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The Daily Tar Heel

Bill Aims to Streamline Construction

The new construction bill requires all bidders to prove they have made a strong effort to hire minorities.

The Public Construction Law Changes Bill, which streamlines the construction process for state buildings, passed 75-32 during its first reading.

The House must vote on the bill again today before it passes. It still must be approved by the N.C. Senate.

Under the new bill, state agencies, including the UNC system, would select construction managers who would become responsible for keeping the project on time and on budget. The managers also solicit bids from subcontractors.

If there are problems during the construction process, the construction manager would bear ultimate responsibility.

One amendment was added to the bill Wednesday, which states that all bidders must provide documentation that proves they have made a good-faith effort to hire minorities.

In an earlier version of the bill, all bidders would only have to submit a signed affidavit saying they made the effort to hire minorities. Only successful bidders would have to provide proof.

Several UNC-system Board of Governors members, including Jim Phillips, chairman of the BOG Public Affairs Committee, lobbied legislators for the bill.

The push for a change in the state's construction law began after N.C. voters passed the $3.1 billion higher education bond last November. The bond will fund $2.5 billion of construction across the UNC system. UNC-CH will receive about $500 million from the bond.

Phillips said the main problem with the current system for state construction is that it is all handled by independent contractors and nobody is really in charge. "(Construction) will be speedier and less costly, and hopefully bidding will be more competitive," he said.

Rep. Ed McMahan, R-Mecklenburg, said the bill would grant the public sector the same rights of the private sector. "This bill gives public entities the right to bid on work using private sector laws," said McMahan, who introduced the bill.

Another provision of the bill would allow universities to bypass the State Construction Office for any project costing less than $2 million, something that now can only be done for projects less than $500,000. McMahan said this will help save time and frustration on smaller jobs. "When you have to wait six months for the committee's approval to re-roof a building, it's ridiculous," he said.

UNC-system officials also applauded the bill. "I don't see any (drawbacks)," said Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice president of finance.

Davies said the bill provides UNC-system schools with increased options for construction. "The bill provides us with alternatives to improve the way we construct our facilities," he said. "It also provides us with flexibility to do it effectively and efficiently."

McMahan said the bill would increase the campus' flexibility. "Time is money in construction, and this saves a lot of time and a considerable amount of money."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.

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