Senators press DPW on procurement, suggest contractor licensing board to curb low-bid quality problems

Several senators used the DPW budget hearing to press department leaders on procurement practices and quality control for construction projects. Members said they have seen instances where low bidders deliver substandard work and recommended stronger prequalification, oversight or a contractor-licensing board to reduce repeat repairs and project delays.

DPW officials said the department follows procurement regulations and typically uses panels of technical evaluators for requests for proposals (RFPs) and uses the invitation-to-bid (ITB) process for construction where the lowest responsive bidder is selected. DPW said evaluators must document scoring and can invite interviews with proponents; procurement staff and agency counsel review awards and may question panel decisions.

Senators expressed concerns about inconsistent contractor capacity, the use of newly formed companies, and the adequacy of one-year warranties for road projects. DPW officials said they had previously drafted sample legislation to create a contractor-licensing board and would supply a copy to senators. Members asked DPW and procurement to examine formal prequalification and multi-year warranty provisions to improve outcomes and reduce rework.

Why it matters: Repeated repairs and poor-quality construction elevate long-term costs for the territory and can delay high-priority infrastructure. Senators called for clearer standards for bidder prequalification and for procurement to give greater weight to technical capacity and past performance in awards.

DPW agreed to provide the draft contractor-licensing legislation it previously prepared and pledged to keep working with procurement and the attorney general’s office on transparent panel processes and documentation for awards.