Opinion ID: 1345826
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: History of the Arizona Bid Preference Statute

Text: The Arizona preference statute originally was enacted during the Great Depression in 1933 by the Eleventh Legislature. It was introduced as part of House Bill 37 and became part of Chapter 12 of the Session Laws of 1933. The title of the bill as introduced provided: THAT RESIDENT CONTRACTORS PAYING TAXES ON A PLANT WITHIN THE STATE, OR THE EQUIVALENT THEREOF, FOR TWO YEARS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE AWARDING OF THE CONTRACT SHALL BE GIVEN THE PREFERENCE IN AWARDING THE CONTRACT TO THE EXTENT OF TEN PERCENT; ... H.B. 37, 11th Legislature, Reg.Sess., 1933 (emphasis added). The bill included an emergency clause that explicitly stated the act's purpose: Section 9. WHEREAS, many residents of the state of Arizona are without employment and many contractors and producers and dealers within the state of Arizona are without work, or without a market for their products, and non-resident contractors bring into the state non-resident employees to remain and become a burden on the public after their contracts are completed, and many resident contractors, producers and dealers are unable to pay their taxes, and the provisions of this act will tend to relieve such unemployment, to prevent the increase of the unemployed, and to aid in the collection of taxes, the immediate operation of this act is required to preserve the public peace, health and safety, and said act is hereby declared an emergency measure and shall take effect immediately upon its passage in the manner provided by law. Id. As finally adopted, the title of the act provided in relevant part: AN ACT AMENDING SECS. 1350 TO 1353, BOTH INCLUSIVE, OF THE REVISED CODE OF 1928, ... THE ADDITION OF FIVE NEW SECTIONS RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS OF EMPLOYEES, AND PROHIBITING EMPLOYMENT OF NONRESIDENTS TO QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTORS, AND GIVING PREFERENCE TO RESIDENT TAX PAYING CONTRACTORS, ... Laws 1933, ch. 12, § 3 (emphasis added). As originally enacted, the statute required that to be eligible for the public works statutory preference on a contract, a bidding contractor had to be licensed in Arizona, have successfully completed prior public contracts, and have paid Arizona state and county taxes on a plant and equipment of the type required for performance of the contract (or on real or personal property equivalent in value) for at least two consecutive years prior to making the bid. To qualify for the preference, the bid could not be more than five percent higher than the lowest bid by contractors not entitled to the preference. Code 1939, § 56-107 (currently A.R.S. § 34-241). [5]