ENROLLED
H. B. 2140
(By Delegate Michael)
[Passed March 4, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact section nineteen, article four,
chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to abolishing
the requirement that when the commissioner is about to
construct or improve any highway, he or she shall file a
copy of the plans and notice of the work to be performed.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nineteen, article four, chapter seventeen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. STATE ROAD SYSTEM.
§17-4-19. Contracts for construction, materials, etc.; work by prison labor, etc.; bidding procedure.
All work of construction and reconstruction of state roads
and bridges, and the furnishing of all materials and supplies
therefor, and for the repair thereof shall be done and furnished
pursuant to contract except that the commissioner may not be
required to award any contract for work, which can be done
advantageously, economically and practicably by commission forces
or prison labor and by use of state road equipment, or for
materials and supplies, which are manufactured, processed or
assembled by the commissioner: Provided, That the commissioner
may not be required to award any contract for work, materials or
supplies for an amount less than three thousand dollars. In all
the work, the commissioner shall utilize state road forces or
prison labor and state road equipment and shall manufacture,
process and assemble all the materials and supplies for the work
whenever and wherever the commissioner, in his or her discretion,
finds work and services advantageous, economical and practicable
in the state road program.
If the work is to be done, or the materials therefor are to
be furnished by contract, the commissioner shall thereupon publish the following described advertisement as a Class II legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for the
publication shall be the county or municipality in which the road
lies. The advertisement shall also be published at least once in
at least one daily newspaper published in the city of Charleston
and in other journals or magazines as may to the commissioner
seem advisable. The advertisement shall solicit sealed proposals
for the construction or other improvement of the road, and for
the furnishing of materials therefor, accurately describing the
same, and stating the time and place for opening the proposals
and reserving the right to reject any and all proposals:
Provided, That whenever the estimated amount of any contract for
work or for materials or supplies is less than three thousand
dollars, the commissioner may not be required to advertise the
letting of the contract in newspapers as above required, but may
award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, when two or
more sealed proposals or bids have been received by him or her
without the advertisement, but the contract may not be so awarded
unless the bid of the successful bidder is three thousand dollars or less. The commissioner shall have the power to prescribe
proper prequalifications of contractors bidding on state road
construction work. To all sealed proposals there shall be
attached the certified check of the bidder or bidder's bond
acceptable to the commissioner, in the amount as the commissioner
shall specify in the advertisement, but not to exceed five
percent of the aggregate amount of the bid; but the amount shall
never be less than five hundred dollars. The proposals shall be
publicly opened and read at the time and place specified in the
advertisement, and the contract for the work, or for the supplies
or materials required therefor shall, if let, be awarded by the
commissioner to the lowest responsible bidder for the type of
construction selected. In case all bids be rejected, the
commissioner may thereafter do the work with commission forces or
with prison labor, or may readvertise in the same manner as
before and let a contract for the work pursuant thereto.