N.C. Passes Bill to Improve Construction Efficiency

The Public Construction Law Changes Bill will grant state agencies, including UNC-system schools, the ability to hire a general contractor for building projects.

This contractor will serve as construction manager, hiring other subcontractors to complete construction on the rest of the building projects, such as installing electricity and plumbing.

If construction is delayed or runs over the budget, the construction manager will be held responsible.

Supporters of the bill say the measures will save each state university time and money.

Several UNC-system Board of Governors members, including board Public Affairs Committee Chairman Jim Phillips, lobbied legislators hard for the bill, which the House first passed Nov. 28.

Impetus for the bill came from the passage of the $3.1 billion higher education bond package last fall, which granted $2.5 billion for construction on UNC-system campuses.

But legislators then raised concerns about the cost involved in implementing the bill. The bill will require $738,000 out of the state budget to implement.

Legislators returned the bill to a House committee Dec. 2 for further consideration on these cost concerns.

Legislators said they hope the law will lead to better management of these building funds.

The final version of the bill also includes a provision requiring all bidders to provide documentation that proves they have made a good-faith effort to hire minorities.

Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice president of finance, said passage of the bill will improve building procedures on the system's campuses.

"(The bill) provides important tools to assure that we can build our buildings in reasonable time frames," he said. "I'm very pleased that it has passed."

With general contractors on each campus selecting subcontractors, Davies said the act will accelerate the construction process.

He said, "There's full accountability right from the beginning."

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