House Study Bill 70 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COWNIE) A BILL FOR An Act concerning access to documents during the competitive 1 bidding process for public improvement contracts. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1096HC (2) 86 ad/sc

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 26.3, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 2. A governmental entity shall have an engineer licensed 3 under chapter 542B , a landscape architect licensed under 4 chapter 544B , or an architect registered under chapter 544A 5 prepare plans and specifications, and calculate the estimated 6 total cost of a proposed public improvement. A governmental 7 entity shall ensure that a sufficient number of paper copies 8 of the project’s contract documents, including all drawings, 9 plans, specifications, and estimated total costs of the 10 proposed public improvement are made available for distribution 11 at no charge to prospective bidders, subcontractor bidders, 12 suppliers, and contractor plan room services. If a deposit is 13 required as part of a paper contract documents distribution 14 policy by the public owner, the deposit shall not exceed 15 two hundred fifty dollars per set which shall be refunded 16 upon return of the contract documents within fourteen days 17 after award of the project. If the contract documents are 18 not returned in a timely manner and in a reusable condition, 19 the deposit shall be forfeited. The governmental entity 20 shall reimburse the landscape architect, architect, or 21 professional engineer for the actual costs of preparation and 22 distribution of plans and specifications. If a governmental 23 entity or its representative provides the project contract 24 documents electronically, the governmental entity or its 25 authorized representative may not charge prospective bidders, 26 subcontractor bidders, suppliers, or contractor plan room 27 services a fee for access to or download of such project 28 contract documents. 29 EXPLANATION 30 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 31 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 32 This bill prohibits governmental entities or authorized 33 representatives from charging a fee for access to or download 34 of project contract documents relating to public improvements 35 -1- LSB 1096HC (2) 86 ad/sc 1/ 2

H.F. _____ when providing those documents electronically. 1 -2- LSB 1096HC (2) 86 ad/sc 2/ 2