House File 450 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 450 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 108) A BILL FOR An Act concerning the contract bidding process for public 1 improvement projects and its application to certain 2 government entities. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1146HV (2) 86 tr/rj
H.F. 450 Section 1. Section 26.2, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 2. “Governmental entity” means the state, political 3 subdivisions of the state, public school corporations, and all 4 officers, boards, or commissions empowered by law to enter 5 into contracts for the construction of public improvements , 6 excluding the state board of regents and the state department 7 of transportation . “Governmental entity” includes the state 8 board of regents as provided in section 26.4A. 9 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 26.4A State board of regents. 10 The state board of regents shall comply with this chapter 11 when advertising for bids and selecting the lowest responsible 12 bidder under section 262.34, subsection 1. 13 Sec. 3. Section 26.7, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended 14 to read as follows: 15 2. The notice to bidders may provide that bids will be 16 received The governmental entity shall notify bidders that the 17 governmental entity will accept bids for the furnishing of all 18 labor and materials and furnishing or installing equipment 19 under one contract , or and shall notify bidders whether the 20 governmental entity will accept optional bids for parts thereof 21 in separate sections. 22 EXPLANATION 23 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 24 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 25 Currently, the state board of regents and the department 26 of transportation are exempted from Code chapter 26, the 27 Iowa Construction Bidding Procedures Act, through a specific 28 exemption in the Code chapter’s definition of “governmental 29 entity”. 30 This bill makes Code chapter 26 applicable to both the state 31 board of regents and the department of transportation and 32 specifically requires the state board of regents to comply with 33 Code chapter 26 when advertising for bids and selecting the 34 lowest responsible bidder as governed by Code section 262.34, 35 -1- LSB 1146HV (2) 86 tr/rj 1/ 2
H.F. 450 subsection 1. 1 The bill requires governmental entities seeking to contract 2 for a public improvement project to notify bidders that bids 3 covering all labor and materials related to the project will 4 be accepted, but also authorizes government entities to allow 5 bidders to submit separate bids for separate portions of the 6 project. 7 -2- LSB 1146HV (2) 86 tr/rj 2/ 2