The Director of Facilities Management may enter into negotiations for project with
a qualifying vendor without bidding requirements or may request the following competitive
process or any other more restrictive processes.
Definition:
Contracts for public works projects, using public funds, commonly referred to as the
design-bid-build method. A public works project means the erection, construction,
alteration, improvement, or repair of any public facility or immovable property owned,
used, or leased by a public entity, (including labor, materials and equipment) not exceeding $150,000.
In accordance with R.S. 38:2212, “All public work exceeding the contract limit of $150,000 (including labor, materials
and equipment) to be done by a public entity, shall be advertised and let by contract
to the lowest responsible bidder who had bid according to the contract plans, and
specifications as advertised.
Advertisement Requirement: Once a week for three (3) different weeks in the official
journal of the state and in our local Ruston Leader and the first advertisement of
insertion must appear at least twenty-five (25) days prior to the bid opening date.
Public works projects that are estimated to cost less than $150,000 are not subject to the advertising and bidding requirements of the Public Bid Law
and may be undertaken by the public entity with its own employees or may be processed
according to the following procedure:
NOTE: To determine if your project is under $150,000, you add together the cost of all materials
that will go into the job, the wages and benefits which will be paid to the employees
used in the project, the cost of supervision and overhead, and the cost of the equipment
which will be used on the job.
Responsibility of Authority:
Prior to proceeding with any public works projects, the Director of Facilities Management
will determine on a case by case basis those projects they deem necessary to process
in accordance with the guidelines as defined under Title 38. The proposed project
approval must be requested form the Director of Purchasing with the following information:
- complete description of project
- complete and approved Banner Requisition if work is being done by an outside contractor
- total cost of project including labor, materials, and equipment
- source of funds and approval of availability of those funds
- total project amount may not exceed $150,000
- a minimum of 3 quotes should be retained when possible for any public works projects
exceeding $5,000
If the Director of Facilities Management wish to procure non- competitively under
Title 38, the following criteria should be considered:
- three written signed quotes
NOTES: If the total contract amount exceeds $50,000, all prime bidders must be licensed
by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contracts in accordance with R.S. 37:2150.1
The contractor’s license number must be specified on the quote.
Should the apparent low bid exceed the original contract amount, contact the Director
of Purchasing for guidance. If the increased cost of the project resulted from changes
outside the scope of work, a re-bid process will be required to allow competitive
pricing for revised specifications.
- If the contract is in excess of $5,000, reduce the contract to writing and have it
signed by the parties in accordance with R.S. 38:2241 (A).
- If the contract is in excess of $30,000, the contractor must provide a Performance
and Payment Bond in a sum of not less than 50% of the contract price in accordance
with S. 38:2241. The bond shall be executed by the contractor with surety or sureties approved by
the public entity and shall be recorded with the contract in the office of the recorder
of mortgages in the parish where the work is to be done not later than thirty days
after the work has begun.
- surety bond and insurance in accordance with S. 38:2219
- Any surety bond written for a public works project shall be written by a surety or
insurance company currently on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management
Service list or by a Louisiana domiciled insurance company with an A-rating by A.M.
Best. In addition, any surety bond written for a public works project shall be written
by a surety or insurance company that is currently licensed to do business in the
state of Louisiana.
- Change orders; recordation in accordance with R.S. 38:2222. Each change order to a public works contract or to a contract for materials and
supplies which adds an amount of ten percent or more of the original contract amount
and which additional amount is at least ten thousand dollars or all change orders
to a contract aggregating to an amount of twenty percent or more of the original contract
amount and which additional amount is at least ten thousand dollars shall be recorded
by the public entity which entered into the contract in the office of the recorder
of mortgages in the parish where the work is to be done or, if not a public work,
where the entity is domiciled not later than thirty days after the date of the change
order which requires that the recordation take place. In addition, the original contract
shall be recorded together with the change orders if not previously recorded. The
provisions of this Section shall not apply to the office of facility planning and
control, and the office of state procurement.
- File original contract along with a copy of the purchase order in the office of the
recorder of mortgages for the parish in which the work is done.
- Request a clear lien certificate 45 days after filing of a Notice of Substantial Completion.
Retainage can only be paid after such clear lien certificate is received by the Director
of Purchasing.
- NOTE: When circumstances exist, which require or necessitate Performance Bonds, Project
Recordation and Lien activities, it is the responsibility of the Director of Physical
Plant and to ensure that all Public Works, Facility Planning and Control and OSP requirements
are adhered to. These requirements shall include but not limited to Architect/Designer
Management, Construction Management, Notice to Proceed and Project Close Out. Construction,
contract deadlines and project Close-Out payments shall be completed in accordance
with State Facility and Planning Rules and Regulations.
Public Works Projects may not be processed on an agency level without prior approval from the following
authority:
Purchases over $350,000 up to $1,000,000 (in accordance with R.S.39:128(B) Minor repairs, renovation, or construction of buildings or other facilities without
being included in the capital outlay budget but shall be subject to the approval of
the Board of Regents and the appropriate management board or their successor. A state
college, university, or higher education facility may not incur debt to fund any project
that is not included in the capital outlay budget. Any project with an estimated budget
greater than $500,000 must be assigned a designer, architect, or engineer by the Architect
and Engineer Review Board.
