ND DOT seeks to drop county‑newspaper requirement for construction bid notices

The North Dakota Department of Transportation asked the Senate Transportation Committee to approve Senate Bill 2062 to allow the department to advertise construction bid opportunities electronically rather than publishing legal notices in each county’s official newspaper.

The bill, introduced at the hearing by Matt Lindeman, deputy director for engineering at the North Dakota Department of Transportation, would amend “section 240219 in North Dakota Century Code” to permit the DOT to use its website, targeted email lists, subscription services and other electronic platforms in place of the current newspaper publication requirement. Lindeman said the change would broaden contractor outreach and reduce administrative time and cost.

"Those legal advertisements printed in local newspapers are not the most effective method to advertise large highway infrastructure projects nor the best way to reach a statewide audience of contractors and stakeholders interested in bidding on these projects," Lindeman said. He told the committee the DOT already posts bids on its website, maintains subscription notifications and keeps a list of prequalified contractors.

Lindeman told lawmakers the department’s biennial spending on newspaper legal ads is about $29,000 and that typical competitive lettings draw three to five bidders, though some projects get as many as 10 and others get zero bids. He said many bidders are based outside the county where a project is located and some are out‑of‑state, so the DOT seeks broader, faster dissemination to increase competition and reduce administrative work.

Cecile Worman, representing the North Dakota Newspaper Association, urged the committee to reject the bill, saying removing the county newspaper requirement would reduce notice to the general public and harm local oversight.

"It doesn't notify the public and actually can decrease the visibility of a project for the people who actually live near where that project is gonna happen," Worman said. She told the committee that a recent industry survey she submitted shows "8 out of 10 North Dakotans named newspapers as the preferred method for receiving public notice over government websites." Worman also noted about 20 of the smaller weekly papers do not have websites and that newspapers archive public notices in print and online; she said state law already requires publication of public notices on ndpublicnotices.com.

Russ Hanson of the Associated General Contractors of North Dakota described his organization as neutral on the bill and told lawmakers that the construction industry long uses the DOT website and electronic bidding to plan seasonal work. "An entire year's projects are on the DOT website," Hanson said, adding firms consider the DOT site the place to plan business.

Committee members asked DOT staff to provide an example of the legal ad that appears in county papers and pressed DOT on how much staff time the current process consumes. Lindeman said the dollar cost is modest but the administrative burden of ensuring timely publication in every affected county is significant.

The committee took testimony from proponents, opponents and neutral industry witnesses and closed the hearing on Senate Bill 2062 without a committee vote. Several members requested the DOT provide samples of the actual newspaper notices for the committee to review before any further action.