Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 51 First Substitute (2024GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Winterton, R.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/20/2024

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• increases the bid limit for class B and class C road construction projects to allow local governments more flexibility in granting construction projects;
• adjusts the inflation factor on the bid limit to tie increases to the National Highway Construction Cost Index instead of the Consumer Price Index;
• removes a cap on the annual increase due to inflation; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

ROAD CONSTRUCTION BID LIMIT AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ronald M. Winterton
House Sponsor: 
 Christine F. Watkins
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill updates a statutory bid limit related to procurement for class B and class C
road projects. 
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ increases the bid limit for class B and class C road construction projects to allow
local governments more flexibility in granting construction projects;
▸ adjusts the inflation factor on the bid limit to tie increases to the National Highway
Construction Cost Index instead of the Consumer Price Index;
▸ removes a cap on the annual increase due to inflation; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
72-6-109
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 69
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
72-6-109
 is amended to read:
72-6-109.
Class B and C roads -- Construction and maintenance -- Definitions --
Estimates lower than bids -- Accountability.
(1) As used in this section and Section 
72-6-108
:
(a) "Bid limit" means:
(i) for the year [
2003, $125,000
] 
2024, $350,000
; and
(ii) for each year after [
] 
, the amount of the bid limit for the previous year,
plus an amount calculated by multiplying the amount of the bid limit for the previous year by
[
the lesser of 3% or
] the actual percent change in the [
Consumer Price Index
] 
National
Highway Construction Cost Index
 during the previous calendar year.
[
(b) "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
Labor.
]
[
(c)
] 
(b)
 (i) "Construction" means the work that would apply to:
(A) any new roadbed either by addition to existing systems or relocation;
(B) resurfacing of existing roadways with more than two inches of bituminous
pavement; or
(C) new structures or replacement of existing structures, except the replacement of
drainage culverts.
(ii) "Construction" does not include maintenance, emergency repairs, or the installation
of traffic control devices as described in Section 
41-6a-302
.
[
(d)
] 
(c)
 "Improvement project" means construction and maintenance as defined in this
section except for that maintenance excluded under Subsection (2).
[
(e)
] 
(d)
 "Maintenance" means the keeping of a road facility in a safe and usable
condition to which it was constructed or improved, and includes:
(i) the reworking of an existing surface by the application of up to and including two
inches of bituminous pavement;
(ii) the installation or replacement of guardrails, seal coats, and culverts;
(iii) the grading or widening of an existing unpaved road or flattening of shoulders or
side slopes to meet current width and safety standards; and
(iv) horizontal or vertical alignment changes necessary to bring an existing road in
compliance with current safety standards.
(e) "National Highway Construction Cost Index" means the National Highway
Construction Cost Index published by the Federal Highway Administration.
(f) "Project" means the performance of a clearly identifiable group of associated road
construction activities or the same type of maintenance process, where the construction or
maintenance is performed on any one class B or C road, within a half-mile proximity and
occurs within the same calendar year.
(2) The following types of maintenance work are not subject to the contract or bid limit
requirements of this section:
(a) the repair of less than the entire surface by crack sealing or patching; and
(b) road repairs incidental to the installation, replacement, or repair of water mains,
sewers, drainage pipes, culverts, or curbs and gutters.
(3) (a) (i) If the estimates of a qualified engineer referred to in Section 
72-6-108
 are
substantially lower than any responsible bid received or in the event no bids are received, the
county or municipality may perform the work by force account.
(ii) In no event shall "substantially lower" mean estimates that are less than 10% below
the lowest responsible bid.
(b) If a county or municipality performs an improvement project by force account, it
shall:
(i) provide an accounting of the costs and expenditures of the improvement including
material, labor, and direct equipment costs to be calculated using the Cost Reference Guide for
Construction Equipment by Dataquest Inc. or the Federal Emergency Management Agency
schedule of equipment rates;
(ii) disclose the costs and expenditures to any person upon request and allow the
person to make a copy and pay for the actual cost of the copy; and
(iii) perform the work using the same specifications and standards that would apply to
a private contractor.
Section 2. 
Effective date.
This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.