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Committee hears bill to require qualifications-based selection for local government architects and engineers; vote held
Summary
Christie Turello of ACC Georgia and sponsors presented HB 377 to require local governments to use qualifications-based selection for architects, engineers and related professional services at specified thresholds; the committee held the vote to allow the House sponsor to appear and answer questions.
The Senate considered a substitute tied to SB 51—presented as HB 377 in committee—that would require local governments to use qualifications-based selection (QBS) for professional services such as architecture and engineering on contracts that meet specified thresholds.
Christie Turello, director of government affairs for ACC Georgia, told the committee SB 51 had passed the Senate unanimously last year (54–1) and that the Senate substitute for HB 377 makes no substantive change except to push the effective date to July 2027. "The only change from SB 51 in this is the effective date. It's pushing it out to 2027," Turello said.
Turello explained the QBS process: local governments would evaluate and rank respondents based on qualifications, then enter price negotiations with the highest-ranked firm and move to the next if negotiations fail. The substitute would require QBS for professional services estimated at $75,000 or above and would continue the state-level rule that triggers QBS for projects with total construction costs of $1,000,000 or more.
Committee members asked whether the bill would interfere with existing two-bid rules for procurements between $20,000 and $200,000 and whether it could be used to steer contracts toward a single firm. Turello said the substitute preserves local control over evaluation criteria and that the bill is designed to expand competitiveness, noting ACC Georgia represents roughly 280 firms including many small firms.
Chairman Burns said he would hold the committee vote until the House sponsor could be present to clarify remaining questions and educate the committee further. The meeting adjourned without a committee vote on the substitute.
The transcript records interest in thresholds, local flexibility, and the bill's legislative history; members asked for more detail about safeguards against effectively creating sole-source contracts through strict qualification language.
