THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

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

REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JANUARY 26, 2011  

AN ACT

Amending the act of May 1, 1913 (P.L.155, No.104), entitled "An

act regulating the letting of certain contracts for the

erection, construction, and alteration of public buildings,"

increasing the minimum bid requirement; and providing for

evasion of requirements.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 1 of the act of May 1, 1913 (P.L.155, No.

104), referred to as the Separations Act, amended December 22,

1981 (P.L.546, No.159), is amended to read:

Section 1.  (a)  Be it enacted, &c., That hereafter in the

preparation of specifications for the erection, construction,

and alteration of any public building, when the entire cost of

such work shall exceed [four thousand dollars] twenty-five

thousand dollars subject to adjustment under subsection (b), it

shall be the duty of the architect, engineer, or other person

preparing such specifications, to prepare separate

specifications for the plumbing, heating, ventilating, and

electrical work; and it shall be the duty of the person or

persons authorized to enter into contracts for the erection,

construction, or alteration of such public buildings to receive

separate bids upon each of the said branches of work, and to

award the contract for the same to the lowest responsible bidder

for each of said branches.

Every contract for the construction, reconstruction,

alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of public works

shall comply with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1978

(P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Steel Products Procurement Act."

(b)  (1)  Every five years, beginning with the year in which

this subsection becomes applicable to contracts and purchases,

the Department of Labor and Industry shall calculate the

percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban

Consumers (CPI-U) for the United States city average for all

items as published by the United States Department of Labor,

Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the twelve-month average ending

in September of the prior year.

(2)  The amount at which competitive bidding is required

under subsection (a) shall be adjusted every five years. The

positive percentage change, as determined in accordance with

clause (1), shall be multiplied by the amount applicable under

subsection (a) for the current year and the product thereof

shall be added to the amount applicable under subsection (a) for

the current year, with the result rounded to the nearest

multiple of ten dollars.

(3)  The determination required under clause (1) and the

calculation of the adjustments required under clause (2) shall

be made in the period between October 1 and November 15 of the

year following the effective date of this subsection, and

annually between October 1 and November 15 of each successive

year.

(4)  The adjusted amounts obtained in accordance with clause

(2) shall become effective January 1 for the calendar year

following the year in which the determination required under

clause (1) is made.

(5)  The Department of Labor and Industry shall give notice

in the Pennsylvania Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar

year of the percentage change determined in accordance with

clause (1) and the amounts, whether adjusted or unadjusted in

accordance with clause (2), for the calendar year beginning the

first day of January after publication of the notice.

Section 2.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:

Section 1.1.  No person shall evade the provisions of section

1 by purchasing or contracting for services and personal

properties piecemeal to obtain prices under the required

advertising price, subject to annual adjustment under section

1(b). This provision is intended to make unlawful the making of

a series of purchases or contracts each for less than the price

to which section 1 applies, or by making several simultaneous

purchases or contracts, each below said price, when in either

case, the transactions involved should have been made as one

transaction for one price. Any persons who violate this

provision, and who know that the transaction in question is or

ought to be a part of a larger transaction, and that it is being

divided in order to evade the requirements of section 1, shall

be jointly and severally subject to surcharge for ten per centum

of the full amount of the contract or purchase.

Section 3.  This act shall apply to contracts and purchases

advertised on or after January 1 of the year following the

effective date of this section.

Section 4.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.