Bill Text: VA HB1273 | 2025 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: VA Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements, delayed effective date.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-11-19 - Left in Finance and Appropriations [HB1273 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2025-HB1273-Prefiled.html
Patrons-- Krizek, Helmer, Clark, Delaney, Henson, Hope, Martinez, McClure, Rasoul and Simonds
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §2.2-4302.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§2.2-4302.1. Process for competitive sealed bidding.
The process for competitive sealed bidding shall include the following:
1. Issuance of a written Invitation to Bid containing or
incorporating by reference the specifications and contractual terms and
conditions applicable to the procurement. Unless the public body has provided
for prequalification of bidders, the Invitation to Bid shall include a
statement of any requisite qualifications of potential contractors. Any locality may Public bodies shall include in
the Invitation to Bid criteria that may will be used in determining
whether a bidder who is not prequalified by the Virginia Department of
Transportation is a responsible bidder pursuant to §
2.2-4301. Such criteria
may shall
include a history or good faith
assurances of (i) completion by the bidder and any
potential subcontractors of specified safety training programs established by
the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
(ii) participation by the bidder and any potential subcontractors in
apprenticeship training programs approved by state agencies or the U.S.
Department of Labor to require that at
least 12.5 percent of total labor hours
of construction be performed by qualified apprentices through the approved
programs in the bid; or (iii) maintenance by the bidder and
any potential subcontractors of records of compliance with applicable local,
state, and federal laws. No Invitation to Bid for construction services shall
condition a successful bidder's eligibility on having a specified experience
modification factor. When it is impractical to prepare initially a purchase
description to support an award based on prices, an Invitation to Bid may be
issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by an
Invitation to Bid limited to those bidders whose offers have been qualified
under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation;
2. Public notice of the Invitation to Bid at least 10 days prior to the date set for receipt of bids by posting on the Department of General Services' central electronic procurement website or other appropriate websites. In addition, public bodies may publish in a newspaper of general circulation. Posting on the Department of General Services' central electronic procurement website shall be required of any state public body. Local public bodies are encouraged to utilize the Department of General Services' central electronic procurement website to provide the public with centralized visibility and access to the Commonwealth's procurement opportunities. In addition, bids may be solicited directly from potential contractors. Any additional solicitations shall include certified businesses selected from a list made available by the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity;
3. Public opening and announcement of all bids received;
4. Evaluation of bids based upon the requirements set forth in the Invitation to Bid, which may include special qualifications of potential contractors, life-cycle costing, value analysis, and any other criteria such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose, which are helpful in determining acceptability; and
5. Award to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. When the terms and conditions of multiple awards are so provided in the Invitation to Bid, awards may be made to more than one bidder.
For the purposes of subdivision 1, "experience modification factor" means a value assigned to an employer as determined by a rate service organization in accordance with its uniform experience rating plan required to be filed pursuant to subsection D of §38.2-1913.
