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SB196 ENROLLED
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SB196
4U9VC3I-2
By Senator Livingston
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 21-Jan-26
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First Read: 21-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to competitive bidding; to amend Section
39-2-2, Code of Alabama 1975, as last amended by Act 2025-383;
to exempt from the public works law the purchase and
installation of playground equipment on public property.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 39-2-2, Code of Alabama 1975, as
last amended by Act 2025-383, is amended to read as follows:
"§39-2-2
(a)(1) Before entering into any contract for a public
works involving an amount in excess of one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000), the awarding authority shall advertise for
sealed bids, except as provided in subsection (k).
(2)a. If the awarding authority is the state, a county,
or an instrumentality thereof, it shall advertise for sealed
bids at least once each week for three consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in
which the improvement, or some part thereof, is to be made.
b.1. If the awarding authority is a municipality, or an
instrumentality thereof, it shall advertise for sealed bids at
least once in a newspaper of general circulation published in
the municipality where the awarding authority is located.
2. If no newspaper is published in the municipality,
the awarding authority shall advertise by posting notice
thereof on a bulletin board maintained outside the purchasing
office and in any other manner and for the length of time as
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office and in any other manner and for the length of time as
may be determined. In addition to bulletin board notice, the
awarding authority shall also send the notice by U.S. mail or
electronic mail to the Department of Finance for publication
of the advertisement on the centralized website maintained by
the department as further described in subsection (c).
(3) The advertisements shall briefly describe the
improvement, state that plans and specifications for the
improvement are on file for examination in a designated office
of the awarding authority, state the procedure for obtaining
plans and specifications, state the time and place in which
bids shall be received and opened, and identify whether
prequalification is required and where all written
prequalification information is available for review.
(4) All bids shall be opened publicly at the advertised
time and place.
(5) No public work involving a sum in excess of one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be split into parts
involving sums of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or
less for the purpose of evading the requirements of this
section.
(b)(1) An awarding authority may let contracts for
public works involving one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)
or less with or without advertising or sealed bids.
(2) Notwithstanding the advertising requirements of
subdivision (a)(2), an awarding authority may enter into a
contract for public works if: (i) the awarding authority
submitted the advertisement for sealed bids for the contract
in accordance with subdivision (a)(2); and (ii) the
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in accordance with subdivision (a)(2); and (ii) the
advertisement was published for at least three weeks, or if
the awarding authority is a municipality or instrumentality
thereof for at least seven consecutive calendar days, on a
centralized website maintained by the Department of Finance as
further described in subsection (c).
(3) If the awarding authority under subdivision (2) is
the Department of Transportation, the Department of Finance
may alternatively satisfy the requirements of subdivision
(2)(ii) by publishing the advertisement on its publicly
accessible website for at least three weeks.
(4) If the awarding authority under subdivision (2) is
a county or instrumentality thereof, the county or
instrumentality may alternatively satisfy the requirements of
subdivision (2)(ii) by publishing the advertisement in
accordance with the procedures submitted by the Association of
County Engineers of Alabama and approved by the Department of
Examiners of Public Accounts as authorized by general law.
(c) The Department of Finance shall establish and
maintain a centralized website or digital platform to provide
publicly accessible notice of advertisements for sealed bids
pursuant to this section. The department may further provide
for the administration and operations related thereto by the
adoption of administrative rules, including, but not limited
to, the assessment of fees to awarding authorities for the
posting of advertisements to cover the implementation and
maintenance cost of the website or digital platform.
(d) All contracts for public works entered into in
violation of this title shall be void and violative of public
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violation of this title shall be void and violative of public
policy. Anyone who willfully violates this chapter concerning
public works shall be guilty of a Class C felony.
(e)(1) Excluded from the operation of this title shall
be contracts with persons who shall perform only
architectural, engineering, construction management, program
management, or project management services in support of the
public works and who shall not engage in actual construction,
repair, renovation, or maintenance of the public works with
their own forces, by contract, subcontract, purchase order,
lease, or otherwise.
(2)a. Excluded from operation of the bidding
requirements in this title are contracts for the purchase of
any heating or air conditioning units or systems by any
awarding authority subject to Chapter 13B of Title 16, Article
3, commencing with Section 41-16-50 of Chapter 16 of Title 41,
or Article 5, commencing with Section 41-4-110 of Chapter 4 of
Title 41, provided the contract is entered into with an
Alabama vendor who has been granted approved vendor status for
the sale of heating or air conditioning units or systems as a
part of a purchasing cooperative, and each of the following
occur:
1. The heating or air conditioning unit or system being
purchased is available as a result of a competitive bid
process conducted by a governmental entity which has been
approved by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.
2. The purchase of the heating or air conditioning unit
or system is not available on the state purchasing program at
the time or the purchase under the purchasing cooperative is
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the time or the purchase under the purchasing cooperative is
available at a price that is equal to or less than that
available through the state purchasing program.
3. The entity entering into the contract for the
purchase of the heating or air conditioning unit or system has
been notified by the Department of Examiners of Public
Accounts that the competitive bid process utilized by the
cooperative program offering the goods complies with this
subdivision.
4. Upon request, the vendor has provided the purchasing
entity with a report of sales made under this subdivision
during the previous 12-month period, to include a general
description of the heating or air conditioning units and
systems sold, the number of units sold per entity, and the
purchase price of the units.
b. The exemption from the requirement to use sealed
bids for the purchase of heating or air conditioning units or
systems authorized by this section shall not serve to exempt
any public works project from the remaining provisions of this
chapter, including, but not limited to, design, installation,
and review requirements, compliance with all applicable codes,
laws, specifications, and standards, and the compensation of
engineers, architects, or others as mandated by state law or
rule.
(3)a. Excluded from the operation of this title are
contracts for the purchase, design, and installation of
playground equipment. Such contracts shall be procured as
otherwise required for the procurement of goods and services,
including, but not limited to, Chapter 13B of Title 16;
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including, but not limited to, Chapter 13B of Title 16;
Article 3 of Chapter 16 of Title 41; and Article 5 of Chapter
4 of Title 41.
b. For purposes of this subdivision, "playground
equipment" means any structure or apparatus intended for
children's recreational use and play in a public area,
including a public park, public school, or other public
property. The term includes slides, swings, climbing
equipment, seesaws, and splash pads. The term also includes
purchases ancillary to the use of a playground, including
safety surfacing, fencing, signage, and shade structures.
(f)(1) In case of an emergency for which a delay in
remedying would cause immediate harm to a person or public
property, contracts may be let to the extent necessary to meet
the emergency without public advertisement or bidding.
(2) In case of an emergency affecting public health,
safety, or convenience, as declared in writing by the awarding
authority, setting forth the nature of the danger to the
public health, safety, or convenience which would result from
delay, contracts may be let to the extent necessary to meet
the emergency without public advertisement.
(3) Any action taken under subdivision (1) or (2), and
the reasons for the action taken, shall immediately be made
public by the awarding authority and published in writing.
(g) No awarding authority may specify in the plans and
specifications for the improvement the use of materials,
products, systems, or services by a sole source unless all of
the following requirements are met:
(1) Except for contracts involving the construction,
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(1) Except for contracts involving the construction,
reconstruction, renovation, or replacement of public roads,
bridges, and water and sewer facilities, the awarding
authority can document to the satisfaction of the Division of
Real Property Management of the Department of Finance, or in
the case of an educational institution or state educational
institution as provided pursuant to Sections 41-4-353 and
41-4-400, to the satisfaction of its governing board, that the
sole source product, material, system, or service is of an
indispensable nature for the improvement, that there are no
other viable alternatives, and that only this particular
product, material, system, or service fulfills the function
for which it is needed.
(2) The sole source specification has been recommended
by the architect or engineer of record as an indispensable
item for which there is no other viable alternative.
(3) All information substantiating the use of a sole
source specification, including the recommendation of the
architect or engineer of record, shall be documented and made
available for examination in the office of the awarding
authority at the time of advertisement for sealed bids.
(h) If a proposed public works project is acknowledged
in writing by the Alabama Homeland Security Department as: (i)
having a direct impact on the security or safety of persons or
facilities; and (ii) requiring confidential handling for the
protection of such persons or facilities, contracts may be let
without public advertisement but with the taking of informal
bids otherwise consistent with the requirements of this title
and the requirements of maintaining confidentiality. Records
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and the requirements of maintaining confidentiality. Records
of bidding and award shall not be disclosed to the public and
shall remain confidential.
(i) If a pre-bid meeting is held, the pre-bid meeting
shall be held at least seven days prior to the bid opening
except when the project has been declared an emergency in
accordance with subsection (f).
(j) The awarding authority may not offer a contract for
bidding unless confirmation of any applicable grant has been
received and any required matching funds have been secured by
or are available to the awarding authority.
(k) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Department of
Transportation may enter into contracts for road construction
or road maintenance projects that do not involve more than two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) without advertising
for sealed bids, provided the project is listed on the
publicly accessible website of the department for at least
seven calendar days before entering into the contract. The
total cost of all projects not subject to advertising and
sealed bids pursuant to this subsection may not exceed one
million dollars ($1,000,000) in the aggregate per year.
(l) For the purposes of this chapter, sealed bids may
also be solicited and submitted through electronic means
including, but not limited to, electrical, digital, magnetic,
optical, electromagnetic, or any other similar technology,
provided that the awarding authority adopts rules and policies
to ensure that all electronic submissions are transmitted
securely and bids remained remain sealed until bid opening.
(m)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
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(m)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
entity subject to this chapter that is an awarding authority
of a contract for public works, by resolution or board action,
may purchase materials or equipment pursuant to Section
41-16-51(a)(14), (16), (17), (18), or (19), even when those
materials or equipment are otherwise part of the contract for
public works subject to the requirements of this title.
(2) Except for those materials or equipment described
in subdivision (1), the remaining portion of the public works
project shall be subject to the requirements of this title,
even if the remaining portion would involve an amount less
than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) as a result of
the exclusion of the purchase of the materials or equipment as
described in subdivision (1)."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2026.
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2026.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB196
Senate 12-Feb-26
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Passed: 05-Mar-26
By: Senator Livingston
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