Senate committee backs CMAR contracting option for public projects over $15 million

The West Virginia Senate Committee on Workforce voted to approve a committee substitute for Senate Bill 587, which would authorize construction management at-risk (CMAR) contracts for public construction projects that exceed $15,000,000, and recommended the bill be reported to the full Senate with a first referral to the Committee on Government Organization.

Committee counsel said the bill would create a two-step procurement process for CMAR projects: a request for qualifications to prequalify three firms, followed by a request for proposals that includes pricing and performance criteria. Under the proposal, the construction manager would serve as the builder during construction and assume legal responsibility to deliver the project within the contracted price. Counsel said the substitute raises the optional threshold for CMAR eligibility from $5,000,000 to $15,000,000, and that the bill is optional — existing competitive bid rules would still apply when CMAR is not used.

The substitute also includes provisions authorizing rulemaking, requires annual reporting by the purchasing division to the joint committee, sets a sunset date in 2030, and preserves a provision that bid terms remain valid and binding for 60 days from the bid opening. Counsel said the increased $15 million threshold reflects conversations with the lead sponsor and stakeholders, including contractors, who suggested a higher entry point for the CMAR option.

Jason Visatella, representing the Contractors Association of West Virginia, told the committee the association supports the substitute and the higher threshold. “Yes. Yes. The association is supportive of the bill, and, we, spoke with the sponsor and several other stakeholders about the, proposed change that that, Council Wolf recommended, increasing it to $15,000,000 as a minimum, and we are supportive of the change,” Visatella said.

Committee members voted to agree to the committee substitute and then voted to report the bill to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do pass, with the committee asking the chair of Government Organization to waive the second reference. The committee did not provide a roll-call vote tally in the transcript.

If enacted, the bill would provide state agencies and subdivisions an optional alternative procurement method for large public construction projects; it does not repeal or replace existing competitive-bid statutes when CMAR is not used.

The measure will next be considered by the full Senate and (as recommended by the committee) the Committee on Government Organization under its double-reference procedure.