Committee rejects DOT proposal to stop county newspaper bid notices, citing rural public access concerns

The House Transportation Committee voted to recommend a do‑not‑pass on Senate Bill 2062 after extended questioning about how removing a statutory requirement to publish construction bid notices in local county newspapers would affect public notice in rural communities.

Matt Linneman, deputy director for engineering at the North Dakota Department of Transportation, said the change would update Century Code to allow the DOT to use its website, targeted email lists, subscription services and other electronic platforms to reach contractors and stakeholders. He said the current statutory requirement—publication in the county's official newspaper for projects above the defined threshold—has become time consuming and inefficient and costs the agency staff time to comply.

"All of our bid opportunities are posted on our website," Linneman said. He added the DOT uses a GovDelivery listserv and other outreach tools and that most contractors already look to the DOT website for lettings and bid information.

Industry representatives generally supported the change. Russ Hanson of the Associated General Contractors of North Dakota told the committee that contractors have used DOT electronic listings since the agency moved to electronic bid submission in 2005 and that the industry subscribes to DOT bid postings.

Opponents said publication in the local county newspaper is a guaranteed form of public notice for residents—particularly older or rural residents who do not use the internet. Jack McDonald of the North Dakota Newspaper Association urged the committee to reject the bill, describing the $29,000 biennial agency cost estimate to run legal ads as negligible compared with the public notice function newspapers provide.

Several committee members said they were sympathetic to DOT's administrative burden but were not willing to remove a guaranteed statutory notice in local papers. Representative Schatz moved a do‑not‑pass recommendation, seconded by Representative Casper. The clerk recorded the vote as 12‑0‑2; the motion carried.

The committee discussed that DOT will continue project‑level public outreach—public meetings, press releases and travel‑map notices—when projects near construction, but members said those practices do not replace a statutory requirement for publication of bid solicitations that ensures local notice.

With the committee's do‑not‑pass recommendation, the bill does not advance from committee.