Opinion ID: 1448256
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act

Text: Absent a constitutional, statutory, or regulatory restraint, Oklahoma's public entities are free to contract for construction services without soliciting bids. [9] The Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act acts as a restraint on public agencies. The Act requires all public construction contracts as defined in the Act to be competitively bid. [10] A public construction contract is a contract which exceeds $7,500 and is awarded for the purpose of making any public improvements or constructing any public building or making repairs to the same. [11] UCO argues the construction management contracts are not encompassed within this definition. The purpose of the Act is to obtain the best results at the lowest cost, the greatest value for the fewest dollars. [12] Competitive bidding statutes are to be construed to give effect to the apparent legislative policy. [13] The Act is intended to require a contract to be awarded to the lowest bidder when work or materials must conform to specifications so that accurate comparisons can be objectively made. [14] When a contract involves professional judgment or scientific knowledge, the legislature does not require the lowest price to be the determining factor. [15] A contract for personal services, such as services of architects, engineers, and surveyors, is not subject to competitive bidding statutes because the services are not subject to uniform specifications. [16] Because the Flintco and Sverdrup contracts are for a personal service and call for professional judgment, they are not subject to the Act. In Carpet City, Inc. v. Stillwater Municipal Hospital Authority, [17] this Court defined construction to mean to put together the materials and constituent parts used [in a building] in their proper place and order. [18] Under this definition, only those contracts where the contracting party is supplied with materials or labor are subject to the Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act. Contracts for services for professional expertise are not subject to the Act. In the case of the construction management contracts, the management companies do not put together any of constituent parts or supply any of the materials. Rather, the companies act as personal representatives of UCO by providing services which require expertise in coordinating and managing the building process. When a construction management company acts solely in this capacity, it is not performing construction as defined by Oklahoma competitive bidding statutes. [19] The overwhelming majority of jurisdictions which have addressed the issue have concluded that construction management contracts which do not call for the furnishing of equipment, building labor or materials are not subject to competitive bidding statutes. [20] Plaintiffs argue that the competitive bidding statutes of these jurisdictions are sufficiently different from Oklahoma's competitive bidding act that these cases should not be followed. After reviewing the cases and the applicable statutes, we find any differences in the statutes are inconsequential. [21]