Senate panel advances bill to speed campus deferred-maintenance repairs with job-order contracting

The Senate Education Committee adopted amendments and reported House Bill 566 favorably after lawmakers said the bill would speed deferred-maintenance projects on college campuses by allowing job-order contracting as an alternative delivery method.

Representative Turner, author of HB 566, told the committee the bill is designed to shorten procurement timelines for campus repair projects. "Instead of waiting 6 or 7 months to have your contract done, we can be down to just a couple of weeks," Turner said. He and supporters said the law follows existing state procurement rules while simplifying contracting and reducing red tape on smaller repair jobs.

Senators and witnesses gave concrete examples of the approach's impact: one university decreased the number of projects completed in a 13-month period from 21 to 67 when red tape was removed for smaller projects, and security-lighting work that had been delayed for years was cited as the kind of repair the measure would accelerate. Committee members also said they expect the bill to increase transparency of how deferred-maintenance dollars are spent.

The committee adopted the amendment package (14-03) and voted to report HB 566 favorably as amended without objection. Senators indicated they would move the bill forward for further consideration to ensure financing and implementation details are addressed by the campuses and the system offices.