1Directing the Joint State Government Commission to <-establish an 
2advisory committee to conduct a comprehensive study of the
3costs and efficiencies of the requirements under
4Pennsylvania's public construction laws.

5WHEREAS, Public construction in this Commonwealth accounts 
6for nearly $36 billion annually in State spending; and

7WHEREAS, Public construction includes a wide range of
8projects, including renovations to State government buildings 
9and local school buildings; and

10WHEREAS, Public construction constitutes a significant share 
11of economic activity in this Commonwealth and is a major 
12economic driver and job creator; and

13WHEREAS, For more than 100 years, there have been no 
14substantive changes to this Commonwealth's public construction 
15laws; and

16WHEREAS, During that period, as with every other industry in 
17the United States, major changes have occurred with technology, 
18management techniques and practices, materials and the need for 
19greater energy efficiency in the design and construction
 

1industry; and

2WHEREAS, The Commonwealth, the design community, contractors, 
3trades people and laborers would benefit from a thorough review 
4and possible recommendations for stakeholders to consider 
5potential changes to this Commonwealth's public construction 
6laws; and

7WHEREAS, The key principles of any changes to this 
8Commonwealth's public construction laws shall include 
9transparency, flexibility, accountability and efficiency;
10therefore be it

11RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Joint State Government 
12Commission to establish <-a task force an advisory committee to 
13compare public and private construction projects to identify 
14ways to improve public construction projects; and be it further

15RESOLVED, That <-the task force be appointed by the President 
16pro tempore of the Senate, in consultation with the Majority 
17Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 
18House of the Representatives, in consultation with the Majority 
19Leader and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and 
20shall be comprised of two members of the Senate, two members of 
21the House of Representatives, THE <-advisory committee be 
22comprised of two representatives of contractors with one
23representing merit shops and one representing union contractors
24(both contractors should have the ability to work both as a
25contractor and as a construction manager with bonding and
26insurance capabilities), two representatives of trade unions,
27two merit shop contractors with more than 150 full-time
28employees, two attorneys who dedicate the majority of their
29practice time to construction law, two design industry
30representatives, three representatives of public agencies or

1public sector owners specializing in the procurement process
2(one representative from the Pennsylvania Department of General
3Services, one representative from the Pennsylvania Department of
4Education and one representative from the Pennsylvania
5Department of Transportation) and two private sector owners who
6have built over $50 million in fully private construction
7projects within the past three years; and be it further

8RESOLVED, That the <-task force advisory committee review and
9analyze 20 Pennsylvania construction projects, ten privately bid
10and awarded, five bid and awarded by the Department of General
11Services and five bid and awarded by school districts, to
12compare the estimated original costs, bid costs, actual costs,
13number and amount of change orders and estimated completion
14dates and actual completion dates; and be it further

15RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission submit a
16report of the study to the Senate no later than <-December 31, 
172014 <-18 months after adoption of this resolution.