For those not familiar with Chapter 22B of the North Carolina General Statutes, this Chapter prohibits certain contract provisions by making those provisions void and unenforceable as a matter of public policy. The restrictions in Chapter 22B apply to all contracts, including those with a governmental entity as well as those between private parties. Within […]
Posts Tagged ‘construction’
New Law Modifies Construction Indemnification and Prohibits Duty-to-Defend in Design Professional Contracts
Tuesday, August 6th, 2019New School Construction Lease Authority
Monday, July 9th, 2018The 2018 legislative session brought about several significant changes to public school funding, including school capital projects funded with lottery proceeds. Section 5.3(e2) of the 2018 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2018-5) authorizes counties (not local school boards) that receive Needs-Based Public School Building Grant funds from the Department of Public Instruction [DPI] to enter into a […]
Companies that Boycott Israel – New Contracting Limitation But No Action Required Yet!
Thursday, August 17th, 2017During the final week of the recently adjourned 2017 legislative session, the General Assembly enacted S.L. 2017-193 (H161), “Divestment from Companies that Boycott Israel.” This legislation created a new Article 6G of Chapter 147 prohibiting the investment of state funds in or governmental contracting with any company that boycotts or is involved in a boycott […]
Iran Divestment Act Changes – No Certification Required Anymore!
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017In 2015, the General Assembly enacted the Iran Divestment Act (IDA) which prohibits state agencies and local governments from contracting with a company that the NC State Treasurer has determined invests more than $20 million dollars in the Iranian energy sector (for more information on the IDA, see this blog post). The Treasurer is required […]
Beyond Bathrooms – Special Session Legislation Impacts City and County Contracts
Thursday, March 24th, 2016UPDATE March 2017: See this post for a discussion of the impact of HB2’s repeal on city and county contracting authority. UPDATED April 2016: See Trey Allen’s blog post update for information on a recent 4th Circuit ruling that has bearing on HB2 (Title IX discrimination claim involving a transgender student’s use of bathrooms in […]
New Construction Contractor Prequalification Requirements
Tuesday, July 29th, 2014Since 1995, local governments have had express statutory authorization to prequalify bidders for public construction contracts under G.S. 143-135.8. If you look to this statute for guidance on the criteria or process to be used for prequalifying bidders, you will find the following: “Bidders may be prequalified for any public construction project.” That’s it? That’s […]
New Construction Delivery Methods – Public-Private Partnerships (P3)
Wednesday, March 5th, 2014In my last two posts, I described the new design-build and design-build bridging construction delivery methods authorized by the General Assembly during the 2013 legislative session. This post completes our discussion of the new delivery methods by outlining the third method authorized in S.L. 2013-401/H857 – public-private partnerships (P3).
New Design-Build Construction Method – No Local Act Required
Wednesday, January 29th, 2014Those familiar with local government construction contracting know the drill – put out an RFQ to hire an architect or engineer to design the project and then bid the construction work. But what if a local government wants to hire both its design professional and its contractor at the beginning of the project to work […]
E-Verify Requirements Apply to Public Contracts – NOW!
Wednesday, September 4th, 2013UPDATE: The General Assembly amended the E-Verify contracting prohibition for cities and counties during the 2014 legislative session. Under Section 13 of S.L. 2014-119, which went into effect on October 1, 2014, the E-Verify contracting prohibition now ONLY applies to purchase and construction or repair contracts in the formal bidding ranges (i.e., those subject to […]
New SOG Publication on HUB Participation Requirements . . . And Other SOG Purchasing and Contracting Resources
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013Which of the following statements is true? A local government can reject a construction bid if the bidder does not list enough HUB subcontractors to meet the local government’s HUB participation goals. If a bidder forgets to identify on his bid the HUB subcontractors he plans to use on a project, he can submit this […]
New Requirements for “Owner-Contractor” Building Projects
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011One of the bills enacted by the General Assembly this session imposed new requirements for “owner-contractor” building construction projects. S.L. 2011-376 (HB 648) is summarized in the Purchasing and Contracting Legislative Wrap-up blog post and the 2011 Purchasing and Contracting Legislative Summary. Since the law’s enactment, a number of questions arose about these new requirements. […]
2011 Purchasing and Contracting Legislative Wrap-Up
Friday, July 1st, 2011The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on June 18, 2011 and will reconvene next month on July 13th. When it reconvenes in July, the legislature will only consider a narrow list of bills, namely redistricting, election laws, legislative appointments to boards and commissions, bills vetoed by the governor, and bills already in conference (Res. 2011-9). So, unless the […]
Rejecting Bids – Who Can and When Can They?
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011Pauline Purchaser has advertised a contract and is pleased by the number of bids she’s received. When she opens the bids, much to her dismay, she discovers that all are way over budget. As Pauline regroups to figure out what went wrong, she realizes there was a flaw in the specifications. She decides to reject […]
2010 Local Government Purchasing and Contracting Legislative Update
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010[Updated 8/26/2010 to include link to list of approved computer equipment manufacturers and television manufacturers.] This wasn’t a big year for changes to local government purchasing and contracting in North Carolina, although there were significant changes affecting North Carolina state agency purchasing and contracting. Since this blog focuses on local governments, this post highlights those […]
Good Faith Efforts? Prove It!
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Your local government has just received single-prime bids on the construction of a new civic center. After evaluating the bids you’ve received, you determine that Crafty Contractor Construction Company (“Crafty”) is the apparent lowest responsive, responsible bidder. Crafty identified four historically underutilized businesses (HUBs, that is, minority and women-owned businesses) that it will use on […]
Tapping Private Resources for Construction of Public Facilities – Some Legal Limitations Local Government Officials Should Know About
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010Times are tough and money is tight. Public officials and private developers, trying to imagine new and creative ways to finance and construct needed infrastructure, might suggest a new approach: A private developer will front the money to build a new public facility or renovate an existing building for public use. The project might use […]
Prequalification: Good, bad, or indifferent?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009Your local government is planning a major construction project, and the engineering firm working with you on the project has strongly recommended prequalifying contractors before bidding. The engineer tells you that this will ensure that the bids you receive are only from serious, qualified bidders, making the bidding process more efficient. This sounds appealing to […]
Contracting Without a License? Beware.
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009You’ve just received bids on a construction project costing $50,000, and discovered that the lowest bidder is not a licensed general contractor. When you bring this to the bidder’s attention, she tells you that she will be licensed by the time the project is scheduled to start. Can you accept her bid?
Are You Certified? Part II: More Information About The New Statewide Uniform HUB Certification Program
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009My post on the Statewide Uniform HUB Certification Program from two weeks ago prompted some follow-up questions through email. I thought it might be helpful to post those questions and my answers to those questions here.
Are You Certified? The New Statewide Uniform HUB Certification Program
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009On July 1, 2009, a new Statewide Uniform Certification Program for Historically Underutilized Businesses (commonly abbreviated as “HUBs” and formerly referred to as “minority- and women-owned businesses”) went into effect. North Carolina state agencies and local governments may now count only those businesses that are certified as HUBs through the new statewide program to determine […]
Change orders: How much change is too much?
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009As anyone who has been involved in a construction project knows, construction almost always involves unexpected costs. The North Carolina General Statutes give local governments the flexibility to address these costs through change orders. G.S. 143-129(e)(4) says that the bidding laws do not apply to work undertaken “during the progress of” a construction project that […]