Senate committee unanimously advances bill requiring quality-based selection for architects, engineers on projects over $1 million

Senator Sessler presented Senate Bill 51 to the committee, urging lawmakers to require quality-based selection (QBS) for architect and engineering procurements on public projects valued at more than $1 million.

"What Senate Bill 51 does is it would recognize that just as the law requires at the federal level ... for hiring and engaging an architect or engineer for projects over a million dollars in scale, the quality based selection process is followed," Senator Sessler said, describing QBS as a two-step process—selecting firms on qualifications first, then negotiating fees.

Sessler told the committee the Brooks Act and federal practice make QBS standard for complex public works procurements and that the bill would give local governments discretion to set evaluation criteria suited to their needs while preserving a qualifications-first approach on larger projects.

Opponents at the hearing said QBS is already available as an option and that making it mandatory would disadvantage smaller counties that lack procurement staff and experience. Halen Day of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) said counties sometimes rely on a traditional request-for-proposals process that lets evaluators see qualifications and price together; that method, she said, helps smaller counties judge market prices and manage limited budgets.

Ted Burgess, Fayette County's chief procurement officer, told the committee that procurement capacity varies widely across local governments and that many counties lack staff dedicated to engineering and design contracting. He said his county uses a traditional RFP for most procurements and that in practice the county separates technical evaluation from price so evaluators do not see price until after scoring. Burgess cautioned that SB 51 could create uncertainty about whether other procurement approaches—like contractor-led design-build or single-firm "engineer of record" contracts—remain allowable under the bill's text.

Senator Sessler answered those concerns by recounting examples from his experience in which a qualifications-first process produced better scope and fee outcomes than an initial low-bid or mixed-weight procurement, and by arguing that for complex projects local governments typically need outside technical expertise to define scope and avoid costly mistakes.

Committee action: after discussion, the committee moved and approved a do-pass recommendation for SB 51 unanimously. Committee members who spoke in favor said the rule would protect taxpayers on larger, technically complex projects; opponents said the bill removes discretionary procurement options many counties currently use and could disadvantage small governments.

Proper names: [{"name":"Brooks Act","type":"other"},{"name":"Board of Regents","type":"other"},{"name":"Association County Commissioners of Georgia","type":"organization"},{"name":"Fayette County","type":"agency"}]

Speakers:[{"name":"Senator Sessler","role_title":"State Senator, sponsor of SB 51","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Halen Day","role_title":"Representative, Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG)","affiliation_type":"nonprofit"},{"name":"Ted Burgess","role_title":"Chief Procurement Officer, Fayette County","affiliation_type":"government"},{"name":"Senator Gamm","role_title":"State Senator","affiliation_type":"government"}]

Authorities:[{"type":"other","name":"Brooks Act (federal qualifications-based selection for architects and engineers)","referenced_by":["Senator Sessler remarks"]},{"type":"other","name":"Board of Regents procurement practice (state-level example)","referenced_by":["Senator Sessler remarks"]}]

Actions:[{"kind":"motion","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"SB 51"},"motion":"Do pass recommendation on SB 51 (QBS for A/E procurements over $1,000,000)","mover":"Senator Gamm","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":7,"no":0,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":true,"notes":"committee unanimous"},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Committee approved do-pass recommendation; supporters and opponents asked for clarification on implementation and exceptions."}]

Discussion vs. decision

- Discussion: Sponsor described federal practice (Brooks Act) and said QBS prevents poor scope decisions; ACCG and county procurement officer said mandatory QBS would burden small counties and remove useful procurement options.

- Direction/assignment: Committee questioned scope and asked for clarity on how QBS would operate for county procurement teams with limited capacity.

- Formal action: committee voted unanimously to recommend SB 51 do pass.

Clarifying details

- Threshold: Senator Sessler framed QBS applicability for projects "over a million dollars in scale." (source_speaker: Senator Sessler)

- County procurement capacity: Fayette County reported awarding nine A/E contracts over a $75,000 threshold in calendar year 2024 with a purchasing staff of four; ACCG survey results were cited to show variance among counties (source_speaker: Ted Burgess, Halen Day).

Searchable tags:["QBS","SB51","procurement","architects","engineers","ACCG","Fayette County"]

Provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"4884.7397-4911.31","local_start":0,"local_end":76,"evidence_excerpt":"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of committee. I bring before you today Senate Bill 51.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"6673.745-6675.505","local_start":0,"local_end":36,"evidence_excerpt":"All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? Passes unanimously.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

Salience:{"overall":0.68,"overall_justification":"Procurement practice affects how local governments choose and contract architects/engineers; the bill was debated and unanimously advanced by committee.","impact_scope":"state","impact_scope_justification":"Affects local governments across the state if enacted, but discussion centered on capacity differences among counties.","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Unanimous committee passage indicates legislative momentum; opponents raised operational questions that merit follow-up.","novelty":0.4,"novelty_justification":"QBS is an established federal practice; the novelty is requiring it for local governments statewide above a $1 million threshold.","timeliness_urgency":0.5,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Bill advanced from committee; floor consideration may follow.","legal_significance":0.3,"legal_significance_justification":"Mostly procurement practice; legal risk limited relative to constitutional litigation seen in other hearing items.","budgetary_significance":0.35,"budgetary_significance_justification":"Potentially affects project costs and procurement staff workload; extent depends on local implementation.","affected_population_estimate":null,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Not specified; impacts local governments and taxpayers indirectly.","affected_population_confidence":0.0,"affected_population_confidence_justification":"No population estimate given.","budget_total_usd":null,"budget_total_usd_justification":"No overall budget figure provided; bill applies per-project threshold.","policy_stage":"committee","policy_stage_justification":"Bill received unanimous do-pass recommendation."}}],