Florida Senate - 2019                      CS for CS for SB 1044
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Appropriations; and Infrastructure and
       Security; and Senator Albritton
       
       
       
       
       576-04637-19                                          20191044c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Department of Transportation;
    3         creating s. 334.179, F.S.; prohibiting local
    4         governments from adopting standards or specifications
    5         that are contrary to the department standards or
    6         specifications for permissible use of aggregates that
    7         have been certified for use; defining the term
    8         “certified for use”; amending s. 336.044, F.S.;
    9         prohibiting local governmental entities from adopting
   10         standards or specifications that are contrary to the
   11         department standards or specifications for permissible
   12         use of reclaimed asphalt pavement material in
   13         construction; providing that such material may not be
   14         considered solid waste; amending s. 337.025, F.S.;
   15         authorizing the department to establish a program for
   16         transportation projects that demonstrate certain
   17         innovative techniques for measuring resiliency and
   18         structural integrity and controlling time and cost
   19         increases; amending s. 337.14, F.S.; requiring that
   20         any contractor, instead of any person, desiring to bid
   21         for the performance of certain construction contracts
   22         first be certified by the department as qualified;
   23         conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
   24         requiring a contractor desiring to bid on certain
   25         contracts to have satisfactorily completed certain
   26         projects; amending s. 337.185, F.S.; increasing the
   27         maximum amounts per contract of certain contractual
   28         claims that must be arbitrated by the State
   29         Arbitration Board under certain circumstances;
   30         providing an effective date.
   31          
   32  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   33  
   34         Section 1. Section 334.179, Florida Statutes, is created to
   35  read:
   36         334.179 Departmental standards or specifications for
   37  permissible use of aggregates.—Notwithstanding any law, rule, or
   38  ordinance to the contrary, a local government may not adopt
   39  standards or specifications that are contrary to the
   40  departmental standards or specifications for permissible use of
   41  aggregates that have been certified for use. For purposes of
   42  this section, the term “certified for use” means that the
   43  aggregates have been certified by the producer in accordance
   44  with departmental rule.
   45         Section 2. Present subsection (5) of section 336.044,
   46  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (6), and a new
   47  subsection (5) is added to that section, to read:
   48         336.044 Use of recyclable materials in construction.—
   49         (5) Notwithstanding any law, rule, or ordinance to the
   50  contrary, local governmental entities may not adopt standards or
   51  specifications that are contrary to the departmental standards
   52  or specifications for permissible use of reclaimed asphalt
   53  pavement material in construction. Such material may not be
   54  considered solid waste.
   55         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 337.025, Florida
   56  Statutes, is amended to read:
   57         337.025 Innovative transportation highway projects;
   58  department to establish program.—
   59         (1) The department may is authorized to establish a program
   60  for transportation highway projects demonstrating innovative
   61  techniques of highway and bridge design, construction,
   62  maintenance, and finance which have the intended effect of
   63  measuring resiliency and structural integrity and controlling
   64  time and cost increases on construction projects. Such
   65  techniques may include, but are not limited to, state-of-the-art
   66  technology for pavement, safety, and other aspects of highway
   67  and bridge design, construction, and maintenance; innovative
   68  bidding and financing techniques; accelerated construction
   69  procedures; and those techniques that have the potential to
   70  reduce project life cycle costs. To the maximum extent
   71  practical, the department must use the existing process to award
   72  and administer construction and maintenance contracts. When
   73  specific innovative techniques are to be used, the department is
   74  not required to adhere to those provisions of law that would
   75  prevent, preclude, or in any way prohibit the department from
   76  using the innovative technique. However, before prior to using
   77  an innovative technique that is inconsistent with another
   78  provision of law, the department must document in writing the
   79  need for the exception and identify what benefits the traveling
   80  public and the affected community are anticipated to receive.
   81  The department may enter into no more than $120 million in
   82  contracts annually for the purposes authorized by this section.
   83         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 337.14, Florida
   84  Statutes, is amended to read:
   85         337.14 Application for qualification; certificate of
   86  qualification; restrictions; request for hearing.—
   87         (1) Any contractor person desiring to bid for the
   88  performance of any construction contract in excess of $250,000
   89  which the department proposes to let must first be certified by
   90  the department as qualified pursuant to this section and rules
   91  of the department. The rules of the department must shall
   92  address the qualification of contractors persons to bid on
   93  construction contracts in excess of $250,000 and must shall
   94  include requirements with respect to the equipment, past record,
   95  experience, financial resources, and organizational personnel of
   96  the applying contractor which are applicant necessary to perform
   97  the specific class of work for which the contractor person seeks
   98  certification. Any contractor desiring to bid on contracts in
   99  excess of $50 million must have satisfactorily completed two
  100  projects, each in excess of $25 million, for the department or
  101  for any other state department of transportation. The department
  102  may limit the dollar amount of any contract upon which a
  103  contractor person is qualified to bid or the aggregate total
  104  dollar volume of contracts such contractor person is allowed to
  105  have under contract at any one time. Each applying contractor
  106  applicant seeking qualification to bid on construction contracts
  107  in excess of $250,000 shall furnish the department a statement
  108  under oath, on such forms as the department may prescribe,
  109  setting forth detailed information as required on the
  110  application. Each application for certification must shall be
  111  accompanied by the latest annual financial statement of the
  112  applying contractor applicant completed within the last 12
  113  months. If the application or the annual financial statement
  114  shows the financial condition of the applying contractor
  115  applicant more than 4 months prior to the date on which the
  116  application is received by the department, then an interim
  117  financial statement and an updated application must be submitted
  118  and be accompanied by an updated application. The interim
  119  financial statement must cover the period from the end date of
  120  the annual statement and must show the financial condition of
  121  the applying contractor applicant no more than 4 months prior to
  122  the date that the interim financial statement is received by the
  123  department. However, upon the request of by the applying
  124  contractor applicant, an application and accompanying annual or
  125  interim financial statement received by the department within 15
  126  days after either 4-month period under this subsection shall be
  127  considered timely. Each required annual or interim financial
  128  statement must be audited and accompanied by the opinion of a
  129  certified public accountant. An applying contractor applicant
  130  desiring to bid exclusively for the performance of construction
  131  contracts with proposed budget estimates of less than $1 million
  132  may submit reviewed annual or reviewed interim financial
  133  statements prepared by a certified public accountant. The
  134  information required by this subsection is confidential and
  135  exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). The department shall
  136  act upon the application for qualification within 30 days after
  137  the department determines that the application is complete. The
  138  department may waive the requirements of this subsection for
  139  projects having a contract price of $500,000 or less if the
  140  department determines that the project is of a noncritical
  141  nature and the waiver will not endanger public health, safety,
  142  or property.
  143         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 337.185, Florida
  144  Statutes, is amended to read:
  145         337.185 State Arbitration Board.—
  146         (1) To facilitate the prompt settlement of claims for
  147  additional compensation arising out of construction and
  148  maintenance contracts between the department and the various
  149  contractors with whom it transacts business, the Legislature
  150  does hereby establish the State Arbitration Board, referred to
  151  in this section as the “board.” For the purpose of this section,
  152  the term “claim” means the aggregate of all outstanding claims
  153  by a party arising out of a construction or maintenance
  154  contract. Every contractual claim in an amount up to $250,000
  155  per contract or, at the claimant’s option, up to $1 million
  156  $500,000 per contract or, upon agreement of the parties, up to
  157  $2 million $1 million per contract which that cannot be resolved
  158  by negotiation between the department and the contractor must
  159  shall be arbitrated by the board after acceptance of the project
  160  by the department. As an exception, either party to the dispute
  161  may request that the claim be submitted to binding private
  162  arbitration. A court of law may not consider the settlement of
  163  such a claim until the process established by this section has
  164  been exhausted.
  165         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.