COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 282

(By Senators Beach, Snyder, Laird, Yost, Green, Foster, Browning, McCabe, Plymale, D. Facemire, Minard, Klempa, Williams and Kessler (Acting President))

____________

[Originating in the Committee on Finance;

reported February 18, 2011.]

____________

A BILL to amend and reenact §17-2D-2 and §17-2D-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to continuing the pilot Highway Design-Build Program; increasing the annual amount allowed to be spent on design-build projects; authorizing additional projects after the effective date of this amendment; and providing that individuals involved in the preliminary planning of a design-build project will not be authorized to participate in the team selected to construct the project.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §17-2D-2 and §17-2D-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2D. HIGHWAY DESIGN-BUILD PILOT PROGRAM.

§17-2D-2. Highway Design-Build Pilot Program.

    (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Highways may continue with the pilot program to expedite the construction of no more than ten special projects after the effective date of the amendment to this article, in addition to the three projects authorized by prior enactment of this section, by combining the design and construction elements of a highway or bridge project into a single contract.

    (b) A design-build project may not be let to contract after June 30, 2011 2013. The Division of Highways may expend no more than $5075 million in each of the three two years remaining in the pilot program unless all of the $75 million is unused and the remaining amount may be applied to the next years amount, for but not to exceed an aggregate total of $150 million.

    (c) A design-build project may be let to contract only in accordance with the commissioner’s established policies and procedures concerning design-build projects.

    (d) After June 30, 2011 2013, no projects may not be let under the provisions of this article unless the West Virginia Legislature either approves additional projects or makes the program permanent.

    (e) Projects receiving special funding above the regular federal core funding including any Competitive Surface Transportation Grants received as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, may utilize the pilot program, but shall not be included in the total number of projects or expenditure limits provided by subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

    (f) Any consultant engineers under contract, or previously under contract, with the West Virginia Department of Transportation to prepare preliminary plans, planning reports or other project development products for that particular project will not be allowed to participate in any capacity with the team selected to construct that project.

§17-2D-5. Report to the Legislature.

    On or before December 1, 2011 2013, the commissioner shall prepare and submit to the Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization a report evaluating the experience of the Division of Highways with each project, including whether the division realized any cost or time savings, the number and cost of change orders, the quality of work performed, the number of bids received and other issues the commissioner considers appropriate.

___________

    (NOTE: Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)