MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2006 Regular Session
To: Public Property; Appropriations
By: Representative Weathersby
AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW SECTION TO BE CODIFIED AS SECTION 31-11-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION OF ANY NEW PUBLIC FACILITY SHALL COMPLY WITH CERTAIN BUILDING CODE STANDARDS AS ADOPTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION, BUREAU OF BUILDING, GROUNDS AND REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION, BUREAU OF BUILDING, GROUNDS AND REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TO REGULATE CERTAIN BUILDING FEATURES; TO AMEND SECTION 31-11-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, AS AMENDED BY HOUSE BILL NO. 784, 2006 REGULAR SESSION, TO REMOVE THE AUTHORITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO USE THE DESIGN-BUILD METHOD OF CONTRACTING FOR CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO ALLOW STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES, AND OTHER STATE AGENCIES TO MANAGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS WITH A VALUE OF $250,000.00 OR LESS PROVIDED THAT EACH AGENCY MEETS DEPARTMENTALLY DEVELOPED CRITERIA AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO ADOPT BUILDING CODE STANDARDS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 31-11-33, Mississippi Code of 1972:
31-11-33. (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings hereinafter ascribed:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management.
(b) "Public facility" means any building or other facility owned by the State of Mississippi, or by any agency, department of the State of Mississippi, that is occupied, used or under the control of the State of Mississippi, or any agency or department of the State of Mississippi, or any junior college district of the State of Mississippi, or the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi, or any institution under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi.
(2) Any public facility newly constructed from and after July 1, 2006, shall comply with and be built according to specifications not less stringent than those required by the International Code Council and such other standards as adopted by the department that provide guidelines for plumbing, electrical, gas, sanitary and other physical components of new building construction.
(3) Upon the awarding of a design contract for a new public facility, the architect/engineer shall prepare drawings and specifications in conformity with the code requirements in effect at the time of agreement or, if the code requirements at the time of the agreement are amended, then the drawings and specifications shall be prepared according to the more stringent standards.
(4) The department may regulate the height, number of stories and size of public facilities, the percentage of the lot that may be occupied, courts and other open spaces, and the location and use of public facilities.
SECTION 2. Section 31-11-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended by House Bill 784, 2006 Regular Session, is amended as follows:
31-11-3. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration, for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, in addition to all other rights and powers granted by law, shall have full power and authority to employ and compensate architects or other employees necessary for the purpose of making inspections, preparing plans and specifications, supervising the erection of any buildings, and making any repairs or additions as may be determined by the Department of Finance and Administration to be necessary, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The department shall have entire control and supervision of, and determine what, if any, buildings, additions, repairs or improvements are to be made under the provisions of this chapter, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board.
(2) The department shall have full power to erect buildings, make repairs, additions or improvements, and buy materials, supplies and equipment for any of the institutions or departments of the state subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board. In addition to other powers conferred, the department shall have full power and authority as directed by the Legislature, or when funds have been appropriated for its use for these purposes, to:
(a) Build a state office building;
(b) Build suitable plants or buildings for the use and housing of any state schools or institutions, including the building of plants or buildings for new state schools or institutions, as provided for by the Legislature;
(c) Provide state aid for the construction of school buildings;
(d) Promote and develop the training of returned veterans of the United States in all sorts of educational and vocational learning to be supplied by the proper educational institution of the State of Mississippi, and in so doing allocate monies appropriated to it for these purposes to the Governor for use by him in setting up, maintaining and operating an office and employing a state director of on-the-job training for veterans and the personnel necessary in carrying out Public Law No. 346 of the United States;
(e) Build and equip a hospital and administration building at the Mississippi State Penitentiary;
(f) Build and equip additional buildings and wards at the Boswell Retardation Center;
(g) Construct a sewage disposal and treatment plant at the Mississippi State Hospital, at Whitfield and in so doing acquire additional land as may be necessary, and to exercise the right of eminent domain in the acquisition of this land;
(h) Build and equip the Mississippi central market and purchase or acquire by eminent domain, if necessary, any lands needed for this purpose;
(i) Build and equip suitable facilities for a training and employing center for the blind;
(j) Build and equip a gymnasium at Columbia Training School;
(k) Approve or disapprove the expenditure of any money appropriated by the Legislature when authorized by the bill making the appropriation;
(l) Expend monies appropriated to it in paying the state's part of the cost of any street paving;
(m) Sell and convey state lands when authorized by the Legislature, cause said lands to be properly surveyed and platted, execute all deeds or other legal instruments, and do any and all other things required to effectively carry out the purpose and intent of the Legislature. Any transaction which involves state lands under the provisions of this paragraph shall be done in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 29-1-1;
(n) Collect and receive from educational institutions of the State of Mississippi monies required to be paid by these institutions to the state in carrying out any veterans' educational programs;
(o) Purchase lands for building sites, or as additions to building sites, for the erection of buildings and other facilities which the department is authorized to erect, and demolish and dispose of old buildings, when necessary for the proper construction of new buildings. Any transaction which involves state lands under the provisions of this paragraph shall be done in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 29-1-1;
(p) Obtain business property insurance with a deductible of not less than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) on state-owned buildings under the management and control of the department; and
(q) In consultation with and approval by the Chairmen of the Public Property Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, enter into contracts for the purpose of providing parking spaces for state employees who work in the Woolfolk Building, the Carroll Gartin Justice Building or the Walter Sillers Office Building. The provisions of this paragraph (q) shall stand repealed on July 1, 2010.
(3) The department shall survey state-owned and state-utilized buildings to establish an estimate of the costs of architectural alterations, pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USCS, Section 12111 et seq. The department shall establish priorities for making the identified architectural alterations and shall make known to the Legislative Budget Office and to the Legislature the required cost to effectuate such alterations. To meet the requirements of this section, the department shall use standards of accessibility that are at least as stringent as any applicable federal requirements and may consider:
(a) Federal minimum guidelines and requirements issued by the United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and standards issued by other federal agencies;
(b) The criteria contained in the American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings Accessible and Usable by the Physically Handicapped and any amendments thereto as approved by the American Standards Association, Incorporated (ANSI Standards);
(c) Design manuals;
(d) Applicable federal guidelines;
(e) Current literature in the field;
(f) Applicable safety standards; and
(g) Any applicable environmental impact statements.
(4) The department shall observe the provisions of Section 31-5-23, in letting contracts and shall use Mississippi products, including paint, varnish and lacquer which contain as vehicles tung oil and either ester gum or modified resin (with rosin as the principal base of constituents), and turpentine shall be used as a solvent or thinner, where these products are available at a cost not to exceed the cost of products grown, produced, prepared, made or manufactured outside of the State of Mississippi.
(5) The department shall have authority to accept grants, loans or donations from the United States government or from any other sources for the purpose of matching funds in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
(6) The department shall build a wheelchair ramp at the War Memorial Building which complies with all applicable federal laws, regulations and specifications regarding wheelchair ramps.
(7) The department shall review and preapprove all architectural or engineering service contracts entered into by any state agency, institution, commission, board or authority regardless of the source of funding used to defray the costs of the construction or renovation project for which services are to be obtained. The provisions of this subsection (7) shall not apply to any architectural or engineering contract paid for by self-generated funds of any of the state institutions of higher learning, nor shall they apply to community college projects that are funded from local funds or other nonstate sources which are outside the Department of Finance and Administration's appropriations or as directed by the Legislature. The provisions of this subsection (7) shall not apply to any construction or design projects of the State Military Department that are funded from federal funds or other nonstate sources.
(8) The department shall have the authority to obtain annually from the state institutions of higher learning information on all building, construction and renovation projects including duties, responsibilities and costs of any architect or engineer hired by any such institutions.
(9) * * * When funding is provided through the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, the department may authorize the state institutions of higher learning, community and junior colleges, and other state agencies to manage any construction or renovation project with a value not exceeding Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00). The department shall develop criteria for management of such projects that each agency must follow in order to manage the projects. Only agencies that the department deems capable of managing by the criteria may manage these projects. Additionally, the department shall require agencies managing these projects to do the following:
(a) Use standard departmentally approved contracts and project management procedures; and
(b) Conduct projects on a reimbursable basis and require documentation that the department deems appropriate for payment of claims. Reimbursement shall be on a one-time basis at completion and approval of project documentation submittals.
The department shall revoke the authority of any agency to perform these project management functions if, in its opinion, an agency has not followed the department's requirements for managing projects. The authority granted to the department in this section shall not apply to projects funded directly to the institutions of higher learning, community and junior colleges, or other state agencies through separate appropriation or other means.
(10) The department shall adopt building code standards for the new construction of public facilities in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 31-11-33.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.