Senate Bill sb1854

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                      SB 1854

    By Senators Miller, Sebesta and Crist





    18-1078-04                                              See HB

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Hillsborough County;

  3         authorizing the waiver of payment and

  4         performance bonds for the construction of a

  5         public building, for the prosecution and

  6         completion of a public work, or for repairs

  7         upon a public building or public work when the

  8         cost of the project is $500,000 or less and the

  9         contract for the construction, completion, or

10         repair is awarded pursuant to an economic

11         development program established to encourage

12         local small businesses to participate in county

13         procurement programs; providing for a committee

14         to determine suitable projects; providing

15         requirements for the economic development

16         program for local small businesses; providing

17         procedures for waiver of the payment and

18         performance bond; requiring a report; providing

19         for repeal of the act; providing an effective

20         date.

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22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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24         Section 1.  Notwithstanding section 255.05, Florida

25  Statutes, Hillsborough County may waive payment and

26  performance bonds on construction contracts for the

27  construction of a public building, for the prosecution and

28  completion of a public work, or for repairs on a public

29  building or public work which has a cost of $500,000 or less

30  and the project is awarded pursuant to a race and gender

31  neutral economic development program for the encouragement of

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                      SB 1854
    18-1078-04                                              See HB




 1  local small businesses which has been adopted by the governing

 2  body of the county pursuant to a resolution or ordinance.

 3         Section 2.  The county's adopted criteria for

 4  participation in the economic development program for local

 5  small businesses requires that a participant:

 6         (1)  Be an independent business.

 7         (2)  Be principally domiciled in Hillsborough County

 8  unless a reciprocal program is established with another

 9  jurisdiction pursuant to an interlocal agreement.

10         (3)  Have been in business for at least 1 year.

11         (4)  Employ 25 or fewer full-time employees.

12         (5)  Have gross annual sales averaging over the

13  previous 3-year period of $2 million or less, with regard to

14  any construction element of the program.

15         (6)  Participate in an educational curriculum which

16  will assist the small business in becoming eligible for

17  bonding.

18         Section 3.  The county's adopted procedures for waiving

19  payment and performance bonds on projects with values not less

20  than $200,000 and not exceeding $500,000 shall provide that

21  payment and performance bonds may only be waived on projects

22  that have been set aside to be competitively bid on by

23  participants in an economic development program for local

24  small businesses. A committee of county staff from affected

25  departments shall determine if specific construction projects

26  are suitable to be set aside for bidding by registered local

27  small businesses and waiver of the payment and performance

28  bond. The committee's decision to waive the payment and

29  performance bond shall be in writing and shall include a

30  determination that there exists sufficient competition so that

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                      SB 1854
    18-1078-04                                              See HB




 1  the county receives a fair price and that the project lacks

 2  any unusual risk to the county.

 3         Section 4.  For any contract for which a payment and

 4  performance bond has been waived pursuant to the authority in

 5  section 1 of this act, the county shall pay all persons

 6  defined in section 713.01, Florida Statutes, who furnish

 7  labor, services, or materials for the prosecution of the work

 8  provided for in the contract to the same extent and upon the

 9  same conditions that a surety on the payment bond under

10  section 255.05, Florida Statutes, would have been obligated to

11  pay such persons if the payment and performance bond has not

12  been waived.  The county shall record notice of this

13  obligation in the manner and location that surety bonds are

14  recorded.  The notice shall include the information describing

15  the contract which section 255.05(1), Florida Statutes,

16  requires be stated on the front page of the bond.  Section

17  255.05(9), Florida Statutes, shall apply to any contract on

18  which performance or payment bonds are waived pursuant to this

19  act, and any claim to payment under this section shall be

20  treated as a contract claim pursuant to section 255.05(9),

21  Florida Statutes.

22         Section 5.  A small business that has been the

23  successful bidder on three projects where the payment and

24  performance bond were waived pursuant to section 1 shall be

25  ineligible to bid on additional projects where the payment and

26  performance bond has been waived on projects with an estimated

27  value of not less than $200,000 and not exceeding

28  $500,000.  The local small business may continue to

29  participate in other elements of the economic development

30  program for local small business so long as otherwise

31  eligible.

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (NP)                      SB 1854
    18-1078-04                                              See HB




 1         Section 6.  The county shall prepare a report on the

 2  activities every 2 years which shall be provided to the

 3  county's legislative delegation. The initial report shall be

 4  due December 31, 2006.

 5         Section 7.  This act shall stand repealed on September

 6  30, 2009.

 7         Section 8.  This act shall take effect on October 1,

 8  2004.

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