SB 22-074

Senate Bill 22-074, now signed into law, introduces a fairness monitor for reviewing and overseeing transportation projects in Colorado that use alternative contracting methods. This includes checking if these projects will be completed faster or cheaper compared to traditional methods, ensuring the selection process is fair, and reporting back to a committee on their findings. The bill also requires project contractors to contribute fees towards hiring independent experts to further ensure fairness during procurement. After construction is complete, the monitor reviews how well the project adhered to its original budget and timeline, documenting any issues that arose along the way. This law aims to improve transparency and efficiency in major transportation projects across the state.

Official Summary

The bill requires the transportation commission (commission) to annually contract with a fairness monitor to review and monitor the procurement process for transportation projects that the department of transportation (department) or an agency or enterprise of the department intends to procure using an alternative form of contracting. An alternative form of contracting is any method of procurement used by the department or an agency or enterprise of the department for a transportation project other than design bid build contracting. Before the department or an agency or enterprise of the department uses an alternative form of contracting to procure a transportation project, the fairness monitor is required to: Review the project to determine whether use of the alternative form of contracting will result in successful completion of the project sooner or at a lower cost; Review the decision making process by all involved department, agency, or enterprise employees regarding the decision to use an alternative form of contracting for the project; Oversee the fairness of the project criteria development, project advertisement, and contractor selection processes for the project; and Report to the contracting fairness committee (committee) required to be created by the commission regarding these reviews and oversight and make a recommendation to the committee as to whether the alternative form of contracting proposed for the project should be used. The committee is required to review the information and recommendations reported to it by the fairness monitor and report to the commission its assessment of any recommendation of the fairness monitor that an alternative form of contracting project should not be used for a project. For any transportation project for which an alternative form of contracting is used, the fairness monitor is required to designate a third-party team of private persons with expertise in contracting for transportation projects for the purpose of monitoring the fairness of the procurement process for the project. The department or an agency or enterprise of the department is required to pay the costs of the third-party team and to impose an equal fee on all contractors seeking to be selected for the project in an amount calculated to generate 50% of the amount needed to pay those costs. Upon the completion of construction for any transportation project for which an alternative form of contracting is used, the fairness monitor is required to conduct a review of the project that, at a minimum: Compares actual project completion costs and time to the original budget, contract amount, and schedule for the project; and Makes a record of any claims, disputes, or pending litigation arising out of the project. The fairness monitor is required to report the results of the review to the committee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

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