Date: 02/04/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1046

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.006 (Attachment F). The motion p
Adopt Amendment L.008 (Attachment G). The motion p
Refer House Bill 15-1046, as amended, to the Commi
This is a conceptual amendment to Amendment L.008,		Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
PASS
Pass Without Objection


03:03 PM -- HB15-1046

Representative Moreno, prime sponsor, came to the table to present House Bill 15-1046. Under current law, if there are fewer than three bidders for a highway project contract, the contract may only be awarded if it is 10 percent or less than the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) project cost estimate. In instances where the contract is less than $1.0 million, the contract may only be awarded if it is 25 percent or less than the CDOT's project cost estimate. The bill allows the executive director of CDOT to award a highway project contract where there are fewer than three bidders to the low responsible bidder regardless of the CDOT's project cost estimate if the executive director determines in writing that doing so is in the financial, economic, or other interest of the state.

03:07 PM

Representative Moreno distributed Amendments L.006 (Attachment F) and L.008 (Attachment G) and explained them. Representative Becker also distributed and explained Amendment L.002 (Attachment H). Representative Moreno responded to questions on the costs that are incurred by the current highway project contract bidding process, and what the loss of time and costs are when a project has to be re-bid because it did not meet statutory bidding requirements.

150204 AttachF.pdf150204 AttachF.pdf150204 AttachG.pdf150204 AttachG.pdf150204 AttachH.pdf150204 AttachH.pdf

03:11 PM -- Scott McDaniels, representing CDOT, testified in support of the bill. He responded to questions on how many highway project contracts are rejected because there are not enough bids received, the circumstances that most often lead to bids having to be rejected, if CDOT is competing for the same market of contractors as other entities in the transportation industry, the administrative costs and lost value of scope for CDOT in highway projects, considerations made by CDOT in repeat project estimations and bidding processes, the overall project estimation and bidding process, how quickly CDOT's bidding process usually moves, if CDOT has the ability to negotiate with a contractor it has received a bid from, and how Colorado's mandatory bid rejections compare with other states.

03:30 PM -- Tony Milo, representing the Colorado Contractors Association (CCA), spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that CCA is made up of 350 companies throughout Colorado, and said that the bill would save the private sector millions of dollars a year through less mandatory bid rejections. He explained that contractors have no way of knowing how many other contractors are bidding on a CDOT project, so the bidding process will usually result in the best price possible for the project.

03:32 PM

Representative Moreno explained Amendment L.006, which he said adds a legislative declaration to the bill and provides context for why the bill is important.
BILL:HB15-1046
TIME: 03:33:45 PM
MOVED:Moreno
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.006 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Melton
VOTE
Becker J.
Buck
Carver
Coram
Esgar
Kraft-Tharp
Melton
Moreno
Neville P.
Nordberg
Winter
Mitsch Bush
Tyler
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:34 PM

Representative Moreno explained that Amendment L.008 clarifies that the bill will apply to "design bid build" projects, and repeals the bill's reporting requirements on July 1, 2018. He responded to questions on whether similar procedures for an annual report to committees of reference exist for other forms of state contract and what the Joint Transportation Committee will be expected to look for in its oversight of highway project contracts awarded under the bill. Mr. McDaniels responded to a question on how CDOT awards contracts. The committee discussed the annual presentation by CDOT to the Joint Transportation Committee laid out by Amendment L.008. Mr. McDaniels responded to a question on what is intended by "design bid build" in Amendment L.006, if CDOT has flexibility in its acquisition process to negotiate on bids, and what the standard bidding process of CDOT is.
BILL:HB15-1046
TIME: 03:52:32 PM
MOVED:Moreno
MOTION:This is a conceptual amendment to Amendment L.008, line 5, switching the position of the words "build" and "bid." The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Melton
VOTE
Becker J.
Buck
Carver
Coram
Esgar
Kraft-Tharp
Melton
Moreno
Neville P.
Nordberg
Winter
Mitsch Bush
Tyler
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB15-1046
TIME: 03:54:34 PM
MOVED:Moreno
MOTION:Adopt Amendment L.008 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Melton
VOTE
Becker J.
Buck
Carver
Coram
Esgar
Kraft-Tharp
Melton
Moreno
Neville P.
Nordberg
Winter
Mitsch Bush
Tyler
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection



03:53 PM

Representative Becker discussed Amendment L.002, which he said he would hold until a later date. Committee discussion ensued.

03:55 PM

Representative Moreno made his closing comments, stating that the bill would save private contractors and Colorado taxpayers money in the highway project contract process.
BILL:HB15-1046
TIME: 03:56:23 PM
MOVED:Moreno
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1046, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3.
SECONDED:Kraft-Tharp
VOTE
Becker J.
No
Buck
Yes
Carver
No
Coram
No
Esgar
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Melton
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Neville P.
Yes
Nordberg
Yes
Winter
Yes
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:57 PM

The committee was adjourned.