S.F. 122 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 and if available, electronic and digital copies of the 9 project’s contract documents, including all drawings, plans, 10 specifications, and estimated total costs of the proposed 11 public improvement are made available for distribution at 12 no charge to prospective bidders, subcontractor bidders, 13 suppliers, and contractor plan room services. If a deposit is 14 required as part of a paper contract documents distribution 15 policy by the public owner, the deposit shall not exceed two 16 hundred fifty dollars per set which shall be refunded upon 17 return of the contract documents within fourteen days after 18 award of the project. If the contract documents are not 19 returned in a timely manner and in a reusable condition, the 20 deposit shall be forfeited. The governmental entity shall 21 reimburse the landscape architect, architect, or professional 22 engineer for the actual costs of preparation and distribution 23 of plans and specifications. 24 EXPLANATION 25 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 26 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 27 This bill prohibits governmental entities from charging 28 a fee for electronic and digital copies of project contract 29 documents relating to public improvements when providing those 30 documents electronically. 31 -1- LSB 1096SV (2) 86 ad/sc 1/ 1