Assembly Bill No. 562–Committee on Government Affairs

 

March 26, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Government Affairs

 

SUMMARY—Revises certain provisions concerning qualification of contractors on public works projects. (BDR 28‑715)

 

FISCAL NOTE:            Effect on Local Government: No.

                                    Effect on the State: No.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to public works; requiring applicants for qualification to bid on public works to have a safety program established at the time of application; requiring such applicants to meet certain licensing requirements at the time of application; requiring the state public works board or governing body to consider certain factors in determining whether an applicant is qualified to bid on a public work; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1    Section 1. NRS 338.010 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2    338.010  As used in this chapter:

1-3    1.  “Day labor” means all cases where public bodies, their officers,

1-4  agents or employees, hire, supervise and pay the wages thereof directly to a

1-5  workman or workmen employed by them on public works by the day and

1-6  not under a contract in writing.

1-7    2.  “Eligible bidder” means a person who is:

1-8    (a) Found to be a responsible and responsive contractor by a local

1-9  government which requests bids for a public work in accordance with

1-10  paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 338.1373; or

1-11    (b) Determined by a public body which awarded a contract for a public

1-12  work pursuant to NRS 338.1375 to 338.1389, inclusive, to be qualified to

1-13  bid on that contract pursuant to NRS 338.1379 or was exempt from

1-14  meeting such qualifications pursuant to NRS 338.1383.

1-15    3.  “Local government” means every political subdivision or other

1-16  entity which has the right to levy or receive money from ad valorem or

1-17  other taxes or any mandatory assessments, and includes, without limitation,

1-18  counties, cities, towns, boards, school districts and other districts organized

1-19  pursuant to chapters 244A, 309, 318, 379, 474, 541, 543 and 555 of NRS,

1-20  NRS 450.550 to 450.750, inclusive, and any agency or department of a

2-1  county or city which prepares a budget separate from that of the parent

2-2  political subdivision.

2-3    4.  “Offense” means failing to:

2-4    (a) Pay the prevailing wage required pursuant to this chapter;

2-5    (b) Pay the contributions for unemployment compensation required

2-6  pursuant to chapter 612 of NRS; or

2-7    (c) Provide and secure compensation for employees required pursuant

2-8  to chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS.

2-9    5.  “Prime contractor” means a person who:

2-10    (a) Contracts to complete an entire project;

2-11    (b) Coordinates all work performed on the entire project;

2-12    (c) Uses his own work force to perform all or a part of the construction,

2-13  repair or reconstruction of the project; and

2-14    (d) Contracts for the services of any subcontractor or independent

2-15  contractor or is responsible for payment to any contracted subcontractors or

2-16  independent contractors.

2-17    6.  “Public body” means the state, county, city, town, school district or

2-18  any public agency of this state or its political subdivisions sponsoring or

2-19  financing a public work.

2-20    7.  “Public work” means any project for the new construction, repair or

2-21  reconstruction of:

2-22    (a) A project financed in whole or in part from public money for:

2-23      (1) Public buildings;

2-24      (2) Jails and prisons;

2-25      (3) Public roads;

2-26      (4) Public highways;

2-27      (5) Public streets and alleys;

2-28      (6) Public utilities which are financed in whole or in part by public

2-29  money;

2-30      (7) Publicly owned water mains and sewers;

2-31      (8) Public parks and playgrounds;

2-32      (9) Public convention facilities which are financed at least in part

2-33  with public funds; and

2-34      (10) Any other publicly owned works and property whose cost as a

2-35  whole exceeds $20,000. Each separate unit that is a part of a project is

2-36  included in the cost of the project to determine whether a project meets that

2-37  threshold.

2-38    (b) A building for the University and Community College System of

2-39  Nevada of which 25 percent or more of the costs of the building as a whole

2-40  are paid from money appropriated by this state or from federal money.

2-41    8.  “Specialty contractor” means a contractor whose operations as

2-42  such are the performance of construction work requiring special skill

2-43  and whose principal contracting business involves the use of specialized

2-44  building trades or crafts.

2-45    9.  “Wages” means:

2-46    (a) The basic hourly rate of pay; and

2-47    (b) The amount of pension, health and welfare, vacation and holiday

2-48  pay, the cost of apprenticeship training or other similar programs or other

2-49  bona fide fringe benefits which are a benefit to the workman.

3-1    [9.] 10.  “Workman” means a skilled mechanic, skilled workman,

3-2  semiskilled mechanic, semiskilled workman or unskilled workman. The

3-3  term does not include a “design professional” as that term is defined in

3-4  NRS 338.155.

3-5    Sec. 2.  NRS 338.1377 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-6    338.1377  1.  The criteria adopted by the state public works board or a

3-7  governing body pursuant to NRS 338.1375 to determine whether an

3-8  applicant is qualified to bid on a contract for a public work:

3-9    [1.] (a) Must be adopted in such a form that the determination of

3-10  whether an applicant is qualified to bid on a contract for a public work does

3-11  not require or allow the exercise of discretion by any one person.

3-12    [2.] (b) Must give consideration to:

3-13      (1) The experience that is relevant to the proposed public works

3-14  project of the principal personnel of the applicant;

3-15      (2) Any civil judgment or criminal conviction against the principal

3-16  personnel of the applicant; and

3-17      (3) Any records relating to a violation or an alleged violation of a

3-18  law regarding the prohibition of discrimination in employment, wage and

3-19  hour standards, occupational safety and health standards or labor

3-20  relations.

3-21    (c) May include [only:

3-22    (a)] :

3-23      (1) The financial ability of the applicant to perform the contract;

3-24    [(b)] (2) The principal personnel of the applicant;

3-25    [(c)] (3) Whether the applicant has breached any contracts with a public

3-26  agency or person in this state or any other state; and

3-27    [(d)] (4) Whether the applicant has been disqualified from being

3-28  awarded the contract pursuant to NRS 338.017 or 338.1387.

3-29    2.  As used in this section:

3-30    (a) “Principal personnel” includes, without limitation, a chief

3-31  executive officer, a chief financial officer, a chief operations officer, a

3-32  project manager, a project superintendent, a foreman and a person who

3-33  owns any part of the applicant.

3-34    (b) “Records” means any evidence or documentation that the state

3-35  public works board or a governing body determines is relevant and

3-36  credible.

3-37    Sec. 3.  NRS 338.1379 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-38    338.1379  1.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 338.1383, a

3-39  person who wishes to qualify as a bidder on a contract for a public work

3-40  must [submit]  :

3-41    (a) Submit an application to the state public works board or the

3-42  governing body[.] ;

3-43    (b) Have in force a written safety program established pursuant to the

3-44  provisions of NRS 618.383; and

3-45    (c) Meet the applicable requirements for licensure established by the

3-46  state contractors’ board pursuant to chapter 624 of NRS.

3-47    2.  Upon receipt of an application pursuant to subsection 1, the state

3-48  public works board or the governing body shall:

4-1    (a) Investigate the applicant to determine whether he is qualified to bid

4-2  on the contract; [and]

4-3    (b) Consider information concerning the criteria described in NRS

4-4  338.1377 regarding the applicant that it receives from any person; and

4-5    (c) After conducting the investigation, determine whether the applicant

4-6  is qualified to bid on the contract. The determination must be made within

4-7  30 days after receipt of the application.

4-8    3.  The state public works board or the governing body shall notify

4-9  each applicant in writing of its determination. If an application is denied,

4-10  the notice must set forth the reasons for the denial and inform the applicant

4-11  of his right to a hearing pursuant to NRS 338.1381.

4-12    4.  The state public works board or the governing body shall not use

4-13  any criteria other than the criteria described in NRS 338.1377 in

4-14  determining whether to approve or deny an application.

4-15    5.  Financial information and other data pertaining to the net worth of

4-16  an applicant which is gathered by or provided to the state public works

4-17  board or a governing body to determine the financial ability of an applicant

4-18  to perform a contract is confidential and not open to public inspection.

4-19    6.  The state public works board or a governing body may:

4-20    (a) Maintain a list of the applicants whom it disqualifies for a project.

4-21    (b) Qualify an applicant for a single job or on an annual basis.

4-22    7.  The state public works board or a governing body may appoint a

4-23  committee to advise the state public works board or the governing body

4-24  concerning the qualification of an applicant pursuant to this section.

4-25    8.  As used in this section, “applicant” includes a general contractor,

4-26  a subcontractor or a specialty contractor who makes an application

4-27  pursuant to this section.

4-28    Sec. 4.  1.  This section and sections 2 and 3 of this act become

4-29  effective on October 1, 2001.

4-30    2.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on October 1,

4-31  2003.

 

4-32  H