October 22, 2007
In 2007 so far, 67 design-build bills in 26 states have been considered. Twenty-one of those bills have been signed into law. For more details see the State Information page.
September 18, 2007
DBIA joined Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Senate Environment Public Works Committee, and representatives from key national organizations at a rally Sept. 18 in support of increased federal funding for clean water infrastructure and to urge the Senate to introduce and pass legislation similar to the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720), which passed the House this spring in a 303-108 vote. H.R. 720 would reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) at $14 billion over four years and call on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study long-term, viable revenue sources for a clean water trust fund. DBIA issued a press release.
August 15, 2007
U. S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released its long awaited rule on design-build contracting on August 14, 2007. DBIA had commented extensively on the proposed rule and is pleased to see that many of its comments are incorporated into the final rule. DBIA is especially happy that FHWA expanded the definition of preliminary design which in the proposed rule had been extremely narrowly defined and would have negatively impacted the ability to move forward on a design-build federally funded transportation project. To view the text of the final rule, please see the following link: FHWA design-build final rule
DBIA also filed comments recently regarding a proposed regulation concerning the US Coast Guards Use of Design-build. DBIA's comments can be found here (pdf).
June 20, 2007
As State legislatures begin to wrap up their 2007 sessions new design-build bills have been signed into law. In Texas, a new law extending design-build to civil works projects was signed into law on June 15, 2007. And in Colorado, a new law significantly extends design-build authority. These key victories increase the number of states with full authority for design-build in the public sector to 21 states. For more details on state legislation please see the State Information page.
May 30, 2007
Four more states have new design-build laws. Minnesota Senate bill 1509 was signed into law by Governor Pawlenty on May 14, 2007. This bill makes revisions to the Hennepin County design-build authority. North Carolina House bill 443 became a session law on May 17, 2007. It will allow Cherokee County to use design-build for construction of a justice center. In Tennessee, on May 30, 2007, Governor Bredesen signed into law Senate Bill 2196. The new law authorizes the department of transportation to award contracts using design-build. Finally, Washington Governor Gregoire on May 15, 2007 signed into law HB 1506. The new law eliminates some restrictions on which public entities have design-build authority. For more information on state legislation please see the State Information page.
April 20, 2007
Design-build bills signed into law in Iowa and Washington .
On April 17, 2007, Iowa Governor Culver on April 17, 2007 approved a new law that allows the Department of Public Defense Military division to enter into design-build contracts for facilities built on state grounds when the project is 100% federally funded and for use exclusively by National Guard and other U.S. Armed Forces. Previously, Iowa had no statutory authority for design-build for any public projects. This action while limited does introduce design-build for public works to the state. This brings the number of states without any design-build authority to three (Alabama, Michigan and Rhode Island). Legislation has been introduced in Michigan and Rhode Island this year.
On April 20, 2007, Washington Governor Gregoire approved a new law that preserves the use of design-build construction on transportation projects by deleting the sunset date of April 30, 2008.
March 30, 2007
In Montana a new law raising the amount to $50,000 for which a contract is not required for building, furnishing, repairing, or other work for the benefit of a school district were signed into law on March 30, 2007 by Governor Schweitzer.
In 2007 so far, 50 design-build bills in 22 states have been considered. Four of those bills have been signed into law. For more details see the State Information page.
March 27, 2007
In Mississippi a dual-phase design-build law was signed in to law by Governor Barbour. The new law provides for dual-phase design-build construction as authorized by the legislature. It also allows state universities to use design build if authorized to do so by the state board of trustees for state institutions of higher learning. The bill has no impact on transportation contracts.
In Montana a bill making the design-build highway program permanent was signed into law by Governor Schweitzer.
March 9, 2007
The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 720, The Water Quality Financing Act. This is the first reauthorization of the Clean Water Act in 20 years and would authorize $14 billion in federal grants over 5 years to capitalize clean water state revolving funds. DBIA supports this bill. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
February 23, 2007
Wyoming signs into law design-build authority for public projects. DBIA applauds Patrick McManus and the Rocky Mountain Chapter for their hard work in successfully leading the charge to get design-build authority in Wyoming. This brings the number of states without design-build statutory authority down to four. The other four are Alabama (no legislation introduced yet), Iowa (where legislation has been introduced this year), Michigan (also has 2007 introduced legislation) andRhode Island (also has 2007 legislation).
January 31, 2007
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment voted to approve the 2007 Water Quality Financing Act and send it to the full committee for consideration on Wednesday, January 31, 2007. This bill introduced by Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the full Committee, would reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) at $20 billion over five years. DBIA applauds the committee's committment to increasing funding for clean water infrastructure.
July 21, 2006
DBIA submitted written comments to the U S Department of Transportation regarding a proposed design-build rule-making by the FHWA.
DBIACommentsFHWANPRMDesignBuildJuly2006.pdf
July 1, 2006
Performance Based Requirements Highlighted in NEWLY Revised OMB Policy!
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has just released a landmark revision of its Capital Programming Guide — a document meant to provide policy direction for Federal Agencies during the budgeting process. DBIA members, particularly public agencies, have frequently asked DBIA for guidance on how to implement performance based requirements, integrated project teams, and stipends in an effort to improve project delivery. Performance based requirements describe the nature of the project in terms of desired performance outcomes and an owner’s goals, challenges, and problems, rather than through restrictive design specifications. Moreover, performance based requirements can capture owner requirements more effectively while dramatically reducing statement of work paperwork by more than 90%.
DBIA is delighted that OMB is encouraging expanded use of performance-based requirements and integrated financial rewards for meeting performance evaluations; these changes will maximize private sector ingenuity, while simultaneously providing government agencies tools to reward superlative contractor performance. In addition, the new Capital Programming Guide also specifically states that construction projects are also considered capital assets. This revised policy document will be very important in helping federal agencies integrate these concepts more effectively into their procurement process.
DBIA advocacy staff worked closely with OMB staff on revising the policy document and provided numerous comments and examples during the revision process. View a press release (PDF) with more general information.