§ 52:35B-7 — Required members of design-build team.

7. a. Each design-build team shall include a licensed or prequalified design professional independent from the contracting unit's licensed architect or engineer. The licensed or prequalified design professional shall be named in any proposal submitted to the contracting unit. b. Proposals shall be sealed and shall not be opened until expiration of the time established for making proposals as set forth in the solicitation. c. Proposals shall identify each person to whom the design-builder proposes to delegate obligations under the design-build contract. Persons so identified shall not be replaced without the approval of the contracting unit. d. Proposals shall establish the cost of the design-build contract which shall not be exceeded if the proposal is accepted without change. Afterward, the maximum cost in the proposal may be converted to fixed prices by negotiated agreement between the contracting unit and the design-builder. e. All proposals shall be received and opened at a previously announced time, where a synopsis of each shall be publicly read and recorded consistent with the provisions of subsection f. of this section. f. Unless and until a proposal is accepted, the drawings, specifications and other information in the proposal shall remain the property of the person making the proposal. The contracting unit shall make reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy and confidentiality of all proposals, and all information contained in the proposals, and shall not disclose the proposals or the information contained therein to the design-builders' competitors or the public. Once a proposal is accepted, the disclosure of the proposal and the information in the proposal, and the ownership of the drawings, specifications, and information therein, shall be determined in accordance with existing law and the terms of the design-build contract. L.2021, c.71, s.7.