Bill Text: NJ S3798 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes procedures for awarding design-build contracts by State transportation agencies.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-24 - Transferred to Senate Transportation Committee [S3798 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3798-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes procedures for awarding design-build contracts by State transportation agencies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing certain procedures for awarding design-build contracts by State transportation agencies and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised 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):
"Contracting unit" shall only include State transportation agencies.
"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 design, labor, materials, and other construction services for a public project. A design-build contract may be conditioned upon subsequent refinements in scope and associated price, and may permit the contracting unit to make changes in the requirements and desired outcome 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, joint venture, 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 for a project from prequalified design-builders.
"Request for qualifications" means a document issued by a contracting unit to prequalify and rank potential design-builders.
"State transportation agency" means the Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the South Jersey Transportation Authority, or the New Jersey Transit Corporation.
"Stipend" means the fee paid to a design-builder by the contracting unit to encourage competition.
2. a. If a contracting unit demonstrates that the design-build approach meets the needs of the contracting unit better than the traditional design-bid-build approach established under New Jersey public procurement law for a 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, 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 need to expedite the project and the finalization of project requirements that it is in the best interest of the public to enter into a design-build contract to complete the public project. The contracting unit shall provide in a written statement its reasons for using a design-build delivery system, which shall be available to the public upon request.
b. After deciding to proceed with a design-build delivery system, a contracting unit shall establish a competitive, 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.).
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 need not be limited to:
(1) a scope of work statement and schedule;
(2) documents and reference materials made available by the contracting unit defining the project requirements;
(3) the form of contract to be awarded;
(4) a description of the request for proposal requirements;
(5) the maximum time allowed for design and construction; and
(6) the contracting unit's estimated cost range for design and construction.
c. Provided that the following evaluation requirements do not unduly restrict competition, the qualifications of the responding design-builders shall be evaluated and scored based on the following, without limitation:
(1) construction experience; design experience; financial, personnel, and equipment resources available for the project; and experience in other similar design-build delivery system projects;
(2) weighting factors for the qualifications identified; and
(3) any other information or criteria that the contracting unit deems appropriate, provided that a design-builder shall not be penalized in any way for asserting or exercising a legal right to which the design-builder is entitled.
d. The contracting unit shall evaluate the qualifications of each design-builder responding to the request for qualifications and prepare a list of at least two, but no more than four, design-builders with the highest qualifications based on the criteria established pursuant to subsection c. 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). If a design-builder consists of a team of separate entities, the entities that comprise the design-builder shall remain unchanged unless otherwise approved by the contracting unit.
4. a. The contracting unit shall prepare and solicit a request for proposals from the list of the highest qualified design-builders as determined by the contracting unit pursuant to subsection d. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The request for proposals shall include, but need not be limited to, the following elements:
(1) identification of the basic scope and needs of the project, the estimated cost of the project, and any other information deemed necessary by the contracting unit to inform interested parties of the contracting opportunity;
(2) a requirement for the separate submissions of technical proposals and price bids, which shall be submitted simultaneously;
(3) significant factors that the contracting unit reasonably expects to consider in evaluating proposals, including, but not limited to, cost, technical considerations, and any other non-price-related factors that are identified in the request for proposals;
(4) an explanation of the exact weight or points assigned to price and to each of the non-price-related factors of the technical proposal;
(5) the specific methodology that will be used to evaluate the technical proposals and price bids to arrive at a composite score that will determine the contract award. The basis of the award shall be a composite of the score awarded for the price proposal and the score awarded for all of the identified elements of the technical proposal, each of which shall be separately set forth in the request for proposals. The price proposal and the technical proposal shall total 100 percent, provided that the price proposal and technical proposal shall each be weighted at a minimum of 40 percent of the total composite score; and
(6) any other information the contracting unit deems appropriate.
b. The request for proposals shall establish and provide the date on which the technical proposals and price bids are to be submitted to the contracting unit by the design-builder. The technical proposal and price bid shall be clearly identified and include the date and time of the submittal deadline. The price proposal shall be submitted in a separate sealed envelope that shall not be reviewed by the technical review committee established by the contracting unit pursuant to section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. The contracting unit shall offer a stipend, based upon the project size and type, which shall be at least two percent but not more than three percent of the project's estimated cost, to any design-builder providing design, construction information, or materials presented in response to a request for proposals. This stipend is intended to encourage the submission of proposals and to increase competition. The contracting unit does not own the design, construction information, or materials of a design-builder not awarded the contract. Purchase of any design, construction information, or materials presented to the contracting unit by design-builders not awarded a contract may be separately negotiated between the contracting unit and the appropriate design-builder.
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 design-builders in accordance with section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The technical review committee shall have the authority to reject any technical proposal submitted by a design-builder that the committee deems incomplete for any reason.
b. The technical proposals shall be reviewed by the technical review committee created by the contracting unit pursuant to subsection a. of this section. This review shall include, but need not be limited to, the following criteria, pre-identified in the request for proposals, which shall be weighed by the technical review committee in accordance with subsection a. of this section:
(1) the approach to 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) a critical path method, bar schedule of the work to be performed, or similar schematic;
(4) design plans and specifications, technical reports, and calculations;
(5) a list of all permit requirements and applicable development fees relevant to the project;
(6) copies of the contract documents that the successful design-build entity will be expected to enter into;
(7) project specific qualifications and experience of the design-builder and its team members;
(8) a statement of expected project implementation for the project;
(9) lifecycle cost considerations of the completed project and traffic approaches, with an accompanying rationale; and
(10) 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 and methodology set forth in the request for proposals. Submitted technical proposals shall not include any information on the cost of project design or delivery; inclusion of price information in any portion of the technical proposal shall disqualify the design-builder from bidding on the project. 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. 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 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 make public the sealed price bid for each proposal submitted to the contracting unit by a design-builder. The contracting unit shall evaluate the received technical proposals and price bid against the published factors and weighting to arrive at a composite score. The contracting unit shall make public the design-builder to be awarded the contract for the project.
c. 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. The contracting unit 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. Nothing contained in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be construed to exempt any contracting unit, or any design-build contract entered into by a contracting unit, from the requirements of any rules, regulations, standards, or policies adopted by the Department of Transportation or any other State transportation agency to implement a program to create equal contracting opportunities for small, socially-disadvantaged, or economically-disadvantaged business enterprises.
8. The Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the executive directors of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and the South Jersey Transportation Authority, shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
9. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes procedures for the Department of Transportation, New Jersey Turnpike Authority, South Jersey Transportation Authority, and New Jersey Transit Corporation to award design-build contracts. Those State transportation agencies are authorized to enter into design-build contracts if they are able to demonstrate that the design-build approach meets its needs better than the design-bid-build approach.
The bill establishes a competitive, two-phase procedure for awarding design-build contracts, which includes: (1) a request for qualifications; and (2) a request for proposals. The responses to the request for qualifications prepared by the contracting unit are to be used to qualify, based on comparative rankings, at least two, but no more than four, design-builders from which the contracting unit may solicit a request for proposals for a project. The request for proposals prepared and solicited by the contracting unit is to include weighted criteria to be used to score the request for proposals and require a separate technical proposal, price bid, and any other information that the contracting unit deems appropriate.
The bill requires the contracting unit to create a technical review committee to evaluate and score the technical proposals submitted by the most qualified design-builders in accordance with the weighted criteria established by the committee. The bill identifies the times at which the technical proposal scores and price bids for each design builder are to be made public and how the technical proposals and price bids were weighted in establishing composite scored and subsequent design-builder selection.
The bill clarifies that nothing in the bill is to be construed to exempt a State transportation agency, or any design-build contract entered into by a State transportation agency, from the requirements of any rules, regulations, standards, or policies adopted by the Department of Transportation or any other State transportation agency to implement a program to create equal contracting opportunities for small, socially-disadvantaged, or economically-disadvantaged business enterprises.
