design-build contract. Any proposal that does not meet the minimum technical proposal score shall be rejected.
(2) The price bid shall be sealed until such time after the technical review committee has evaluated and scored the technical proposal submitted by the design-builders. The contracting unit shall then make public the technical proposal score for each design-builder that meets or exceeds the minimum technical proposal score established by the contracting unit and shall publicly open and review the sealed price bid. The priced bid shall contain all design, construction, engineering, inspection, and construction costs of the project.
b. The contracting unit shall award the design-build contract to the design-builder that has the lowest priced bid.
c. The contracting unit shall make public the sealed price bid for each proposal submitted to the contracting unit by a design-builder that meets or exceeds the minimum technical proposal score established by the contracting unit. The contracting unit shall also make public the design-builder awarded the contract for the project.
d. Until a proposal is selected, the drawings, specifications, and other information in the proposal shall remain the property of the design-builder making the proposal. The contracting unit shall make reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy and confidentiality of all proposals, and all information contained in the proposals, and shall not disclose the proposals or the information contained therein to the design-builders' competitors or the public. Once a proposal is selected, the disclosure of the proposal and the information in the proposal, and the ownership of the drawings, specifications, and information therein, shall be determined in accordance with existing law and the terms of the design-build contract.
7. The Division of Property Management and Construction in the Department of the Treasury or the Department of Transportation, where applicable, shall adopt regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedures Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-8 1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
8. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the following two-phase procedure for awarding design-build contracts: (1) request for qualifications; and (2) request for proposals. The responses to the request for qualifications prepared by the contracting unit shall be used to qualify at least two, but no more than five, design-builders from which the contracting unit may solicit request for proposals for a project. The proposal submitted by a design-builder shall include a separate technical proposal, price bid, and any other information that the contracting unit deems appropriate.
The bill requires the contracting unit to establish a technical review committee to evaluate and score the technical proposals submitted by the qualified design-builders in accordance with the weighted criteria established by the technical review committee. This technical proposal score shall be made public by the contracting unit, which shall also make public the sealed price bid submitted in the request for proposals by the qualified design-builder.
Under the bill, the contracting unit is to award the design-build contract to the design-builder that meets or exceeds the minimum technical proposal score set by the contracting unit and has the lowest priced bid.
