Senate Bill 2576

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 31-11-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO UTILIZE THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT-RISK METHOD OF PROJECT DELIVERY DURING SUBSEQUENT CONSTRUCTION PHASES OF THE MUSEUM OF MISSISSIPPI HISTORY AND MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 31-11-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, 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, demolitions or improvements are to be made under the provisions of this chapter, subject to the regulations adopted by the Public Procurement Review Board.

(2) The department shall have full power to erect buildings, make repairs, additions or improvements, demolitions, to grant or acquire easements or rights-of-way, and to buy materials, supplies and equipment for any of the institutions or departments of the state subject to the regulations adopted by 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;

(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, 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 * * *.; and

(r) Utilize the construction manager at-risk method of project delivery in accordance with Section 31-7-13.2 in subsequent contract phases of the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Project. The department shall procure construction management services pursuant to Section 31-7-13.2(5). After the department procures the construction manager, notwithstanding anything to the contrary within Section 31-7-13.2 or Section 31-7-13, the manager shall procure any and all resulting construction contracts necessary to complete the project. All such contracts shall be between the manager and the contractor(s) and shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 31-7-13. For the purposes of this section, the department shall be deemed to have complied with Section 31-7-13.2(1) and (3).

(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);

(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) As an alternative to other methods of awarding contracts as prescribed by law, the department may elect to use the method of contracting for construction projects set out in Sections 31-7-13.1 and 31-7-13.2; however, the dual-phase design-build method of construction contracting authorized under Section 31-7-13.1 may be used only when the Legislature has specifically required or authorized the use of this method in the legislation authorizing a project.

(10) The department shall have the authority, for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, and in addition to all other rights and powers granted by law, to create and maintain a list of suspended and debarred contractors and subcontractors. Consistent with this authority, the department may adopt regulations governing the suspension or debarment of contractors and subcontractors, which regulations shall be subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board. A suspended or debarred contractor or subcontractor shall be disqualified from consideration for contracts with the department during the suspension or debarment period in accordance with the department's regulations.

(11) This section shall not apply to the Mississippi State Port Authority.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.