§5614. Competition in award of contracts.

(a) Services.--

(1) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), all construction, reconstruction, repair or work of any nature made by an authority if the entire cost, value or amount, including labor and materials, exceeds a base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under subsection (c.1), shall be done only under contract to be entered into by the authority with the lowest responsible bidder upon proper terms after public notice asking for competitive bids as provided in this section.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to construction, reconstruction, repair or work done by employees of the authority or by labor supplied under agreement with a Federal or State agency with supplies and materials purchased as provided in this section.

(3) No contract shall be entered into for construction or improvement or repair of a project or portion thereof unless the contractor gives an undertaking with a sufficient surety approved by the authority and in an amount fixed by the authority for the faithful performance of the contract.

(4) The contract must provide among other things that the person or corporation entering into the contract with the authority will pay for all materials furnished and services rendered for the performance of the contract and that any person or corporation furnishing materials or rendering services may maintain an action to recover for them against the obligor in the undertaking as though such person or corporation was named in the contract if the action is brought within one year after the time the cause of action accrued.

(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the power of the authority to construct, repair or improve a project or portion thereof or any addition, betterment or extension thereto directed by the officers, agents and employees of the authority or otherwise than by contract.

(b) Supplies and materials.--All supplies and materials with a base price costing at least $18,500, subject to adjustment under subsection (c.1), shall be purchased only after advertisement as provided in this section. The authority shall accept the lowest bid, kind, quality and material being equal, but the authority shall have the right to reject any or all bids or select a single item from any bid. The provisions as to bidding shall not apply to the purchase of patented and manufactured products offered for sale in a noncompetitive market or solely by a manufacturer's authorized dealer.

(c) Quotations.--Written or telephonic price quotations from at least three qualified and responsible contractors shall be requested for a contract in excess of the base amount of $10,000, subject to adjustment under subsection (c.1), but is less than the amount requiring advertisement and competitive bidding. In lieu of price quotations, a memorandum shall be kept on file showing that fewer than three qualified contractors exist in the market area within which it is practicable to obtain quotations. A written record of telephonic price quotations shall be made and shall contain at least the date of the quotation; the name of the contractor and the contractor's representative; the construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance or work which was the subject of the quotation; and the price. Written price quotations, written records of telephonic price quotations and memoranda shall be retained for a period of three years.

(c.1) Adjustments.--Adjustments to the base amounts specified under subsections (a)(1), (b) and (c) shall be made as follows:

(1) The Department of Labor and Industry shall determine the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items (CPI-U) for the United States City Average as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2012, and for each successive 12-month period thereafter.

(2) If the department determines that there is no positive percentage change, then no adjustment to the base amounts shall occur for the relevant time period provided for in this subsection.

(3) (i) If the department determines that there is a positive percentage change in the first year that the determination is made under paragraph (1), the positive percentage change shall be multiplied by each base amount, and the products shall be added to the base amounts, respectively, and the sums shall be preliminary adjusted amounts.

(ii) The preliminary adjusted amounts shall be rounded to the nearest $100 to determine the final adjusted base amounts for purposes of subsections (a)(1), (b) and (c).

(4) In each successive year in which there is a positive percentage change in the CPI-U for the United States City Average, the positive percentage change shall be multiplied by the most recent preliminary adjusted amounts, and the products shall be added to the preliminary adjusted amount of the prior year to calculate the preliminary adjusted amounts for the current year. The sums thereof shall be rounded to the nearest $100 to determine the new final adjusted base amounts for purposes of subsections (a)(1), (b) and (c).

(5) The determinations and adjustments required under this subsection shall be made in the period between October 1 and November 15 of the year following the effective date of this subsection and annually between October 1 and November 15 of each year thereafter.

(6) The final adjusted base amounts and new final adjusted base amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4) shall become effective January 1 for the calendar year following the year in which the determination required under paragraph (1) is made.

(7) The department shall publish notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar year of the annual percentage change determined under paragraph (1) and the unadjusted or final adjusted base amounts determined under paragraphs (3) and (4) at which competitive bidding is required under subsection (a)(1) and (b) and written or telephonic price quotations are required under subsection (c), for the calendar year beginning the first day of January after publication of the notice. The notice shall include a written and illustrative explanation of the calculations performed by the department in establishing the unadjusted or final adjusted base amounts under this subsection for the ensuing calendar year.

(8) The annual increase in the preliminary adjusted base amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4) shall not exceed 3%.

(d) Notice.--The term "advertisement" or "public notice," wherever used in this section, shall mean a notice published at least ten days before the award of a contract in a newspaper of general circulation published in the municipality where the authority has its principal office or, if no newspaper of general circulation is published therein, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the authority has its principal office. Notice may be waived if the authority determines that an emergency exists which requires the authority to purchase the supplies and materials immediately.

(e) Conflict of interest.--No member of the authority or officer or employee of the authority may directly or indirectly be a party to or be interested in any contract or agreement with the authority if the contract or agreement establishes liability against or indebtedness of the authority. Any contract or agreement made in violation of this subsection is void, and no action may be maintained on the agreement against the authority.

(f) Entry into contracts.--

(1) Subject to subsection (e), an authority may enter into and carry out contracts or establish or comply with rules and regulations concerning labor and materials and other related matters in connection with a project or portion thereof as the authority deems desirable or as may be requested by a Federal agency to assist in the financing of the project or any part thereof. This paragraph shall not apply to any of the following:

(i) A case in which the authority has taken over by transfer or assignment a contract authorized to be assigned to it under section 5613 (relating to transfer of existing facilities to authority).

(ii) A contract in connection with the construction of a project which the authority may have had transferred to it by any person or private corporation.

(2) This subsection is not intended to limit the powers of an authority.

(g) Compliance.--A contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of public works shall comply with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1978 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Steel Products Procurement Act.

(h) Evasion.--

(1) An authority may not evade the provisions of this section as to bids or purchasing materials or contracting for services piecemeal for the purpose of obtaining prices under the amount required by this section upon transactions which should, in the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as one transaction amounting to more than the amount required by this section.

(2) This subsection is intended to make unlawful the practice of evading advertising requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts each for less than the advertising requirement price or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts each below that price when in either case the transaction involved should have been made as one transaction for one price.

(3) An authority member who votes to unlawfully evade the provisions of this section and who knows that the transaction upon which the member votes is or ought to be a part of a larger transaction and that it is being divided in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids commits a misdemeanor of the third degree for each contract entered into as a direct result of that vote.

(Dec. 17, 2001, P.L.926, No.110, eff. imd.; Nov. 3, 2011, P.L.367, No.90, eff. imd.)

Notation

2011 Amendment.  Act 90 amended subsecs. (a)(1), (b), (c) and (h)(1) and added subsec. (c.1). Section 4 of Act 90 provided that Act 90 shall apply to contracts and purchases advertised on or after January 1 of the year following the effective date of section 4.

2001 Amendment.  Act 110 amended subsecs. (a)(2) and (d), retroactive to June 19, 2001.