(1) Contracts for design-build services shall be awarded through a competitive process using public solicitation of proposals for design-build services. At a minimum, the public body shall publish at least once in a legal newspaper of general circulation published in, or as near as possible to, that part of the county in which the public work will be done, a notice of its request for qualifications from proposers for design-build services, and the availability and location of the request for proposal documents. The public body is encouraged to post the design-build opportunity in additional areas, such as websites for business associations or the office of minority and women's business enterprises, to further publicize the opportunity for qualified design-build teams. The request for qualifications documents shall include:

(a) A description of the project including the estimated design-build contract value and the intended use of the project;

(b) The reasons for using the design-build procedure;

(c) A description of the qualifications to be required of the proposer;

(d) A description of the process the public body will use to evaluate qualifications and finalists' proposals, including evaluation factors and the relative weight of factors and any specific forms to be used by the proposers;

(i) Evaluation factors for qualifications shall include technical qualifications, such as specialized experience and technical competence of the firms and the key design and construction personnel; capacity to perform; the proposer's past performance in utilization of business entities certified with the office of minority and women's business enterprises, including small businesses and business entities certified with the department of veterans affairs, to the extent permitted by law; ability to provide a performance and payment bond for the project; and other appropriate factors. Cost or price-related factors are not permitted in the request for qualifications phase;

(ii) Evaluation factors for finalists' proposals shall include the management plan to meet time and budget requirements and one or more price-related factors. Evaluation factors must include a proposer's inclusion plan for business entities certified with the office of minority and women's business enterprises, including small businesses and business entities certified with the department of veterans affairs as subconsultants, subcontractors, and suppliers for the project, to the extent permitted by law. Evaluation factors may also include, but not be limited to, the technical approach or the design concept;

(e) Protest procedures including time limits for filing a protest, which in no event may limit the time to file a protest to fewer than four business days from the date the proposer was notified of the selection decision;

(f) The proposed contract;

(g) The honorarium to be paid to finalists submitting responsive proposals and who are not awarded a design-build contract;

(h) The schedule for the procurement process and the project; and

(i) Other information relevant to the project.

(2) The public body shall establish an evaluation committee to evaluate the responses to the request for qualifications based solely on the factors, weighting, and process identified in the request for qualifications and any addenda issued by the public body. Based on the evaluation committee's findings, the public body shall select not more than five responsive and responsible finalists to submit proposals. The public body may, in its sole discretion, reject all proposals and shall provide its reasons for rejection in writing to all proposers.

(3) The public body must notify all proposers of the finalists selected to move to the next phase of the selection process. The process may not proceed to the next phase until two business days after all proposers are notified of the committee's selection decision. At the request of a proposer not selected as a finalist, the public body must provide the requesting proposer with a scoring summary of the evaluation factors for its proposal. Proposers filing a protest on the selection of the finalists must file the protest in accordance with the published protest procedures. The selection process may not advance to the next phase of selection until two business days after the final protest decision is transmitted to the protestor.

(4) Upon selection of the finalists, the public body shall issue a request for proposals to the finalists. The request for proposal documents shall include:

(a) Any specific forms to be used by the finalists; and

(b) Submission of a summary of the finalist's accident prevention program and an overview of its implementation.

(5) The public body shall establish an evaluation committee to evaluate the proposals submitted by the finalists. The finalists' proposals shall be evaluated and scored based solely on the factors, weighting, and process identified in the request for qualifications, the request for proposals, and in any addenda published by the public body. Public bodies may request best and final proposals from finalists. The public body may initiate negotiations with the finalist submitting the highest scored proposal. If the public body is unable to execute a contract with the finalist submitting the highest scored proposal, negotiations with that finalist may be suspended or terminated and the public body may proceed to negotiate with the next highest scored finalist. Public bodies shall continue in accordance with this procedure until a contract agreement is reached or the selection process is terminated.

(6) The public body shall notify all finalists of the selection decision and make a selection summary of the final proposals available to all proposers within two business days of such notification. If the public body receives a timely written protest from a finalist firm, the public body may not execute a contract until two business days after the final protest decision is transmitted to the protestor. The protestor must submit its protest in accordance with the published protest procedures.

(7) The firm awarded the contract shall provide a performance and payment bond for the contracted amount.

(8) Any contract must require the firm awarded the contract to track and report to the public body and to the office of minority and women's business enterprises its utilization of the office of minority and women's business enterprises certified businesses and veteran certified businesses.

(9) The public body shall provide appropriate honorarium payments to finalists submitting responsive proposals that are not awarded a design-build contract. Honorarium payments shall be sufficient to generate meaningful competition among potential proposers on design-build projects. In determining the amount of the honorarium, the public body shall recognize the level of effort required to meet the selection criteria.

Sunset Act application: See note following chapter digest.

Effective date—2023 c 395 ss 1-30, 32-34, 36, and 37: See note following RCW 39.04.010.

Findings—Intent—2023 c 395: See note following RCW 39.04.010.

Effective date—2021 c 230: See note following RCW 39.10.210.

Effective date—2013 c 222: See note following RCW 39.10.210.