AN ACT increasing the informal bid threshold for contracts for construction or repair work related to disaster recovery undertaken by the north carolina office of recovery and resiliency.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑131 reads as rewritten:

§ 143‑131.  When counties, cities, towns and other subdivisions may let contracts on informal bids.

(a)        All contracts for construction or repair work or for the purchase of apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment, involving the expenditure of public money in the amount of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or more, but less than the limits prescribed in G.S. 143‑129, made by any officer, department, board, local school administrative unit, or commission of any county, city, town, or other subdivision of this State shall be made after informal bids have been secured; provided, however, that that:

(1)        The University of North Carolina and its constituent institutions shall be required to comply with the provisions of this subsection for all contracts for construction or repair work involving the expenditure of public money in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more, but less than the limits prescribed in G.S. 143‑129.

(2)        The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency shall be required to comply with the provisions of this subsection for all contracts for construction or repair work related to disaster recovery involving the expenditure of public money in the amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or more, but less than the limits prescribed in G.S. 143‑129. For purposes of this subdivision, the term construction shall include the purchase of manufactured housing units.

All such contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible, responsive bidder, taking into consideration quality, performance, and the time specified in the bids for the performance of the contract. It shall be the duty of any officer, department, board, local school administrative unit, or commission entering into such contract to keep a record of all bids submitted, and such record shall not be subject to public inspection until the contract has been awarded.

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SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to contracts awarded on or after that date.