Summary — SB 2130 (North Dakota, 2025)
Title: An Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 37‑10 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to prequalification, selection, and contracting of architect, engineer, construction management, and land surveying services; and to declare an emergency.
Sponsor/Origin: Industry and Business Committee (at the request of the Adjutant General). Introduced March 10, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State March 18, 2025. Emergency clause; signed into law March 18, 2025.
Purpose
- Authorize the Adjutant General (or the Adjutant General’s designee) to prequalify, select, and enter contracts with consultants (architecture, engineering, construction management, land surveying, and related services) for projects under the Adjutant General’s purview, using streamlined procedures tied to existing NDCC procurement criteria.
Key provisions
- Authority: The Adjutant General or designee may prequalify, select, and contract for consultant services in specified professional areas.
- Prequalification standard: Prequalification must be based on detailed information provided by firms and evaluated using the criteria in NDCC 54‑44.7‑03(5).
- Indefinite‑quantity contracts: If a consultant meets prequalification criteria and accepts the Adjutant General’s terms/fee limits, the state may contract for an indefinite quantity of services in that area. Such contracts:
- May not exceed five years total (including renewals).
- Must be selected and negotiated in accordance with NDCC 54‑44.7‑03(7).
- Project‑level consultant selection must follow criteria in NDCC 54‑44.7‑03(5)(a)–(g).
- Procurement thresholds and processes (Adjutant General is not required to follow NDCC 54‑44.7‑03(3) or 54‑44.7‑04):
- Projects with estimated state consultant costs ≤ $250,000: may be procured by direct negotiation with a selected prequalified firm after considering project nature, proximity, capability/timeliness, past performance, and budget conformity.
- Projects > $250,000 and ≤ $500,000: must follow selection criteria, notify all prequalified firms in the relevant area, and allow a minimum of 7 calendar days for firms to submit additional information.
- Projects > $500,000: must notify all prequalified firms, allow a minimum of 21 days to respond, and follow NDCC 54‑44.7‑03 subsections 4–7.
- Flexibility: For projects below the thresholds, the Adjutant General may elect to use any of the procurement processes above as deemed appropriate.
- Multiple‑project solicitations: The Adjutant General may include multiple projects in one solicitation; the highest applicable dollar threshold and its procedures apply to the entire solicitation.
- Emergency clause: Act declared an emergency (effective immediately upon signature).
Who is affected
- Adjutant General’s office / agencies it oversees (projects procurements).
- Architecture, engineering, construction management, and land surveying firms (prequalification, contract opportunities, and competition procedures).
- Project stakeholders (contract timelines, procurement transparency and vendor choices).
Procedural/timeline notes
- Act contains an emergency clause and was signed March 18, 2025, making provisions effective immediately upon signature.
- Implements procurement exemptions and streamlined selection steps specifically for the Adjutant General’s consultant contracting, but ties evaluation and selection to existing NDCC 54‑44.7‑03 criteria.
Potential impacts (neutral observations)
- Likely to speed procurement and permit standing indefinite‑quantity contracts for the Adjutant General’s projects.
- Shifts some procurement discretion to the Adjutant General (may reduce certain competitive steps for smaller projects while preserving notice and response periods for larger ones).
- Affects how consultant firms compete for and are selected on Adjutant General projects; firms will need to meet prequalification criteria and be responsive to notice/response windows.
