EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

1-1 Section 1. Chapter 338 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto

1-2 the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act.

1-3 Sec. 2. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a public

1-4 body shall not accept a bid on a contract for a public work unless the

1-5 person who submits the bid has qualified pursuant to section 4 of this act

1-6 to bid on that contract.

1-7 2. The governing body of each local government that sponsors or

1-8 finances a public work may adopt criteria for the qualification of bidders

1-9 on contracts for public works of the local government. If a governing

1-10 body adopts criteria pursuant to this subsection, the governing body shall

1-11 use the criteria to determine the qualification of bidders on contracts for

1-12 public works of the local government.

1-13 3. The state public works board shall adopt criteria for the

1-14 qualification of bidders on contracts for public works of this state. The

1-15 criteria adopted by the state public works board pursuant to this

1-16 subsection must be used by the state public works board to determine the

1-17 qualification of bidders on contracts for public works of this state.

2-1 4. A public body may accept a bid on a contract for a public work

2-2 from a person who does not qualify pursuant to section 4 of this act if the

2-3 person holds:

2-4 (a) An unlimited contractor’s license issued by the state contractors’

2-5 board in the branch of general engineering contracting or general

2-6 building contracting, or in both branches, and:

2-7 (1) At the time he submits his bid, he provides a bid bond equal to

2-8 10 percent of the amount of the bid; and

2-9 (2) At the time the contract is awarded, he provides a performance

2-10 bond, a labor and material bond, and a guaranty bond, each equal to 100

2-11 percent of the amount of the contract; or

2-12 (b) A contractor’s license issued by the state contractors’ board that is

2-13 designated in any classification if he:

2-14 (1) Has, in the 5 years immediately preceding the submission of the

2-15 bid, been found to be a responsible contractor in the classification in

2-16 which his contractor’s license is designated;

2-17 (2) Provides a bid bond, a performance bond, a guaranty bond and

2-18 a labor and material bond in such amounts as the state public works

2-19 board or governing body may require; and

2-20 (3) Employs a person determined by the state contractors’ board to

2-21 be qualified to supervise each classification of construction upon which

2-22 the person submitting the bid is bidding.

2-23 5. Before adopting criteria pursuant to this section, the state public

2-24 works board or a governing body shall hold at least one public hearing to

2-25 solicit and evaluate public opinion regarding the criteria to be adopted.

2-26 Notice of such a hearing must be provided by mail at least 10 days before

2-27 the hearing to:

2-28 (a) Construction trade associations; and

2-29 (b) Labor unions representing trades in the building industry.

2-30 Sec. 3. The criteria adopted by the state public works board or a

2-31 governing body pursuant to section 2 of this act to determine whether an

2-32 applicant is qualified to bid on a contract for a public work:

2-33 1. Must be adopted in such a form that the determination of whether

2-34 an applicant is qualified to bid on a contract for a public work does not

2-35 require or allow the exercise of discretion by any one person.

2-36 2. May include only:

2-37 (a) The financial ability of the applicant to perform the contract;

2-38 (b) The principal personnel of the applicant;

2-39 (c) Whether the applicant has breached any contracts with a public

2-40 agency or person in this state or any other state; and

2-41 (d) Whether the applicant has been disqualified from being awarded

2-42 the contract pursuant to NRS 338.017 or 338.145.

3-1 Sec. 4. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4 of section 2

3-2 of this act, a person who wishes to qualify as a bidder on a contract for a

3-3 public work must submit an application to the state public works board

3-4 or the governing body.

3-5 2. Upon receipt of an application pursuant to subsection 1, the state

3-6 public works board or the governing body shall:

3-7 (a) Investigate the applicant to determine whether he is qualified to

3-8 bid on the contract; and

3-9 (b) After conducting the investigation, determine whether the

3-10 applicant is qualified to bid on the contract. The determination must be

3-11 made within 30 days after receipt of the application.

3-12 3. The state public works board or the governing body shall notify

3-13 each applicant in writing of its determination. If an application is denied,

3-14 the notice must set forth the reasons for the denial and inform the

3-15 applicant of his right to a hearing pursuant to section 5 of this act.

3-16 4. The state public works board or the governing body shall not use

3-17 any criteria other than the criteria described in section 3 of this act in

3-18 determining whether to approve or deny an application.

3-19 5. Financial information and other data pertaining to the net worth

3-20 of an applicant which is gathered by or provided to the state public works

3-21 board or a governing body to determine the financial ability of an

3-22 applicant to perform a contract is confidential and not open to public

3-23 inspection.

3-24 Sec. 5. 1. If, within 10 days after receipt of the notice denying his

3-25 application, the applicant files a written request for a hearing with the

3-26 state public works board or the governing body of the local government,

3-27 the board or governing body shall set the matter for a hearing within 10

3-28 days after receipt of the request. The hearing must be held not later than

3-29 20 days after the receipt of the request for a hearing.

3-30 2. The hearing must be held at a time and place prescribed by the

3-31 board or governing body. At least 10 days before the date set for the

3-32 hearing, the board or governing body shall serve the applicant with

3-33 written notice of the hearing. The notice may be served by personal

3-34 delivery to the applicant or by certified mail to the last known business or

3-35 residential address of the applicant.

3-36 3. The board or governing body shall issue a decision on the matter

3-37 within 5 days after the hearing and notify the applicant, in writing, of its

3-38 decision within 5 days after it is issued. The decision of the board or

3-39 governing body is a final decision for purposes of judicial review.

3-40 Sec. 6. NRS 338.010 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-41 338.010 As used in this chapter:

3-43 agents or employees, hire, supervise and pay the wages thereof directly to a

4-1 workman or workmen employed by them on public works by the day and

4-2 not under a contract in writing.

4-3 2. "Eligible bidder" means a person who was [found to be a

4-4 responsible contractor] determined by a public body which awarded a

4-5 contract for a public work [.] to be qualified to bid on that contract

4-6 pursuant to section 4 of this act or was exempt from meeting such

4-7 qualifications pursuant to subsection 4 of section 2 of this act.

4-8 3. "Offense" means failing to:

4-9 (a) Pay the prevailing wage required pursuant to this chapter;

4-10 (b) Pay the contributions for unemployment compensation required

4-11 pursuant to chapter 612 of NRS; or

4-12 (c) Provide and secure compensation for employees required pursuant to

4-13 chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS.

4-14 4. "Public body" means the state, county, city, town, school district or

4-15 any public agency of this state or its political subdivisions sponsoring or

4-16 financing a public work.

4-17 5. "Public work" means any project for the new construction, repair or

4-18 reconstruction of:

4-19 (a) A project financed in whole or in part from public money for:

4-20 (1) Public buildings;

4-21 (2) Jails and prisons;

4-22 (3) Public roads;

4-23 (4) Public highways;

4-24 (5) Public streets and alleys;

4-25 (6) Public utilities which are financed in whole or in part by public

4-26 money;

4-27 (7) Publicly owned water mains and sewers;

4-28 (8) Public parks and playgrounds;

4-29 (9) Public convention facilities which are financed at least in part with

4-30 public funds; and

4-31 (10) [All] Any other publicly owned works and property whose cost

4-32 as a whole exceeds $20,000. Each separate unit which is a part of a project

4-33 is included in the cost of the project for the purpose of determining whether

4-34 a project meets this threshold.

4-35 (b) A building for the University and Community College System of

4-36 Nevada of which 25 percent or more of the costs of the building as a whole

4-37 are paid from money appropriated by [the] this state or from federal

4-38 money.

4-39 6. "Wages" means:

4-40 (a) The basic hourly rate of pay; and

4-41 (b) The amount of pension, health and welfare, vacation and holiday

4-42 pay, the cost of apprenticeship training or other similar programs or other

4-43 bona fide fringe benefits which are a benefit to the workman.

5-1 7. "Workman" means a skilled mechanic, skilled workman, semiskilled

5-2 mechanic, semiskilled workman or unskilled workman.

5-3 Sec. 7. NRS 338.143 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-4 338.143 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [6] 7 and

6-1 (b) The bidder is not responsive [or responsible;

6-2 (b)] ;

6-3 (c) The quality of the services, materials, equipment or labor offered

6-4 does not conform to the approved plan or specifications; or

6-5 [(c)] (d) The public interest would be served by such a rejection.

6-6 [5.] 6. Before an agency or political subdivision of the state may

6-7 commence a project subject to the provisions of this section, based upon a

6-8 determination that the public interest would be served by rejecting any bids

6-9 received in response to an advertisement for bids, it shall prepare and make

6-10 available for public inspection a written statement containing:

6-11 (a) A list of all persons, including supervisors, [who] whom the agency

6-12 or political subdivision intends to assign to the project, together with their

6-13 classifications and an estimate of the direct and indirect costs of their labor;

6-14 (b) A list of all equipment that the agency or political subdivision

6-15 intends to use on the project, together with an estimate of the number of

6-16 hours each item of equipment will be used and the hourly cost to use each

6-17 item of equipment;

6-18 (c) An estimate of the cost of administrative support for the persons

6-19 assigned to the project;

6-20 (d) An estimate of the total cost of the project; and

6-21 (e) An estimate of the amount of money the agency or political

6-22 subdivision expects to save by rejecting the bids and performing the project

6-23 itself.

6-24 [6.] 7. This section does not apply to:

6-25 (a) Any utility subject to the provisions of chapter 318 or 710 of NRS;

6-26 (b) Any work of construction, reconstruction, improvement and

6-27 maintenance of highways subject to NRS 408.323 or 408.327;

6-28 (c) Normal maintenance of the property of a school district; or

6-29 (d) The Las Vegas Valley water district created pursuant to chapter 167,

6-30 Statutes of Nevada 1947.

6-31 Sec. 8. NRS 338.143 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-32 338.143 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [6,] 7, an

6-43 receiving offers to bid on public works projects for which the estimated

7-1 cost is more than $25,000 but less than $100,000 shall solicit bids from not

7-2 more than three of the contractors on the list for a contract of that value for

7-3 the construction, alteration or repair of a public work. The public body

7-4 shall select contractors from the list in such a manner as to afford each

7-5 contractor an equal opportunity to bid on a public works project. A

7-6 properly licensed contractor must submit a written request annually to the

7-7 public body to remain on the list. Offers for bids which are made pursuant

7-8 to this subsection must be sent by certified mail.

7-9 3. Each advertisement for bids must include a provision that sets

7-10 forth:

7-11 (a) The requirement that a contractor must be qualified pursuant to

7-12 section 4 of this act to bid on the contract or must be exempt from

7-13 meeting such qualifications pursuant to subsection 4 of section 2 of this

7-14 act; and

7-15 (b) The period during which an application to qualify as a bidder on

7-16 the contract must be submitted.

7-17 4. Approved plans and specifications for the bids must be on file at a

7-18 place and time stated in the advertisement for the inspection of all persons

7-19 desiring to bid thereon and for other interested persons. Contracts for the

7-20 project must be awarded on the basis of bids received.

7-21 [4. Any or all]

7-22 5. Any bids received in response to an advertisement for bids may be

7-23 rejected if the person responsible for awarding the contract determines that:

7-24 (a) The bidder is not a qualified bidder pursuant to section 4 of this

7-25 act, unless the bidder is exempt from meeting such qualifications

7-26 pursuant to subsection 4 of section 2 of this act;

7-27 (b) The bidder is not responsive [or responsible;

7-28 (b)] ;

7-29 (c) The quality of the services, materials, equipment or labor offered

7-30 does not conform to the approved plan or specifications; or

7-31 [(c)] (d) The public interest would be served by such a rejection.

7-32 [5.] 6. Before an agency or political subdivision of the state may

7-33 commence a project subject to the provisions of this section, based upon a

7-34 determination that the public interest would be served by rejecting any bids

7-35 received in response to an advertisement for bids, it shall prepare and make

7-36 available for public inspection a written statement containing:

7-37 (a) A list of all persons, including supervisors, [who] whom the agency

7-38 or political subdivision intends to assign to the project, together with their

7-39 classifications and an estimate of the direct and indirect costs of their labor;

7-40 (b) A list of all equipment that the agency or political subdivision

7-41 intends to use on the project, together with an estimate of the number of

7-42 hours each item of equipment will be used and the hourly cost to use each

7-43 item of equipment;

8-1 (c) An estimate of the cost of administrative support for the persons

8-2 assigned to the project;

8-3 (d) An estimate of the total cost of the project; and

8-4 (e) An estimate of the amount of money the agency or political

8-5 subdivision expects to save by rejecting the bids and performing the project

8-6 itself.

8-7 [6.] 7. This section does not apply to:

8-8 (a) Any utility subject to the provisions of chapter 318 or 710 of NRS;

8-9 (b) Any work of construction, reconstruction, improvement and

8-10 maintenance of highways subject to NRS 408.323 or 408.327;

8-11 (c) Normal maintenance of the property of a school district; or

8-12 (d) The Las Vegas Valley water district created pursuant to chapter 167,

8-13 Statutes of Nevada 1947.

8-14 Sec. 9. NRS 338.145 is hereby amended to read as follows:

8-15 338.145 1. A public body awarding a contract for a public work shall

8-30 act without requiring that new bids be submitted.

8-31 Sec. 10. NRS 338.147 is hereby amended to read as follows:

8-32 338.147 1. A public body shall award a contract for a public work to

8-43 and 377 of NRS on materials used for construction of not less than $5,000

9-1 for each consecutive 12-month period for 60 months immediately

9-2 preceding the submission of his bid;

9-3 (2) The motor vehicle privilege tax imposed pursuant to chapter 371

9-4 of NRS on the vehicles used in the operation of his business of not less than

9-5 $5,000 for each consecutive 12-month period for 60 months immediately

9-6 preceding the submission of his bid; or

9-7 (3) Any combination of [such] those sales and use taxes and motor

9-8 vehicle privilege tax,

9-9 shall be deemed to have submitted a better bid than a competing contractor

9-10 who has not provided proof of the payment of those taxes if the amount of

9-11 his bid is not more than 5 percent higher than the amount bid by the

9-12 competing contractor.

9-13 3. A contractor who has previously provided the public body awarding

9-14 a contract with the proof of payment required pursuant to subsection 2 may

9-15 update [such] that proof on or before April 1, July 1, September 1 and

9-16 December 1 rather than with each bid.

9-17 4. If any federal statute or regulation precludes the granting of federal

9-18 assistance or reduces the amount of that assistance for a particular public

9-19 work because of the provisions of subsection 2, those provisions do not

9-20 apply [insofar as their] if the application of those provisions would

9-21 preclude or reduce federal assistance for that work. The provisions of

9-22 subsection 2 do not apply to any contract for a public work which is

9-23 expected to cost less than $250,000.

9-24 5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, if a bid is submitted

9-25 by two or more contractors as a joint venture or by one of them as a joint

9-26 venturer, the provisions of subsection 2 apply only if both or all of the joint

9-27 venturers separately meet the requirements of that subsection.

9-28 6. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 8, if a bid is submitted

9-29 by a joint venture and one or more of the joint venturers has responsibility

9-30 for the performance of the contract as described in subsection 7, the

9-31 provisions of subsection 2 apply only to those joint venturers who have

9-32 [such] that responsibility.

9-33 7. For the purposes of subsection 6, a joint venturer has responsibility

9-34 for the performance of a contract if he has at least one of the following

9-35 duties or obligations delegated to him in writing in the contract creating the

9-36 joint venture:

9-37 (a) Supplying the labor necessary to perform the contract and paying the

9-38 labor and any related taxes and benefits;

9-39 (b) Supplying the equipment necessary to perform the contract and

9-40 paying any charges related to the equipment;

9-41 (c) Contracting with and making payments to any subcontractors; or

10-1 (d) Performing the recordkeeping for the joint venture and making any

10-2 payments to persons who provide goods or services related to the

10-3 performance of the contract.

10-4 8. The provisions of subsection 6 do not apply to a joint venture which

10-5 is formed for the sole purpose of circumventing any of the requirements of

10-6 this section.

10-7 Sec. 11. NRS 341.147 is hereby repealed.

10-8 Sec. 12. 1. This section and sections 1 to 7, inclusive, 9, 10 and 11

10-9 of this act become effective on October 1, 1999.

10-10 2. Section 8 of this act becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on May 1,

10-11 2013.

10-12 3. Section 7 of this act expires by limitation on May 1, 2013.

10-13 TEXT OF REPEALED SECTION

10-14 341.147 Qualification of bidders on contracts for public works:

10-38 criteria established pursuant to this section;

11-1 (b) Notifying an applicant of the determination of the board regarding

11-2 his application; and

11-3 (c) A hearing and appeal by an applicant whose application for

11-4 qualification has been denied by the board.

11-5 4. The board shall, not less than 45 days before advertising for bids

11-6 concerning a public works project, notify by advertisement in a newspaper

11-7 of general circulation in this state that the contract for the public works

11-8 project requires a determination that the applicant is qualified to bid on the

11-9 contract pursuant to this section.

11-10 5. An applicant determined to be qualified by the board pursuant to this

11-11 section must apply each year to renew his qualification in the manner

11-12 provided in the regulations adopted pursuant to this section.

11-13 6. Any information and data pertaining to the net worth of an applicant

11-14 which are gathered by or provided to the board for a determination of

11-15 qualification pursuant to this section are confidential and not open to public

11-16 inspection.