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Contractors tell Ohio committee ‘show your work’ bill would reduce risk and improve transparency
Summary
Witnesses on Senate Bill 262 urged the General Government Committee to require disclosure of deviations from industry-standard construction contract forms so bidders can spot changes without exhaustive legal review. Supporters said the change would help small contractors and streamline public procurement; the hearing concluded with written testimony noted.
At the Senate General Government Committee's third hearing on Senate Bill 262, contractors urged lawmakers to require that public construction contracts clearly identify any deviations from standard, industry-approved forms.
Mark Panzeca, president of Panzeca Construction Company, said SB 262 promotes fairness and transparency and reduces the administrative burden on smaller bidders that lack resources to hire attorneys to comb long contracts. "Contractors should be able to rely on industry approved standard documents without having to hire an attorney to review every standard contract," he testified.
Ryan Rescar, contracts manager at Ruhlin Construction, described lengthy public-works contracts and said the bill would streamline review by reverting language to the industry standard if parties failed to disclose changes. "This bill simply sets out to make it clear when changes have been made to an industry standard form," he said, noting that AIA documents already include change reports that pinpoint edits.
Both witnesses asked for the committee's favorable consideration; the committee accepted written testimony from several organizations and concluded the third hearing without taking a vote.
