Wisconsin Legislature: 55,380n

16.855 (14) (bm) If the bid is being let through single prime contracting, bidders for the general prime contractor who are responsible qualified bidders shall submit their bids to the department or the Board of Regents no later than 5 days after the successful subcontractor bids become available to the public under sub. (13) (b). Within 48 hours of the deadline for a general prime contractor to submit a bid, the department or board shall post on the department's its Internet site the tabulations of all bids that identify the names of the general prime contractors that bid and the amount of each bid and shall make the tabulations and amounts available at the department or board if they are unavailable on the department's Internet site.

55,374h Section 374h. 16.855 (14) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (14) (c) The department or the Board of Regents shall reject any bid for the general prime contractor from a bidder who submits a bid that includes contractors other than the ones identified under sub. (13) (a). The award of a contract may not be finalized until the department or board approves the required performance bond and certificate of insurance.

55,374L Section 374L. 16.855 (14) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (14) (d) Except as provided in sub. (10m) (am), the department or the Board of Regents shall award all single prime contracts to the lowest bidder who is a qualified responsible bidder that results in the lowest total construction cost for the project.

55,374o Section 374o. 16.855 (14) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (14) (e) Within 30 days after the deadline under par. (bm) for bidders for the general prime contractor to submit their bids, the department or the Board of Regents shall notify the general prime contractor bidder that was awarded the contract under par. (d). The contractor who is awarded the contract shall enter into contracts with the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractors identified under par. (13) (a), shall ensure that any contract meets the requirements under sub. (14m) (a) and (b), and shall comply with the requirements under sub. (14m) (c) and (d). The department or board shall make the final bid results available on its Internet site at the time it provides the written, official notice to the successful general prime contractor bidder notifying the contractor that the contract is fully executed and that the contractor is authorized to begin work on the project.

55,374r Section 374r. 16.855 (14m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (14m) (a) Any contract entered into between a general prime contractor and a subcontractor under sub. (14) (e) must contain all of the following clauses:

Prompt Payment. (General prime contractor) shall pay (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) in accordance with section 16.855 (19) (b), Wisconsin stats., for work that has been satisfactorily completed and properly invoiced by (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor). A payment is timely if it is mailed, delivered, or transferred to (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) by the deadline under section 16.855 (19) (b), Wisconsin stats.

If (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) is not paid by the deadline in this contract, (general prime contractor) shall pay interest on the balance due from the eighth day after the (general prime contractor) receives payment from the Department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents) for the work for which payment is due and owing to (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor), at the rate specified in section 71.82, Wisconsin stats., compounded monthly.

A (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) that receives payment as provided under this contract and that subcontracts with another entity shall pay those subcontractors, and be liable for interest on late payments to those subcontractors, in the same manner as (general prime contractor) is required to pay (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) under this contract.

Insurance and Bonds. (Mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) shall not commence work under this contract until it has obtained all necessary insurance required of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) in the contract between the (general prime contractor) and the Department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents).

(Mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) shall provide a separate 100 percent performance bond and a separate 100 percent payment bond to the benefit of the (general prime contractor) as the sole named obligee. Original bonds shall be given to the (general prime contractor) and a copy shall be given to the Department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents) no later than 10 days after execution of this contract.

Indemnification. To the fullest extent permitted by law, (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless (general prime contractor) and its officers, directors, agents, and any others whom (general prime contractor) is required to indemnify under its contract with the department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents), and the employees of any of them, from and against claims, damages, fines, penalties, losses, and expenses, including but not limited to attorney fees, arising in any way out of or resulting from the performance of the work under this contract, but only to the extent such claim, damage, fine, penalty, loss, or expense: (1) is attributable to bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death, or to injury to or destruction of property, including but not limited to loss of use resulting therefrom and is caused by the negligence, or acts or omissions, of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor), its subcontractors, any of their employees, and anyone directly or indirectly employed by them or anyone for whose acts they may be liable, or (2) as related to such claims, damages, fines, penalties, losses, and expense of or against (general prime contractor), results from or arises out of the negligence of (general prime contractor) or other fault in providing general supervision or oversight of the work of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) or (3) as related to claims, damages, fines, penalties, losses, and expense against the Department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents), arises out of the department's (department's or board's) status as owner of the project or project site.

In addition (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless (general prime contractor) and its officers, directors, agents, and any others (general prime contractor) is required to indemnify under its contract with the department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents), and the employees of any of them, from any liability, including liability resulting from a violation of any applicable safe place act, that (general prime contractor) or the state incurs to any employee of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) or any third party where the liability arises from a derivative claim from said employee, when the liability arises out of the failure of the (general prime contractor) or the state to properly supervise, inspect, or approve the work or work area of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor), but only to the extent that the liability arises out of the acts or omissions of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor), its employees, or anyone for whom (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) may be liable, or from (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor's) breach of its contractual responsibilities or arises out of (general prime contractor's) negligence or other fault in providing general supervision or oversight of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor's) work or arises out of the Department (Department of Administration's or Board of Regents') status as owner of the project or project site. In claims against (general prime contractor) or the state by an employee of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) or its subcontractors or anyone for whose acts (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) may be liable, the indemnification obligation of this paragraph is not limited by a limitation on amount or type of damage, compensation, or other benefits payable by or for the (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) or its subcontractors under workers' compensation act.

Except as identified above, the obligations of (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor) under this indemnification do not extend to the liability of (general prime contractor) and its agents or employees arising out of (1) preparation or approval of maps, drawings, opinions, reports, surveys, change orders, designs, or specifications; (2) the giving of or failure to give directions or instructions by the (general prime contractor) or the Department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents) or their agents or employees provided the giving or failure to give is the cause of the injury or damage; or (3) the acts or omissions of other subcontractors.

Retainage. Retainage shall occur and be in amounts and on a schedule equal to that in the contract between (general prime contractor) and the Department (Department of Administration or Board of Regents).

55,374u Section 374u. 16.855 (14m) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (14m) (c) 2. The prohibition under subd. 1. does not apply to change orders by the department or the Board of Regents that result in changes to the plans or specifications or to back charges allowed by the contract under sub. (13).

55,374y Section 374y. 16.855 (19) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (19) (b) As the work progresses under any subcontract under sub. (14) (e) for construction of a project, the general prime contractor shall, upon request of a subcontractor, pay to the subcontractor an amount equal to the proportionate value of the subcontractor's work properly completed, less retainage. The retainage shall be an amount equal to not more than 5 percent of the subcontractor's work completed until 50 percent of the subcontractor's work has been completed. At 50 percent completion, no additional amounts may be retained, and partial payments shall be made in full to the subcontractor unless the department or the Board of Regents certifies that the subcontractor's work is not proceeding satisfactorily. At 50 percent completion or any time thereafter when the progress of the subcontractor's work is not satisfactory, additional amounts may be retained but the total retainage may not be more than 10 percent of the value of the work completed. Upon substantial completion of the subcontractor's work, any amount retained shall be paid to the subcontractor, less the value of any required corrective work or uncompleted work. All payments the general prime contractor makes under this paragraph shall be within 7 calendar days after the date on which the general prime contractor receives payment from the department or board.

55,375m Section 375m. 16.855 (20) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (20) This section does not apply to construction work performed by University of Wisconsin System students when the construction work performed is a part of a curriculum and where the work is course-related for the student involved. Prior approval of the building commission must be obtained for all construction projects to be performed by University of Wisconsin System students, except projects specified in s. 13.48 (10) (c) and (e).

55,378g Section 378g. 16.855 (22) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.855 (22) The provisions of this section, except sub. (10m), do not apply to construction work for any project that does not require the prior approval of the building commission under s. 13.48 (10) (a) if the project is constructed in accordance with policies and procedures prescribed by the building commission under s. 13.48 (29). If the estimated construction cost of any project, other than a project constructed by or for the University of Wisconsin System that is exempted under sub. (23) (12m) or (24), is at least $50,000, and the building commission elects to utilize the procedures prescribed under s. 13.48 (29) to construct the project, the department shall provide adequate public notice of the project and the procedures to be utilized to construct the project on a publicly accessible computer site.

55,378r Section 378r. 16.855 (23) of the statutes is repealed.

55,378t Section 378t. 16.855 (24) of the statutes is created to read:

16.855 (24) This section does not apply to an eligible energy conservation project approved by the president of the University of Wisconsin System under s. 36.11 (26m) (b).

55,380n Section 380n. 16.856 of the statutes is created to read:

16.856 Prevailing wage. (1) (f) "Prevailing wage rate" means the applicable prevailing wage rate for an area, as determined by the U.S. department of labor under 40 USC 3142.

(5) Disclosure. If a person who is not an employee of the department or the contracting state agency or who is not an employee of the department of workforce development conducting an investigation under s. 109.09 contacts an employee performing the work described in sub. (2m) for the purpose of investigating compliance with this section, the person shall provide a written statement to the employee stating that the person is not affiliated with the department, the contracting state agency, or the department of workforce development and disclosing the principal source of funding for the investigation.

(7) Rules; enforcement. (a) The department shall promulgate any rules that the department determines are necessary to implement and ensure compliance with this section.

(b) If requested by any person performing the work described in sub. (2m), the department shall inspect the payroll records of any contractor, subcontractor, or agent performing work on a project of public works that is subject to this section to ensure compliance with this section.

(c) Section 111.322 (2m) applies to discharge and other discriminatory acts arising in connection with any proceeding under this section.

55,392g Section 392g. 16.87 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.87 (5) This section does not apply to any project for the University of Wisconsin System involving a cost of less than $500,000 that is funded entirely from the proceeds of gifts or grants made to the system specified in s. 13.48 (10) (c) or (e) .

55,392r Section 392r. 16.89 of the statutes is amended to read:

16.89 Construction and services controlled by this chapter. No department, independent agency, constitutional office or agent of the state shall employ engineering, architectural or allied services or expend money for construction purposes on behalf of the state, except as provided in this chapter and except that the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System may engage such services for any project involving a cost of less than $500,000 that is funded entirely from the proceeds of gifts or grants made to the system specified in s. 13.48 (10) (c) or (e) .

55,393p Section 393p. 16.95 (17) of the statutes is created to read:

16.95 (17) Upon request, provide any necessary certification for a person to receive a tax deduction under 26 USC 179D if the person is the person who is primarily responsible for designing a property, if the property the person designed is installed on or in state-owned property, and if the property qualifies as an energy efficient commercial building property.

55,394 Section 394. 16.956 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.956 (2) Authority. Beginning on July 1, 2006, and ending on June 30, 2015 2020, the department may award a grant to an eligible applicant for the purchase and field testing of one or more idling reduction units as provided in subs. (3) and (4).

55,395 Section 395. 16.956 (4) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.956 (4) (cm) Subject to par. (d), the department may make grants under this section from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2015 2020, of 50 percent of the eligible costs for an idling reduction unit installed on a truck tractor, unless the department has previously awarded a grant under this section for an idling reduction unit installed on the truck tractor.

55,396 Section 396. 16.956 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.956 (6) Sunset. Subsections (2) to (4) do not apply after December 31, 2016 2021.

55,396d Section 396d. 16.957 (1) (cm) of the statutes is repealed.

55,396h Section 396h. 16.957 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.957 (2) Department duties. (intro.) In consultation with the council, the The department shall do all of the following:

55,396p Section 396p. 16.957 (2) (d) 4. d. of the statutes is amended to read:

16.957 (2) (d) 4. d. Any other issue identified by the department, council, governor, speaker of the assembly or majority leader of the senate.

55,396t Section 396t. 16.957 (4) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.957 (4) (b) Rules. (intro.) In consultation with the council, the The department shall promulgate rules that establish the amount of a low-income assistance fee under par. (a). Fees established in rules under this paragraph may vary by class of customer, but shall be uniform within each class, and shall satisfy each of the following:

55,398m Section 398m. 16.97 (2m) of the statutes is repealed.

55,412p Section 412p. 16.973 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.973 (7) Prescribe and revise as necessary performance measures to ensure financial controls and accountability, optimal personnel utilization, and customer satisfaction for all information technology functions in the executive branch outside of the University of Wisconsin System and annually, no later than March 31, report to the joint committee on information policy and technology and the board concerning the performance measures utilized by the department and the actual performance of the department and the executive branch agencies measured against the performance measures then in effect.

55,416g Section 416g. 16.976 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.976 (3) Following receipt of a proposed strategic plan from an executive branch agency, the department shall, before June 1, notify the agency of any concerns that the department may have regarding the plan and provide the agency with its recommendations regarding the proposed plan. The department may also submit any concerns or recommendations regarding any proposed plan to the board for its consideration. The board shall then consider the proposed plan and provide the department with its recommendations regarding the plan. The executive branch agency may submit modifications to its proposed plan in response to any recommendations.

55,416r Section 416r. 16.976 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.976 (4) Before June 15, the department shall consider any recommendations provided by the board under sub. (3) and shall then approve or disapprove the proposed plan in whole or in part.

55,417g Section 417g. 16.977 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.977 Information technology portfolio management. (intro.) With the assistance of executive branch agencies and the advice of the board, the department shall manage the information technology portfolio of state government in accordance with a management structure that includes all of the following:

55,417r Section 417r. 16.978 of the statutes is repealed.

55,419b Section 419b. 16.98 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.98 (1) The department shall engage in such activities as the secretary deems necessary to ensure the maximum utilization of federal resources by state agencies and institutions and other eligible organizations and units of government, including community development corporations as defined in s. 234.94 (2). The department shall acquire excess and surplus real and personal property at such cost and shall charge fees to the recipient as is necessary to amortize expenditures for recipients for costs of transportation, packing, crating, handling and program overhead, except that the department may transfer any excess or surplus personal property to the department of tourism, upon request of the department of tourism, at no cost, subject to any limitation or restriction imposed by federal law.

55,419g Section 419g. 16.99 (1d) of the statutes is amended to read:

16.99 (1d) "Charter school sponsor" means an entity described under s. 118.40 (2r) (b) that is sponsoring a charter school and the director under s. 118.40 (2x).

55,422d Section 422d. 16.994 of the statutes is created to read:

16.994 Information technology block grants. (1) Competitive grants. In fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17, the department may annually award grants on a competitive basis to eligible school districts for the purpose of improving information technology infrastructure. In awarding grants under this section, the department shall give priority to applications for school districts in which the percentage of pupils who satisfy the income eligibility criteria under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1) for a free or reduced-price lunch is greater than in other applicant school districts. The department shall require an applicant for a grant under this section to provide all of the following:

(a) A description of the specific infrastructure, including any equipment, that the applicant intends to purchase with grant proceeds.

(b) The applicant's plan to purchase, install, and use the information technology infrastructure described in par. (a).

(c) A description of the applicant's readiness to use information technology infrastructure purchased with grant proceeds.

(2) Eligible school districts. A school district is eligible for a grant under this section if the school district's membership in the previous school year divided by the school district's area in square miles is 13 or less.

(3) Maximum awards. The total amount the department may award to an eligible school district under sub. (1) during the 2015-17 fiscal biennium may not exceed the following:

(a) If the membership of the eligible school district is fewer than 750 pupils, $30,000.

(b) If the membership of the eligible school district is 750 pupils to 1,500 pupils, $40 multiplied by the school district's membership.

(4) Funding limitation. The department may not award grants under this section that total more than $7,500,000 in any fiscal year.

55,422e Section 422e. 16.994 of the statutes, as created by 2015 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), is repealed.

55,422g Section 422g. 16.996 of the statutes is created to read:

16.996 Educational technology teacher training grants. (1) Purpose. The department shall annually award grants to eligible consortia of school districts for the costs of training teachers to use educational technology.

(2) Eligible consortia. A consortium of school districts is eligible for a grant under this section if all of the following apply:

(a) The consortium consists of 3 or more school districts.

(b) Each school district's membership in the previous school year divided by that school district's area in square miles is 13 or less.

(3) Grant amount. In any year the department awards grants under this section, subject to sub. (4), the department shall pay to each eligible consortium the sum of the following amounts:

(a) For each school district in the consortium that had a membership of less than 750 pupils in the previous year, $7,500.

(b) For each school district in the consortium that had a membership of 750 pupils to 1,500 pupils in the previous year, $10 multiplied by the school district's membership in the previous year.