§ 38:2225.2.5 — Design-build contracts; authorized use by any regional transit authority for new

Louisiana § 38:2225.2.5

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 38: Public Contracts, Works and Improvements

Text

§2225.2.5. Design-build contracts; authorized use by any regional transit authority for new
ferries on the Mississippi River
A.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, and subject to the
provisions of this Section, any regional transit authority created by law may let contracts for
any new ferry on the Mississippi River in which the design and construction phases of the
ferry project are combined into a single contract.
(2) For the purposes of this Section:
(a) "Authority" means a regional transit authority.
(b) "Design-builder" means the person or entity contractually obligated to deliver the
design and construction of a new ferry on the Mississippi River.
B. Prior to letting any such contract, an authority shall adopt a resolution establishing
the design-build program for any new ferry. The resolution shall include, at a minimum, the
following provisions:
(1) Requirements that a design-builder to whom a design-build contract is awarded,
or any person or entity to whom a design-builder may sublet, shall be duly registered,
licensed, or otherwise qualified to perform such design and construction service as required
by law, and registered to do business in Louisiana.
(2) Requirements for the composition of a technical review committee to grade and
judge the statements of qualifications and technical proposals submitted pursuant to the
request for qualifications and the request for technical proposals. At least one member of the
technical review committee shall be a maritime engineer, and the resolution shall so provide.
(3) Specific requirements for the design-build program and the design-build contract,
including but not limited to:
(a) Public announcement procedures for solicitation of interested design-build
competitors. The resolution shall provide that a notice of intent to select a single legal entity
for design-build services and to request letters of interest and statements of qualifications
from qualified firms or teams shall be distributed by the authority through advertisement in
the official journal of the authority, by appearance on the authority's Internet home page, if
any, and by other means to ensure adequate response, including newspapers, trade journals,
and other forms of media which may be appropriate for specialty services. The notice of
intent shall be advertised a minimum of ten days prior to the deadline for receipt of responses
and shall contain a brief description of the project, the required scope of services, and
sufficient information for design-build entities to determine their interest and to enable them
to submit a letter of interest and statement of qualifications. The authority may readvertise
the notice of intent using additional media or publications in an attempt to solicit additional
responses if the number of responses is inadequate.
(b) Scope of service requirements to be met by the design-builder selected for the
contract.
(c) Requirements for a request for qualifications and statements of qualifications to
be submitted by competitors for the design-build contract.
(d) Criteria and rating procedures for choosing a short list from among the persons
submitting statements of qualifications to whom requests for the submission of technical
proposals will be made.
(e) Requirements for cost proposals to be submitted by competitors for the design-build contract.
(f) Requirements concerning how the technical review committee shall grade, judge,
and rank the technical proposals and make recommendations to the governing authority of
the regional transit authority.
(g) Requirements for the selection process for the award of the design-build contract.
C. The design-build program and any design-build contract entered into pursuant to
the design-build program shall be subject to the following procedures and limitations:
(1) Statements of qualifications from at least two qualified design-build competitors
must be received in response to a formal request for qualifications in order to proceed with
a request for technical proposals.
(2) Technical proposals shall be requested from no fewer than two of the qualified
design-build competitors who submit statements of qualifications for the design-build
program.
(3) The authority may use a private design professional or its own staff to develop
a description of the project and the required scope of services. The description of the project
and the required scope of services shall include design criteria, analyses, reports, and cost
estimates for the design-build project as prepared by a private design professional or the
authority staff.
(4) The technical review committee shall grade, judge, and rank the technical
proposals and make a recommendation to the authority's governing authority for the
awarding of the contract in accordance with requirements of this Section, the resolution, the
request for qualifications, and the request for technical proposals.
(5)(a) The final selection of the design-build competitor to whom the contract shall
be awarded shall be made by the authority's governing authority.
(b) Such selection shall be made upon the basis of the best design for the purposes
set forth in the request for qualifications and the best cost for that design, taking into account
costs of construction and operation and maintenance of that design. Competitors from the
short list from whom technical proposals have been requested may submit alternate designs
and costs to ensure the greatest number of options from which the award may be made so as
to promote best cost, as described in this Subparagraph, and the interests of the taxpayers.
(6)(a) An adjusted score approach shall be used by the authority in determining the
winning proposal. An adjusted score shall be determined using the following components:
(i) The technical score determined by the technical review committee. Weighing
factors may be assigned to each element depending on its relative magnitude or significance
to the overall project. Each technical review committee member shall rate his assigned
element of the proposal from each of the entities on the short list and shall submit such
scores to the chairman of the technical review committee. The schedule and price bid shall
not be made known to the technical review committee during the scoring process. The
chairman of the technical review committee shall adjust the scores for any applicable
weighing factors and shall determine the total technical score for each proposal.
(ii) Prior to determining the adjusted score, the chairman of the technical review
committee shall notify each design-build proposer, in writing, of each proposer's final total
technical score. A proposer may request, in writing, a review of its final total technical score
by the authority's designated representative. If any proposer requests a review of its total
technical score, the designated representative shall hold a hearing to review such within a
reasonable time after the request has been received by the designated representative. The
designated representative shall give the requesting proposer reasonable notice of the time and
place of such hearing. The requesting proposer may appear at the hearing and present facts
and arguments in support of the request for review of its final total technical score.
(iii) The individual scoring of each member of the technical review committee shall
be considered a public record and available for public view.
(iv) The designated representative shall present his findings from the hearing to the
governing authority of the authority. The governing authority shall determine what action
shall be taken regarding the proposer's request to review its final total technical score.
Except as provided for in Subsection D of this Section, the governing authority's decision
shall be final and not subject to appeal by any legal process.
(v) The time value, consisting of the product of the proposed contract time expressed
in calendar days multiplied by the value-per-calendar-day expressed in dollars established
by the authority and included in the "Scope of Services Package".
(vi) The price proposal.
(b) The chairman of the technical review committee shall recommend the proposal
with the lowest adjusted score to the authority's governing authority. The adjusted score for
each entity's design-build proposal shall be determined by the following formula: Adjusted
Score = (Price Bid + Time Value) divided by Technical Score. If the Time Value is not used,
the Adjusted Score shall be determined by the following formula: Adjusted Score = Price Bid
divided by Technical Score.
D. There shall be no challenge by any legal process to the choice of the successful
designer-builder unless filed and served on the presiding officer of the authority's governing
authority within seven calendar days after the award of the design-build contract. Any such
challenge shall be limited to fraud, bias for pecuniary or personal reasons not related to the
interests of the taxpayers, or arbitrary and capricious selection of the successful design-builder. Any such challenge shall be heard as a summary proceeding by the district court of
proper venue for the authority not less than ten days after service of the petition, excluding
legal holidays.
E. Once the design-builder has been chosen, a contract for a stipulated maximum
total cost may be executed, as provided in the authority's award resolution. The final cost of
the design-build contract may be increased or decreased to account for inflation if provided
for in the contract, for changes in the scope of work, or for a combination thereof, or for
other conditions of which the design-builder either did not have knowledge of, or could not
have reasonably foreseen the possibility of, concerning the design and construction provided
any change is related to the original project and scope of services.
F. The provisions of this Section shall supersede any conflicting provisions of any
other law, including but not limited to the requirements of Chapter 10 of this Title.

Legislative History

Acts 2015, No. 30, §1, eff. May 29. 2015.