HB2028 H GO AM 2-5

Romeo 3192

The Committee on Government Organization moves to amend the bill on page one, after the enacting clause, by striking out the enacting section and the remainder of the bill in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

AThat the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §5A-3-61, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.

§5A-3-61. Change order process in state government construction contracts.

(a) Contracts for state spending unit construction projects awarded pursuant to this article may be modified by the state spending unit by a change order as described herein. Change orders must be approved by the state spending unit prior to the commencement of work associated with a change order.

(b) The state spending unit shall provide a copy of all change orders and supporting documentation to the Purchasing Division upon request. The Purchasing Division must either approve or deny the request within 15 business days and notify the appropriate spending unit of its determination. No work may be performed pursuant to any change order that is denied by the Purchasing Division.

(c)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, work associated with a change order may commence prior to formal approval of the change order by the state spending unit if:

(A) Failure to immediately begin performance would lead to dangerous conditions on the construction site, or an environmental or health hazard;

(B) The requested change is intertwined with the original solicitation of bids to such an extent that a separate solicitation would be unreasonable; or

(C) Either unit pricing or contract terms provide for a method of determining the compensation due to contractor for performance of the work.

(2) If work commences pursuant to this subsection, subsequent approval of the work associated with this change order is waived. The state spending unit or the Purchasing Division may review the change order for accuracy, compliance with unit pricing established in the contract, and to ensure no objectionable changes to the contract language have been made.

(3) The state spending unit shall provide a detailed justification for change orders arising from subsection (c) of this section with the change order to the Purchasing Division.

(4) Payment may not be issued on a change order arising pursuant to this subsection until the documentation required herein has been included in the contract file.

(d) Purchasing Division will provide a report to the Legislature regarding change order process and recommend any improvements.”