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Utah Senate removes $250,000 threshold for design‑build procurement to aid small affordable‑housing projects
Summary
The Senate approved a first substitute to remove a $250,000 minimum cost limit for state design-and-build procurement, a change sponsors said will allow nonprofits and local governments to use design-build for single-family affordable housing projects.
The Utah Senate advanced a change to state procurement rules Wednesday that removes a $250,000 minimum cost threshold for design-and-build construction projects, sponsors said, a move intended to give nonprofits and local governments another tool to build affordable single‑family homes.
Sponsor remarks on the floor said the legislation originated from Habitat for Humanity and addresses a quirk in state law that blocked small design‑build projects. "This bill simply removes the $250,000 minimum requirement for a design and build project," the sponsor said, arguing that two similar projects priced on opposite sides of the line could previously receive different treatment because of the dollar cutoff. The sponsor said builders and the Associated General Contractors support the change.
Advocates and sponsors told senators design‑build procurement — in which a single entity handles both design and construction — can be more efficient for certain housing projects and preserve standard permitting and inspection safeguards. The sponsor said the change "provides another tool for private and public entities to create, design, [and] build affordable housing."
The chamber recorded the vote to move the first substitute for Senate Bill 143 to third reading as 25 yeas and 0 nays. President Niederhauser presided over the roll call. Senate passage to third reading was announced on the floor after the vote.
Next steps: the bill was ordered read a third time and will proceed through the remaining legislative steps required for final enactment and transmission as dictated by legislative rules.
