HB 377: Buildings and housing; manufactured homes; provisions

The Senate Committee on Government Oversight offered the following substitute to HB 377:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Chapter 4 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state, county, and municipal road systems, so as to revise contracting procedures related to the acquisition of certain professional services by counties and municipalities; to amend Chapter 91 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public works bidding, so as to revise contracting procedures related to the acquisition of certain professional services by counties and municipalities; to provide definitions; to amend Chapter 22 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to managerial control over acquisition of professional services, so as to expand such provisions to local governments; to provide for and revise definitions; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 4 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state, county, and municipal road systems, is amended by revising Code Section 32-4-63, relating to limitations on county power to contract and at least two estimates required for certain expenditures, as follows:

"32-4-63.

(a) A county is prohibited from negotiating a contract except a contract:

(1) Involving the expenditure of less than $250,000.00;

(2) With a state agency or county or municipality with which a county is authorized to contract in accordance with the provisions of Code Sections 32-4-61 and 32-4-62;

(3) For the purchase of those materials, supplies, and equipment necessary for the county's construction and maintenance of its public roads and for the support and maintenance of the county's forces used in such work, as authorized by Chapter 91 of Title 36;

(4) Subject to Article 6 of Chapter 6 of this title, with a railroad or railway company or a publicly or privately owned utility concerning relocation of its line, tracks, or facilities where the same are not then located in a public road and such relocation or grade-crossing elimination is necessary as an incident to the construction of a new public road or to the reconstruction or maintenance of an existing public road. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be construed as requiring a county to furnish a site or right of way for railroad or railway lines or tracks of public utility facilities required to be removed from a public road;

(5) For engineering or other kinds of professional or specialized services;

(6) For emergency maintenance requiring immediate repairs to a public road, including but not limited to bridge repairs, snow and ice removal, and repairs due to flood conditions;

(7) Otherwise expressly authorized by law; or

(8) That is a design-build contract as provided for in Code Section 32-4-74.

(b) Except as provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section, no No contract involving an expenditure of more than $20,000.00 but less than $250,000.00 shall be awarded under this Code section without the submission of at least two estimates.

(c) A county shall use the process required by Code Section 36-91-3 for the acquisition of the professional services of architects, interior designers, land surveyors, landscape architects, and professional engineers, and the contracts for such services shall not be subject to subsection (b) of this Code section."

SECTION 2.

Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 32-4-113, relating to limitations on municipal power to contract and at least two estimates required for certain expenditures, as follows:

"32-4-113.

(a) A municipality is prohibited from negotiating a contract except a contract:

(1) Involving the expenditure of less than $250,000.00;

(2) With a state agency or political subdivision as authorized by Code Sections 32-4-111 and 32-4-112;

(3) With a railroad or railway company or a publicly or privately owned utility as authorized by Article 6 of Chapter 6 of this title;

(4) For engineering or other kinds of professional or specialized services;

(5) For emergency maintenance requiring immediate repairs to a public road, including but not limited to bridge repairs, snow and ice removal, and repairs due to flood conditions; or

(6) Otherwise expressly authorized by law.

(b) Except as provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section, no No contract involving an expenditure of more than $20,000.00 but less than $250,000.00 shall be awarded under this Code section without the submission of at least two estimates.

(c) A municipality shall use the process required by Code Section 36-91-3 for the acquisition of the professional services of architects, interior designers, land surveyors, landscape architects, and professional engineers, and the contracts for such services shall not be subject to subsection (b) of this Code section."

SECTION 3.

Chapter 91 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public works bidding, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:

"36-91-3.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) 'Local government' means a county, municipality, or consolidated government.

(2) 'Professional services' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 50-22-2.

(b) The purpose of this Code section is to provide the competitive process for local governments to acquire professional services on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the type or types of professional services required at fair and reasonable fees.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, a local government shall use the process provided for in Chapter 22 of Title 50 for the acquisition of professional services for any project requiring professional services estimated by the local government to have a cost in excess of the amounts provided in paragraph (5) of Code Section 50-22-2.

(d) The qualifications which may be considered by a local government in the evaluation of proposals for professional services shall be determined in the sole and absolute discretion of that local government based on the specific project for which professional services are required and shall be set forth in the publicly advertised request for proposals. Qualification criteria may include, but are not limited to, the ability of professional personnel, past performance with the local government, willingness to meet time requirements, project location, office location, the professional's current and projected workloads, the professional's approach to the project, quality control procedures, the volume of work previously awarded to the professional, and familiarity with local considerations or procedures.

(e) In the event that a local government receives only one response to a request for proposals for professional services, the local government may commence negotiations with the sole responsive offeror upon closure of the advertised response period.

(f) No local government shall require cost estimates for professional services as part of, or concurrent with, the submission of information required by Code Section 50-22-4 or prior to the commencement of negotiations pursuant to Code Section 50-22-6.

(g) A local government may enter into multiparty on-demand services contracts for a specifically delineated range of professional services with multiple providers so long as such providers are competitively selected for such contracts based solely on qualifications under the provisions of this Code section.

(h) A local government having a satisfactory existing working relationship, as determined at the sole discretion of such local government, with a professional services provider may expand the scope of those services with such provider so long as such expanded services are within the technical competency of the existing provider. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prohibit a continuing contract between a local government and a professional services provider."

SECTION 4.

Chapter 22 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to managerial control over acquisition of professional services, is amended by revising Code Section 50-22-1, relating to purpose and policy, as follows:

"50-22-1.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide managerial control by the state and local governments over the acquisition of the professional services provided by architects, professional engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors, and interior designers. It is declared to be the policy of this state to announce publicly requirements for such professional services, to encourage all qualified persons to put themselves in a position to be considered for a contract, and to enter into contracts for such professional services on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the types of professional services required at fair and reasonable fees."

SECTION 5.

Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-22-2, relating to definitions, as follows:

"50-22-2.

As used in this chapter, the term:

(1) 'Agency' means every state department, agency, board, bureau, commission, and authority, unless otherwise exempted under the provisions of subsection (b) of Code Section 50-22-7 a state agency or a local government.

(1.1) 'Local government' means a county, municipality, or consolidated government.

(2) 'Person' means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a business trust, an association, a firm, or any other legal entity.

(2.1) 'Predesign' means that phase of an activity where requirements programming, site analysis, and other appropriate studies are conducted to develop essential information, including cost estimates, to support and advance the decision-making process prior to the design and implementation phases of an activity.

(3) 'Principal representative' means:

(A) The the governing board of a state agency or the executive head of a state agency; or

(B) The governing authority or designated officer, official, or employee of a local government

who is authorized to contract for the agency for professional services.

(4) 'Professional services' means those services within the scope of the following:

(A) The practice of architecture, as defined in paragraph (11) of Code Section 43-4-1;

(B) The practice of registered interior design, as defined in Code Section 43-4-30;

(C) The practice of professional engineering, as defined in paragraph (11) of Code Section 43-15-2;

(D) The practice of land surveying, as defined in paragraph (6) of Code Section 43-15-2; or

(E) The practice of landscape architecture, as defined in paragraph (3) of Code Section 43-23-1.

(5) 'Project' means any activity requiring professional services estimated by the state agency to have:

(A) A preliminary construction cost estimate in excess of $1 million; or

(B) Costs for professional services in excess of $75,000.00.

(6) 'State agency' means every state department, agency, board, bureau, commission, and authority, unless otherwise exempted under the provisions of subsection (b) of Code Section 50-22-7."

SECTION 6.

Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-22-4, relating to submission of information to state agency by persons desiring to provide professional services and preliminary selections, as follows:

"50-22-4.

(a) Any person desiring to provide professional services to a state an agency shall submit to the agency a statement of qualifications and performance data and such other information as may be required by the agency. The agency may request such person to update such statement periodically in order to reflect changed conditions in the status of such person.

(b) For each proposed project for which professional services are required, the principal representative or his or her designee of the state agency for which the project is to be done shall evaluate statements of qualifications and performance data as required in the public notice provided for in Code Section 50-22-3 and shall conduct discussions with not less than three persons regarding their qualifications, approaches to the project, abilities to furnish the required professional services, anticipated design concepts, and use of alternative methods of approach for furnishing the required professional services. The principal representative or his or her designee shall then select not less than three nor more than five persons deemed to be most highly qualified to perform the required professional services after considering, and based upon, such factors as the ability of professional personnel, past performance, willingness to meet time requirements, project location, office location, the professional's current and projected workloads, the professional's approach, quality control procedures, the volume of work previously awarded to the person by the state agency, and the extent to which said persons have and will involve minority subcontractors, with the object of effecting an equitable distribution of contracts among qualified persons as so long as such distribution does not violate the principle of selection of the most highly qualified person. In selection, as mentioned in this Code section, persons who maintain an office in Georgia shall be given preference when qualifications appear to be equal."

SECTION 7.

Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-22-7, relating to exemptions from requirements and construction with Code Section 50-6-25, as follows:

"50-22-7.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, there shall be no public notice requirement or utilization of the selection process as provided for in this chapter for projects in which the state agency is able to reuse existing drawings, specifications, designs, or other documents from a prior project by retention of the person who provided the professional services and who prepared the original documents.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Board of Regents and University System of Georgia shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.

(c) The provisions of Code Section 50-6-25, relating to the eligibility of architectural and engineering firms to do business with the state, shall not be affected or superseded by the provisions of this chapter.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, there shall be no public notice requirement or utilization of the selection process as provided for in this chapter for services required for the predesign phase of any state agency construction project unless the state agency estimates the predesign phase alone to have costs for professional services in excess of $75,000.00. No award of a contract to provide predesign services under this exemption shall be interpreted to preclude the lawful necessity to give public notice and use the selection process for design of projects meeting the criteria of paragraph (5) of Code Section 50-22-2. Costs for predesign services, whether or not those services are exempt under this subsection, shall be added to any other costs of an activity for purposes of determining whether the activity is a project."

SECTION 8.

Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 50-22-8, relating to rules and regulations, as follows:

"50-22-8.

A state agency shall be authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this chapter. A local government shall be authorized to adopt ordinances, resolutions, or regulations to carry out the provisions of this chapter."

SECTION 9.

This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2027.

SECTION 10.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.