Committee votes 14-0 to recommend 'do not pass' on bill changing architect/engineer procurement threshold

House Bill 1121, a bill to amend North Dakota Century Code sections 48-01.2-01 and 48-01.2-02.1 governing the threshold for procuring plans, drawings and specifications from architects and engineers for public improvements, drew short testimony and a unanimous committee recommendation to kill the measure.

The committee’s vote came after Cody Schulz, director of North Dakota Parks and Recreation, told lawmakers the department had worked with state agencies and sponsors after a similar measure last biennium and asked the committee to “do a do not pass and kill this bill” so a revised draft can be prepared. “We believe that it's about an 85% solution,” Schulz said, adding he expects sponsor Representative Brandenburg to refile a narrower version later.

The bill had been drafted to change the dollar threshold that triggers the requirement to procure plans, drawings and specifications from an architect or engineer when a public improvement is planned. Schulz told the committee the current draft restores or clarifies several items that caused concern the last time the legislature considered similar language, including a new definition of “pre-engineered structure” and explicit language ensuring the definition would not sweep in regulated systems such as water or wastewater. He also said the definition would require that an eligible pre-engineered structure “comply with North Dakota building codes.”

After Schulz finished, Representative Bail moved a do-not-pass recommendation; Representative Vetter seconded. Chairman Schauer closed the hearing and the roll call recorded unanimous support for the do-not-pass motion. Committee members then moved the bill to the committee’s consent calendar; that motion also passed unanimously.

The committee record shows no substantive floor action on the bill itself; members and department staff said they expect sponsors to submit a revised bill that narrows definitions and addresses agencies’ concerns. No formal amendments to statutory text were adopted by the committee at the hearing.

The next steps, as Schulz explained, are to continue work with sponsors and affected agencies to refine definitions and safeguards before the bill returns to committee. For now, the committee’s recommendation is recorded as a do-not-pass and the bill was placed on the committee’s consent calendar.