GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	1 

SENATE BILL 177

Short Title:  GPAC-Construction Personnel Limit.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senator Martin of Guilford.
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Referred to:  Government Performance Audit.
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February 16, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT A RECOMMENDATION OF THE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AUDIT COMMITTEE TO PROVIDE THAT ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION STAFFING NEEDS OF THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND PROGRAM BE MET IN PART BY INCREASING THE PROPORTION OF OUTSIDE CONTRACT FORCES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  (a)	The General Assembly finds that the Department of Transportation's on-going strategy to increasingly rely on the use of private engineering firms to perform surveys, process control, and construction engineering and inspection functions should be continued.
With the Highway Trust Fund program entering a phase of expanded construction activity, having completed a number of project plans, the Department will need to further leverage its in-house construction staff to meet the requirements of the program.
(b)	The increased use of outside contract forces to perform quality control and quality assurance functions will require continued Department of Transportation construction staff involvement in project oversight and verification, careful selection of vendors, and rigorous contract administration of these projects.  The level of this outside contracting should be based on the following considerations:
(1)	Focus outside contract activity on the peak load requirements of the Highway Trust Fund construction program;
(2)	Retain sufficient in-house capability to address the base load requirements of the Highway Trust Fund construction program and properly administer the outside construction engineering and inspection-related contracts; and
(3)	Select contractors with significant experience in performing construction engineering and inspection for major road and bridge projects and familiarity with Department of Transportation engineering standards and construction specifications.
(c)	By using private engineering firms to handle more of the Highway Trust Fund program construction work load, the Department of Transportation can reduce the number of new in-house staff required to support the construction portion of the program.
Sec. 2.  The Secretary of Transportation shall report to the General Assembly, no later than September 1, 1993, a plan meeting the construction needs of the Highway Trust Fund program with a minimum of new construction staff in the Department of Transportation and increasing the use of outside contract forces while meeting the criteria in Section 1 of this act.
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.