An Act to Require Responsible Contracting Practices for Public Construction Projects
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1746
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: COLLINGS, JACKSON
Amends: 26 MRSA §1318

Legislative Document
No. 1746
H.P. 1125
House of Representatives, April 20, 2023
An Act to Require Responsible Contracting Practices for Public 
Construction Projects
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative COLLINGS of Portland.
Cosponsored by President JACKSON of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1.  5 MRSA c. 155, sub-c. 3 is enacted to read:
SUBCHAPTER 3
RESPONSIBLE CONTRACTING
§1826-P.  Definitions
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Bureau.  "Bureau" means the Bureau of General Services within the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services.
2.  Class A apprenticeship program.  "Class A apprenticeship program" means an 
apprenticeship program that is registered with and approved by the United States 
Department of Labor or the state apprenticeship agency as defined in Title 26, section 3201, 
subsection 22 and has graduated apprentices to journeyman status for at least 3 of the past 
years.
3.  Construction project.  "Construction project" or "project" means a publicly funded 
project to build, construct or complete a major alteration or repair of buildings or public 
works that is funded with state funds.
4.  Contractor.  "Contractor" means a developer, construction manager, prime 
contractor, subcontractor or any other entity that performs work on a construction project 
or submits a bid to perform such work.
5.  Craft worker. "Craft worker" means a person who possesses experience and 
proficiency in a trade involved in building construction.
6.  Prime contractor.  "Prime contractor" means a contractor that has entered into a 
contract with the State for a construction project and that is responsible for completion of 
the project even if that prime contractor employs one or more subcontractors to carry out 
portions of the project.
§1826-Q.  Contractor responsibility certification
A contractor that submits a bid or is included as a contractor on a bid for a construction 
project shall submit a contractor responsibility certification form at the time of the bid and 
meet all requirements of this section. The bureau shall administer the contractor 
responsibility certification process and provide necessary forms to potential bidders.
1.  Certification requirements.  A contractor submitting a contractor responsibility 
certification form under this section shall make the certifications and meet the requirements 
as set out in this subsection.
A.  The contractor and its employees shall hold all valid and effective licenses, 
registrations or certificates required by federal, state, county or local law, regulations, 
rules or ordinances, including, but not limited to, licenses, registrations or certificates 
required to conduct business in the designated location and to perform the construction, 
trade or specialty work the contractor proposes to perform.
B.  The contractor shall meet any bonding requirements and insurance requirements of 
applicable law or the contract. Insurance requirements may include, but are not limited 
to, general liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance and unemployment 
insurance.
C.  The contractor shall certify that it has not been suspended or debarred from 
eligibility to receive government contracts, including subcontracts, by any federal, 
state, county or local government entity or authority in the 3 years prior to the date of 
the bid.
D.  The contractor shall certify that it has not defaulted on any construction project in 
the 3 years prior to the date of the bid.
E.  The contractor shall certify that it has not been convicted of any crime relating to 
its contracting business in the 10 years prior to the date of the bid.
F.  The contractor shall certify that it has not been found in violation of any law, rules, 
regulations or ordinances applicable to its contracting business and required, as a result 
of the violation, to make payment of a fine, back pay, damages or any other type of 
penalty in the amount of $1,000 or more in the 3 years prior to the date of the bid.
G.  A prime contractor under contract for a construction project for which the State 
provides any portion of the funding shall commit to paying all craft workers employed 
on the project the wage rates and fringe benefits required under Title 26, chapter 15 
and shall commit to requiring all craft workers employed on the project to complete a 
10-hour training course for safety established by the United States Department of 
Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration prior to starting work on the 
project.
H.  The contractor must have participated in a Class A apprenticeship program for the 
years prior to the date of the bid for each separate trade or occupational classification 
in which it proposes to employ craft workers on the project and shall commit to 
continuing such participation for the duration of the contract, except that if the 
contractor participates in a recently formed apprenticeship program for craft workers 
it employs, it may satisfy the apprenticeship requirement by providing documentation 
that the program in which it participates:
(1)  Has been established within the 5 years prior to the date of the bid;  
(2)  Is currently registered with and approved by the United States Department of 
Labor or the state apprenticeship agency as defined in Title 26, section 3201, 
subsection 22;
(3)  Provides bona fide apprenticeship training to participants; and 
(4)  Is in compliance with the standards and requirements applicable to registered 
apprenticeship programs under 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 29.
I.  The contractor shall certify that it possesses the technical qualifications and 
resources, including equipment, personnel and financial resources, to meet the 
requirements of the contract.
J.  The contractor shall commit to maintaining all qualifications, resources and 
capabilities referenced in the certification form throughout the duration of the project.
K.  The contractor shall certify that it will notify the bureau within 7 days of any 
material changes to any matters attested to in the certification form.
L.  A prime contractor shall certify that it will provide a list of all subcontractors and 
all required subcontractor information under section 1826-R.
2.  Execution; additional requirements.  The contractor responsibility certification 
form described in subsection 1 must be executed by a person who has sufficient knowledge 
to address all matters in the certification form and must include an attestation stating, under 
penalty of perjury, that the information submitted is true, complete and accurate. Execution 
of the certification form does not establish a presumption of contractor responsibility. The 
bureau may require any additional information it considers necessary to evaluate a 
contractor's status as a responsible contractor, including technical qualifications, financial 
capacity or evidence of other resources and performance capabilities.  The bureau may 
require that such information be included in a separate statement of qualifications and 
experience or as an attachment to the certification form.
3.  Statement relating to control of or by separate entity.  If the contractor has 
operated under another name or has controlled or been controlled by another company or 
business entity in the 5 years prior to the date of the bid, the contractor shall attach a 
separate statement to its bid that explains in detail the nature of any such change of 
relationship. The bureau may require additional information if the change of relationship 
in question could potentially affect contract performance.
4.  Disqualification.  Failure to provide a contractor responsibility certification form 
in accordance with subsection 1 or to meet all requirements of this section disqualifies a 
contractor from bidding on a contract.
§1826-R.  Contract award; public review; bureau review
1.  Notice of intent to award.  After an evaluation of bids received, the bureau shall 
issue a notice that it intends to award the contract to the best-value bidder in accordance 
with section 1825-B.  The notice must be issued as soon as practicable after bids are 
submitted. The notice must stipulate that the contract award is conditioned on the issuance 
of a written determination of contractor responsibility as required by subsection 5 and any 
other conditions determined appropriate by the bureau.
2.  Subcontractor list and certifications.  Within 7 days from the date of notice of 
intent to award the contract under subsection 1, a prospective awardee shall submit to the 
bureau a subcontractor list containing the names of subcontractors that will be used for the 
referenced project, the addresses of the subcontractors and a description of the work each 
listed subcontractor will perform on the project, along with an executed contractor 
responsibility certification form for each listed subcontractor in accordance with the 
requirements of section 1826-Q.
3.  Public review period.  The bureau shall provide a public review period of 21 days 
following the issuance of the notice of intent to award the contract under subsection 1. 
Upon issuing the notice of intent to award the contract, the bureau shall make available to 
the public the contractor responsibility certification forms submitted pursuant to section 
1826-Q and the subcontractor list submitted pursuant to subsection 2 for the prospective 
awardee through a publicly accessible website or by other comparable means. During the 
public review period, any person may protest a contractor or subcontractor for failing to 
meet applicable requirements of this subchapter or on any other relevant grounds by 
submitting a letter with supporting evidence to the bureau.
4.  Bureau review of contractor and subcontractor.  After issuing a notice of intent 
to award the contract under subsection 1, the bureau shall conduct a review over a period 
of 30 days to verify whether the prospective awardee, including the prime contractor and 
any subcontractors, meets the applicable requirements of this subchapter, meets the 
requirements of any other applicable laws, rules, regulations and ordinances and possesses 
the resources, qualifications and capabilities to successfully perform the contract.  As part 
of this review, the bureau shall verify that the contractor responsibility certification form 
under section 1826-Q has been submitted and properly executed for all contractors.  The 
bureau may conduct any additional inquiries necessary to verify that the prospective 
awardee and its subcontractors have a sufficient record of compliance with the law and 
business integrity to justify the award of the contract.  In conducting the inquiries, the 
bureau may seek relevant information from the contractor, its prior clients or customers, its 
subcontractors or any other relevant source.
If, in the course of its review, the bureau determines that a subcontractor listed pursuant to 
subsection 2 does not meet the requirements of this subchapter, the bureau may permit the 
prospective awardee to substitute a qualified subcontractor that meets the requirements of 
this subchapter; require the prospective awardee to perform the work in question if the 
prospective awardee has the required experience, licenses and other qualifications to 
perform such work; or disqualify the prospective awardee. If the bureau determines that a 
subcontractor does not meet the requirements of this subchapter, the prospective awardee 
may not make any contractual claim against the bureau on the basis of a subcontractor 
disqualification.
5.  Written determination.  If, at the conclusion of the review required by subsection 
4, the bureau determines that all contractor responsibility certification forms under section 
1826-Q have been properly completed and executed and the qualifications, background and 
responsibility of the prospective awardee and its subcontractors are satisfactory, the bureau 
shall issue a written determination verifying that the prospective awardee is a qualified 
responsible contractor.  If the bureau determines that the prospective awardee does not meet 
the requirements of this subchapter, the bureau shall advise the prospective awardee of its 
determination in writing and proceed to consider the 2nd best-value bidder or, if necessary, 
rebid the project.  The determination of contractor responsibility must be issued no later 
than 30 days after the date of the notice of intent to award the contract under subsection 1.  
The bureau may revoke or revise the determination of contractor responsibility at any time 
if the bureau obtains relevant information warranting any such revocation or revision.
§1826-S.  False or misleading information
If at any time the bureau determines that a contractor responsibility certification form 
submitted pursuant to section 1826-Q contains false or misleading material information 
provided by a contractor knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth or evidences an 
omission of material information knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth by the 
contractor, the bureau shall prohibit the contractor for which the certification form was 
submitted from being awarded any contract covered by this subchapter for a period of 3 
years and apply any other penalties and sanctions, including contract termination, available 
to the State. For a contract terminated under this section, the State may withhold payment 
due the contractor as damages.
§1826-T.  Contract execution
The bureau may not execute a contract with a contractor subject to this subchapter until 
all requirements of this subchapter are met by the contractor.
§1826-U.  Relationship to other requirements
The requirements of this subchapter are intended to supplement, but not replace, 
contractor qualification and performance standards required by any other law, rule or 
contract documents. If any of the provisions of this subchapter conflict with any other law, 
rule or contract documents, the requirements of this subchapter prevail.
§1826-V.  Application
The requirements of this subchapter apply to contracts executed only after October 1, 
2023, except that the exercise of an option on a contract entered into prior to October 1, 
2023 is deemed to create a new contract for purposes of this subchapter.
§1826-W.  Rules
The bureau shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. Rules adopted under this 
section are routine technical rules as defined in chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
PART B
Sec. B-1.  26 MRSA §1318 is enacted to read:
§1318.  Project labor agreements
1.  Policy.  It is declared to be the policy of the State that public authorities use project 
labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects in order to promote 
economy and efficiency in state procurement.
2.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Labor organization" means an organization of any kind, or an agency or employee 
representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and that exists for 
the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, 
labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work.
B.  "Large-scale construction project" means a construction project of which the total 
cost to the State is $10,000,000 or more.
C.  "Project labor agreement" means a prehire collective bargaining agreement with 
one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of 
employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement described in 29 
United States Code, Section 158(f).
3.  Project labor agreement required.  A public authority shall require a project labor 
agreement as follows.
A.  When awarding a contract in connection with a large-scale construction project, or 
obligating funds pursuant to such a contract, a public authority shall, on a project-by-
project basis, require the use of a project labor agreement by a contractor if use of such 
an agreement will:
(1)  Advance the State's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in state 
procurement by producing labor-management stability and ensuring compliance 
with laws governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and 
employment standards and other matters; and
(2)  Be consistent with law.
B.  If a public authority determines under paragraph A that the use of a project labor 
agreement will satisfy the criteria in paragraph A, subparagraphs (1) and (2), the public 
authority shall require that every contractor or subcontractor on the large-scale 
construction project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project 
labor agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations.
4.  Terms.  A project labor agreement under this section must:
A.  Bind all contractors and subcontractors on the large-scale construction project 
through the inclusion of appropriate specifications in all relevant solicitation provisions 
and contract documents;
B.  Allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for contracts and subcontracts 
without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining 
agreements;
C.  Contain guarantees against strikes, lockouts and similar job disruptions;
D.  Set forth effective, prompt and mutually binding procedures for resolving labor 
disputes arising during the term of the project labor agreement;
E.  Provide other mechanisms for labor-management cooperation on matters of mutual 
interest and concern, including productivity, quality of work, safety and health; and
F.  Fully conform to all relevant state and federal laws, rules and regulations.
5.  Limitations.  Nothing in this section may be construed to:
A.  Require a public authority to use a project labor agreement on any construction 
project under $10,000,000;
B.  Preclude the use of a project labor agreement in circumstances not covered by this 
section;
C.  Require contractors or subcontractors to enter into a project labor agreement with 
any particular labor organization; or
D.  Impair or otherwise affect authority granted by law to a public authority.
6.  Application; rights or benefits.  This section must be implemented consistent with 
applicable law and subject to the availability of state funding.  This section does not create 
any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party 
against the State, its departments, agencies or entities, its officers, employees or agents or 
any other person.
Sec. B-2.  Application.  This Part applies to all solicitations for contracts issued by 
a public authority, as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1304, 
subsection 7, for large-scale construction projects, as defined in Title 26, section 1318, 
subsection 2, paragraph B, on or after the effective date of this Part.
SUMMARY
Part A of this bill establishes contractor requirements for construction projects that 
receive state funds for the purpose of ensuring that the work on such contracts is performed 
by responsible, qualified contractors that maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and 
other qualifications and resources necessary to successfully perform public contracts in a 
timely, reliable and cost-effective manner.  The Part outlines a contractor responsibility 
certification process to be administered by the Department of Administrative and Financial 
Services, Bureau of General Services.
Part B requires the State to use project labor agreements for large-scale construction 
projects that receive state funds of $10,000,000 or more.  A project labor agreement is a 
prehire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor unions that establishes the 
terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.