Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1784
       
       
        
       By Senator Burgess
       
       
       
       
       
       20-01512B-22                                          20221784__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to road construction; creating the
    3         Rural Roads Initiative Pilot Program within the
    4         Department of Transportation; providing the purpose of
    5         the pilot program; defining the term “East Pasco
    6         County”; providing application and funding
    7         requirements; specifying the role of the department in
    8         distributing funds; specifying project standards;
    9         authorizing the Governor to reallocate funds under
   10         certain circumstances; providing an exception;
   11         requiring the department to submit an annual report to
   12         the Legislature; requiring the Legislature to
   13         designate a pilot program review committee; providing
   14         an appropriation; amending s. 337.14, F.S.; revising
   15         the amount of a construction contract for which a
   16         contractor must first be certified by the department
   17         in order to bid on such contract; amending s. 337.11,
   18         F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
   19         act; providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Rural Roads Initiative Pilot Program.—
   24         (1)The Rural Roads Initiative Pilot Program is created
   25  within the Department of Transportation for the purpose of
   26  paving state, county, or municipal roads within East Pasco
   27  County that are currently unpaved. As used in this section, the
   28  term “East Pasco County” means that portion of Pasco County that
   29  is located east of U.S. 41.
   30         (2)Under the pilot program, the Pasco County Board of
   31  County Commissioners or the governing board of a municipality
   32  within East Pasco County may apply to the Department of
   33  Transportation for funding to pave roads within an area under
   34  such board’s jurisdiction which are currently unpaved and the
   35  cost of which cannot be met by the residents of such area. In
   36  determining whether an applicant receives funding, the
   37  department shall consider the number of dwellings located along
   38  each applicable road, as well as connectivity and the impact
   39  each newly paved road will have on moving residents, goods, and
   40  services within such area. The department’s role in distributing
   41  funds under the pilot program shall be strictly fiduciary in
   42  nature. The department may not rank projects according to
   43  importance and may not reject an application based on a
   44  determination of feasibility. A road paving project funded under
   45  the pilot program is subject only to construction standards
   46  established by the county or the municipality in which the road
   47  is located and is not subject to department standards.
   48         (3)Each applicant that receives funding from the
   49  department under the pilot program shall be awarded 50 percent
   50  of the cost of paving roads within an area under its
   51  jurisdiction which are unpaved. The remaining 50 percent shall
   52  be borne by the applicant.
   53         (4)Funding awarded to an applicant under the pilot program
   54  may be reallocated by the Governor for other uses if the
   55  Governor has declared a state of emergency and determined such
   56  reallocation is necessary as a result of such emergency, except
   57  that funding that has been allocated to a road paving project
   58  may not be reallocated for other uses once construction for the
   59  project has commenced.
   60         (5)The Department of Transportation shall submit an annual
   61  report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
   62  House of Representatives which includes the number of roads in
   63  each area for which paving has been completed, the amount of
   64  pilot program funds expended for each road paving project, and
   65  the number of residents in each area who were impacted by the
   66  paving of each road. The President of the Senate and the Speaker
   67  of the House of Representatives shall designate a committee to
   68  review the report and determine the efficacy of the pilot
   69  program.
   70         (6)The sum of $20 million is appropriated from the General
   71  Revenue Fund to the Department of Transportation for
   72  distribution under the Rural Roads Initiative Pilot Program.
   73         Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraph (a) of
   74  subsection (9) of section 337.14, Florida Statutes, are amended
   75  to read:
   76         337.14 Application for qualification; certificate of
   77  qualification; restrictions; request for hearing.—
   78         (1) Any contractor desiring to bid for the performance of
   79  any construction contract in excess of $5 million $250,000 which
   80  the department proposes to let must first be certified by the
   81  department as qualified pursuant to this section and rules of
   82  the department. The rules of the department must address the
   83  qualification of contractors to bid on construction contracts in
   84  excess of $5 million $250,000 and must include requirements with
   85  respect to the equipment, past record, experience, financial
   86  resources, and organizational personnel of the applying
   87  contractor which are necessary to perform the specific class of
   88  work for which the contractor seeks certification. Any
   89  contractor who desires to bid on contracts in excess of $50
   90  million and who is not qualified and in good standing with the
   91  department as of January 1, 2019, must first be certified by the
   92  department as qualified and must have satisfactorily completed
   93  two projects, each in excess of $15 million, for the department
   94  or for any other state department of transportation. The
   95  department may limit the dollar amount of any contract upon
   96  which a contractor is qualified to bid or the aggregate total
   97  dollar volume of contracts such contractor is allowed to have
   98  under contract at any one time. Each applying contractor seeking
   99  qualification to bid on construction contracts in excess of $5
  100  million $250,000 shall furnish the department a statement under
  101  oath, on such forms as the department may prescribe, setting
  102  forth detailed information as required on the application. Each
  103  application for certification must be accompanied by audited,
  104  certified financial statements prepared in accordance with
  105  generally accepted accounting principles and auditing standards
  106  by a certified public accountant licensed in this state or
  107  another state. The audited, certified financial statements must
  108  be for the applying contractor and must have been prepared
  109  within the immediately preceding 12 months. The department may
  110  not consider any financial information of the parent entity of
  111  the applying contractor, if any. The department may not certify
  112  as qualified any applying contractor who fails to submit the
  113  audited, certified financial statements required by this
  114  subsection. If the application or the annual financial statement
  115  shows the financial condition of the applying contractor more
  116  than 4 months before the date on which the application is
  117  received by the department, the applicant must also submit
  118  interim audited, certified financial statements prepared in
  119  accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and
  120  auditing standards by a certified public accountant licensed in
  121  this state or another state. The interim financial statements
  122  must cover the period from the end date of the annual statement
  123  and must show the financial condition of the applying contractor
  124  no more than 4 months before the date that the interim financial
  125  statements are received by the department. However, upon the
  126  request of the applying contractor, an application and
  127  accompanying annual or interim financial statement received by
  128  the department within 15 days after either 4-month period under
  129  this subsection shall be considered timely. An applying
  130  contractor desiring to bid exclusively for the performance of
  131  construction contracts with proposed budget estimates of less
  132  than $1 million may submit reviewed annual or reviewed interim
  133  financial statements prepared by a certified public accountant.
  134  The information required by this subsection is confidential and
  135  exempt from s. 119.07(1). The department shall act upon the
  136  application for qualification within 30 days after the
  137  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         (2) Certification shall be necessary in order to bid on a
  144  road, bridge, or public transportation construction contract of
  145  more than $5 million $250,000. However, the successful bidder on
  146  any construction contract must furnish a contract bond prior to
  147  the award of the contract. The department may waive the
  148  requirement for all or a portion of a contract bond for
  149  contracts of $150,000 or less under s. 337.18(1).
  150         (9)(a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, for
  151  contracts in excess of $5 million $250,000, an authority created
  152  pursuant to chapter 348 or chapter 349 may require that persons
  153  interested in performing work under contract first be certified
  154  or qualified to do the work. Any contractor may be considered
  155  ineligible to bid by the governmental entity or authority if the
  156  contractor is behind an approved progress schedule for the
  157  governmental entity or authority by 10 percent or more at the
  158  time of advertisement of the work. Any contractor prequalified
  159  and considered eligible by the department to bid to perform the
  160  type of work described under the contract shall be presumed to
  161  be qualified to perform the work so described. The governmental
  162  entity or authority may provide an appeal process to overcome
  163  that presumption with de novo review based on the record below
  164  to the circuit court.
  165         Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) and
  166  paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section 337.11, Florida
  167  Statutes, are amended to read:
  168         337.11 Contracting authority of department; bids; emergency
  169  repairs, supplemental agreements, and change orders; combined
  170  design and construction contracts; progress payments; records;
  171  requirements of vehicle registration.—
  172         (3)(a) On all construction contracts of $5 million $250,000
  173  or less, and any construction contract of less than $500,000 for
  174  which the department has waived prequalification under s.
  175  337.14, the department shall advertise for bids in a newspaper
  176  having general circulation in the county where the proposed work
  177  is located. Publication shall be at least once a week for no
  178  less than 2 consecutive weeks, and the first publication shall
  179  be no less than 14 days before prior to the date on which bids
  180  are to be received.
  181         (b) On all construction contracts greater than $5 million
  182  $250,000, the department shall provide a bid solicitation notice
  183  to all prequalified contractors at least 2 weeks before the date
  184  bids are scheduled to be received.
  185         (6)
  186         (c) When the department determines that it is in the best
  187  interest of the public for reasons of public concern, economy,
  188  improved operations, or safety, and only when circumstances
  189  dictate rapid completion of the work, the department may, up to
  190  the amount of $5 million $250,000, enter into contracts for
  191  construction and maintenance without advertising and receiving
  192  competitive bids. The department may enter into such contracts
  193  only upon a determination that the work is necessary for one of
  194  the following reasons:
  195         1. To ensure timely completion of projects or avoidance of
  196  undue delay for other projects;
  197         2. To accomplish minor repairs or construction and
  198  maintenance activities for which time is of the essence and for
  199  which significant cost savings would occur; or
  200         3. To accomplish nonemergency work necessary to ensure
  201  avoidance of adverse conditions that affect the safe and
  202  efficient flow of traffic.
  203  
  204  The department shall make a good faith effort to obtain two or
  205  more quotes, if available, from qualified contractors before
  206  entering into any contract. The department shall give
  207  consideration to disadvantaged business enterprise
  208  participation. However, when the work exists within the limits
  209  of an existing contract, the department shall make a good faith
  210  effort to negotiate and enter into a contract with the prime
  211  contractor on the existing contract.
  212         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.