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Committee hears bill to align joint operating agencies’ procurement thresholds with PUDs
Summary
House Bill 1461 would allow joint operating agencies (JOAs) to use the same procurement thresholds and purchase authorities that public utility districts (PUDs) have today; Energy Northwest and other JOAs testified in support, citing streamlined procurement for clean energy projects.
Rob Hatfield, committee staff, briefed the Capital Budget Committee on House Bill 1461 and said the bill would remove current sealed-bid dollar thresholds that apply to joint operating agencies and instead authorize JOAs to purchase materials and contract for work under the same dollar and procedural limits that govern public utility districts.
Attesting to the need for parity, Representative Stern said the bill aims to ‘‘help joint operating agencies fulfill that mission and build new power structures’’ and to give JOAs the same authority public utility districts already have. David Jordan and Chris LaPlante, representing Energy Northwest, testified in support. Jordan described Energy Northwest as ‘‘a joint operating agency…with an entirely clean energy generation portfolio’’ and requested statutory alignment to modernize procurement and adjust outdated bid thresholds.
Hatfield noted a fiscal note was available in the bill packet and that the Department of Commerce assessed no fiscal impact. Committee members asked no substantive follow-up questions and closed the public hearing after remote testifiers completed their remarks. No committee vote was taken at the hearing.
