Paper Plan Law Goes into Effect July 1, 2010
One year ago, MBI was able to pass a law that we thought at the time would provide clarity to a process by which paper plans would be distributed to prospective bidders at no charge. This had been a time-honored policy that worked well for architects, engineers, contractors, public owners and most importantly…the Iowa taxpayer. However, owner representatives (architects and engineers) had a different interpretation of the new law in that paper plans would be provided to prospective bidders, but a non-refundable deposit would be applied to paper plan documents. Therefore, rather than have the courts and the lawyers determine paper plan distribution policies, MBI decided to take a proactive legislative effort and amend the law so that there was a clear standard on paper plan distribution.
With the signing of Senate File 2389 on April 26th, 2010, the governor put into law the clarification MBI was wanting in which paper plans will be provided at no charge to prospective bidders. If a public owner requires a deposit as part of its paper plan distribution policy that deposit must be refundable and can not exceed $250 per set. If however, if the plans are not returned in a timely fashion (14 days after the award of the contract) or in a re-useable condition, the deposit shall be forfeited. Lastly, the new law also states that the architect and / or engineer of record are not financially responsible for costs associated with paper plan distribution. This new law will go into effect on July 1, 2010.
Here is the text of the new law. (The underlined text is the newly added language.)
Iowa Code Chapter 26.3, subsection 2:
A governmental entity shall have an engineer licensed under chapter 542B, a landscape architect licensed under chapter 544B, or an architect registered under chapter 544A prepare plans and specifications, and calculate the estimated total cost of a proposed public improvement. A governmental entity shall ensure that a sufficient number of paper copies of the project's contract documents, including all drawings, plans, specifications, and estimated total costs of the proposed public improvement are made available for distribution at no charge to prospective bidders, subcontractor bidders, suppliers, and contractor plan room services. If a deposit is required as part of a paper contract documents distribution policy by the public owner, the deposit shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars per set which shall be refunded upon return of the contract documents within fourteen days after award of the project. If the contract documents are not returned in a timely manner and in a reusable condition, the deposit shall be forfeited. The governmental entity shall reimburse the landscape architect, architect, or professional engineer for the actual costs of preparation and distribution of plans and specifications.
Also, there may be instances in which the governmental entity or its representative stipulates a postage, shipping and / or handling fee to be charged for all paper plan recipients. If you run into such a requirement, it is important to remember that the new law states that the governmental entity is responsible for all costs associated with preparation and distribution and that the architect and / or engineer should direct such charges back to the owner for reimbursement.
Should you have any questions on the new law, please do not hesitate to contact the MBI main office in Des Moines at (515) 288-8904 and ask for Scott Norvell, Eric Ramsey or Chad Kleppe.
