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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY FOLMER, EICHELBERGER, GORDNER, KASUNIC, BOSCOLA, ORIE, RAFFERTY, YAW, M. WHITE, D. WHITE, ERICKSON, BAKER, ALLOWAY, BRUBAKER, GREENLEAF, SMUCKER, FERLO, ROBBINS, VANCE, EARLL, SCARNATI, McILHINNEY AND PICCOLA, JANUARY 26, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JANUARY 26, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of May 1, 1913 (P.L.155, No.104), entitled "An |
2 | act regulating the letting of certain contracts for the |
3 | erection, construction, and alteration of public buildings," |
4 | increasing the minimum bid requirement; and providing for |
5 | evasion of requirements. |
6 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
7 | hereby enacts as follows: |
8 | Section 1. Section 1 of the act of May 1, 1913 (P.L.155, No. |
9 | 104), referred to as the Separations Act, amended December 22, |
10 | 1981 (P.L.546, No.159), is amended to read: |
11 | Section 1. (a) Be it enacted, &c., That hereafter in the |
12 | preparation of specifications for the erection, construction, |
13 | and alteration of any public building, when the entire cost of |
14 | such work shall exceed [four thousand dollars] twenty-five |
15 | thousand dollars subject to adjustment under subsection (b), it |
16 | shall be the duty of the architect, engineer, or other person |
17 | preparing such specifications, to prepare separate |
18 | specifications for the plumbing, heating, ventilating, and |
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1 | electrical work; and it shall be the duty of the person or |
2 | persons authorized to enter into contracts for the erection, |
3 | construction, or alteration of such public buildings to receive |
4 | separate bids upon each of the said branches of work, and to |
5 | award the contract for the same to the lowest responsible bidder |
6 | for each of said branches. |
7 | Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, |
8 | alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of public works |
9 | shall comply with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1978 |
10 | (P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Steel Products Procurement Act." |
11 | (b) (1) Every five years, beginning with the year in which |
12 | this subsection becomes applicable to contracts and purchases, |
13 | the Department of Labor and Industry shall calculate the |
14 | percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban |
15 | Consumers (CPI-U) for the United States city average for all |
16 | items as published by the United States Department of Labor, |
17 | Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the twelve-month average ending |
18 | in September of the prior year. |
19 | (2) The amount at which competitive bidding is required |
20 | under subsection (a) shall be adjusted every five years. The |
21 | positive percentage change, as determined in accordance with |
22 | clause (1), shall be multiplied by the amount applicable under |
23 | subsection (a) for the current year and the product thereof |
24 | shall be added to the amount applicable under subsection (a) for |
25 | the current year, with the result rounded to the nearest |
26 | multiple of ten dollars. |
27 | (3) The determination required under clause (1) and the |
28 | calculation of the adjustments required under clause (2) shall |
29 | be made in the period between October 1 and November 15 of the |
30 | year following the effective date of this subsection, and |
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1 | annually between October 1 and November 15 of each successive |
2 | year. |
3 | (4) The adjusted amounts obtained in accordance with clause |
4 | (2) shall become effective January 1 for the calendar year |
5 | following the year in which the determination required under |
6 | clause (1) is made. |
7 | (5) The Department of Labor and Industry shall give notice |
8 | in the Pennsylvania Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar |
9 | year of the percentage change determined in accordance with |
10 | clause (1) and the amounts, whether adjusted or unadjusted in |
11 | accordance with clause (2), for the calendar year beginning the |
12 | first day of January after publication of the notice. |
13 | Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read: |
14 | Section 1.1. No person shall evade the provisions of section |
15 | 1 by purchasing or contracting for services and personal |
16 | properties piecemeal to obtain prices under the required |
17 | advertising price, subject to annual adjustment under section |
18 | 1(b). This provision is intended to make unlawful the making of |
19 | a series of purchases or contracts each for less than the price |
20 | to which section 1 applies, or by making several simultaneous |
21 | purchases or contracts, each below said price, when in either |
22 | case, the transactions involved should have been made as one |
23 | transaction for one price. Any persons who violate this |
24 | provision, and who know that the transaction in question is or |
25 | ought to be a part of a larger transaction, and that it is being |
26 | divided in order to evade the requirements of section 1, shall |
27 | be jointly and severally subject to surcharge for ten per centum |
28 | of the full amount of the contract or purchase. |
29 | Section 3. This act shall apply to contracts and purchases |
30 | advertised on or after January 1 of the year following the |
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1 | effective date of this section. |
2 | Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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