Local government procurement

AN ACT Relating to local government procurement; amending RCW 1
36.32.235 and 36.32.245; and repealing RCW 36.32.240.2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 36.32.235 and 2025 c 35 s 1 are each amended to read 4
as follows: 5
(1) In each county which by resolution establishes a county 6
purchasing department, the purchasing department shall enter into 7
leases of personal property on a competitive basis and purchase all 8
supplies, materials, and equipment on a competitive basis, for all 9
departments of the county, as provided in this chapter and chapter 10
39.04 RCW, except that the county purchasing department is not 11
required to make purchases for the county hospital or purchases that 12
are paid from the county road fund or equipment rental and revolving 13
fund. In the letting of any contract for public works involving less 14
than $40,000, the advertisement and competitive bidding requirements 15
in subsections (3) and (4) of this section may be dispensed with on 16
order of the county legislative authority.17
(2) As used in this section: 18
(a) "Public works" has the same definition as in RCW 39.04.010.19
(b) "Riverine project" means a project of construction, 20
alteration, repair, replacement, or improvement other than ordinary 21
H-2982.1
HOUSE BILL 2566
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Zahn, Griffey, and Pollet
Read first time 01/19/26. Referred to Committee on Local Government.
p. 1 HB 2566
maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any 1
municipality, or which is by law a lien or charge on any property, 2
carried out on a river or stream and its tributaries and associated 3
floodplains, beds, banks, and waters for the purpose of improving 4
aquatic habitat, improving water quality, restoring floodplain 5
function, or providing flood protection. 6
(c) "Stormwater project" means a project of construction, 7
alteration, repair, replacement, or improvement other than ordinary 8
maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any 9
municipality, or which is by law a lien or charge on any property, 10
carried out on a municipal separate storm sewer system, and any 11
connections to the system, that is regulated under a state-issued 12
national pollutant discharge elimination system general municipal 13
stormwater permit for the purpose of improving control of stormwater 14
runoff quantity and quality from developed land, safely conveying 15
stormwater runoff, or reducing erosion or other water quality impacts 16
caused by municipal separate storm sewer system discharges.17
(3) Except as otherwise specified in this chapter or in chapter 18
36.77 RCW, all counties subject to these provisions shall contract on 19
a competitive basis for all public works after bids have been 20
submitted to the county upon specifications therefor. Such 21
specifications shall be in writing and shall be filed with the clerk 22
of the county legislative authority for public inspection.23
(4) An advertisement shall be published in the county official 24
newspaper stating the time and place where bids will be opened, the 25
time after which bids will not be received, the character of the work 26
to be done, the materials and equipment to be furnished, and that 27
specifications therefor may be seen at the office of the clerk of the 28
county legislative authority. An advertisement shall also be 29
published in a legal newspaper of general circulation in or as near 30
as possible to that part of the county in which such work is to be 31
done. If the county official newspaper is a newspaper of general 32
circulation covering at least 40 percent of the residences in that 33
part of the county in which such public works are to be done, then 34
the publication of an advertisement of the applicable specifications 35
in the county official newspaper is sufficient. Such advertisements 36
shall be published at least once at least 13 days prior to the last 37
date upon which bids will be received. 38
(5) The bids shall be in writing, may be in either hard copy or 39
electronic form as specified by the county, shall be filed with the 40
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clerk, shall be opened and read in public at the time and place named 1
therefor in the advertisements, and, after being opened, shall be 2
filed for public inspection. No bid may be considered for public work 3
unless it is accompanied by a bid deposit in the form of a surety 4
bond, postal money order, cash, cashier's check, or certified check 5
in an amount equal to five percent of the amount of the bid proposed.6
(6)(a) The contract for the public work shall be awarded to the 7
lowest responsible bidder. Any or all bids may be rejected for good 8
cause. The county legislative authority shall require from the 9
successful bidder for such public work a contractor's bond in the 10
amount and with the conditions imposed by law. 11
(b) If no bid is received on the first call for bids, the county 12
legislative authority may:13
(i) Readvertise and make a second call for bids;14
(ii) Enter into a contract without any further call for bids; or15
(iii) Perform the work or improvement with county employees, 16
subject to the limitations in this section.17
(7) If the bidder to whom the contract is awarded fails to enter 18
into the contract and furnish the contractor's bond as required 19
within 10 days after notice of the award, exclusive of the day of 20
notice, the amount of the bid deposit shall be forfeited to the 21
county and the contract awarded to the next lowest and best bidder. 22
The bid deposit of all unsuccessful bidders shall be returned after 23
the contract is awarded and the required contractor's bond given by 24
the successful bidder is accepted by the county legislative 25
authority. Immediately after the award is made, the bid quotations 26
obtained shall be recorded and open to public inspection and shall be 27
available by telephone inquiry. 28
(8) As limited by subsection (11) of this section, a county 29
subject to these provisions may have public works performed by county 30
employees in any annual or biennial budget period equal to a dollar 31
value not exceeding 10 percent of the public works construction 32
budget, including any amount in a supplemental public works 33
construction budget, over the budget period. 34
Whenever a county subject to these provisions has had public 35
works performed in any budget period up to the maximum permitted 36
amount for that budget period, all remaining public works except 37
emergency work under subsection (13) of this section within that 38
budget period shall be done by contract pursuant to public notice and 39
call for competitive bids as specified in subsection (3) of this 40
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section. The state auditor shall report to the state treasurer any 1
county subject to these provisions that exceeds this amount and the 2
extent to which the county has or has not reduced the amount of 3
public works it has performed by public employees in subsequent 4
years. 5
(9) A county may procure public works with a unit priced contract 6
under this section for the purpose of completing anticipated types of 7
work based on hourly rates or unit pricing for one or more categories 8
of work or trades. 9
(a) For the purposes of this section, "unit priced contract" 10
means a competitively bid contract in which public works are 11
anticipated on a recurring basis to meet the business or operational 12
needs of the county, under which the contractor agrees to a fixed 13
period indefinite quantity delivery of work, at a defined unit price 14
for each category of work. 15
(b) Unit priced contracts must be executed for an initial 16
contract term not to exceed one year, with the county having the 17
option of extending or renewing the unit priced contract for one 18
additional year, except that contracts for the maintenance or repair 19
of a county ferry vessel or county ferry district vessel operated 20
under chapter 36.54 RCW may instead be for a term of up to 10 years.21
(c) Invitations for unit price bids shall include, for purposes 22
of the bid evaluation, estimated quantities of the anticipated types 23
of work or trades, and specify how the county will issue or release 24
work assignments, work orders, or task authorizations pursuant to a 25
unit priced contract for projects, tasks, or other work based on the 26
hourly rates or unit prices bid by the contractor. The contract must 27
be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder as defined under RCW 28
39.04.010. Whenever possible, the county must invite at least one bid 29
from a certified minority or woman contractor who otherwise qualifies 30
under this section. 31
(d) Unit price contractors shall pay prevailing wages for all 32
work that would otherwise be subject to the requirements of chapter 33
39.12 RCW. Prevailing wages for all work performed pursuant to each 34
work order must be the prevailing wage rates in effect at the 35
beginning date for each contract year. Unit priced contracts must 36
have prevailing wage rates updated annually. Intents and affidavits 37
for prevailing wages paid must be submitted annually for all work 38
completed within the previous 12-month period of the unit priced 39
contract. 40
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(10) If a county subject to these provisions has public works 1
performed by public employees in any budget period that are in excess 2
of this 10 percent limitation, the amount in excess of the permitted 3
amount shall be reduced from the otherwise permitted amount of public 4
works that may be performed by public employees for that county in 5
its next budget period. Ten percent of the motor vehicle fuel tax 6
distributions to that county shall be withheld if two years after the 7
year in which the excess amount of work occurred, the county has 8
failed to so reduce the amount of public works that it has performed 9
by public employees. The amount withheld shall be distributed to the 10
county when it has demonstrated in its reports to the state auditor 11
that the amount of public works it has performed by public employees 12
has been reduced as required. 13
(11) In addition to the percentage limitation provided in 14
subsection (8) of this section, counties subject to these provisions 15
containing a population of 400,000 or more shall not have public 16
employees perform: A public works project in excess of $90,000 if 17
more than a single craft or trade is involved with the public works 18
project, a riverine project or stormwater project in excess of 19
$250,000 if more than a single craft or trade is involved with the 20
riverine project or stormwater project, a public works project in 21
excess of $45,000 if only a single craft or trade is involved with 22
the public works project, or a riverine project or stormwater project 23
in excess of $125,000 if only a single craft or trade is involved 24
with the riverine project or stormwater project. A public works 25
project, a riverine project, and a stormwater project means a 26
complete project. The restrictions in this subsection do not permit 27
the division of the project into units of work or classes of work to 28
avoid the restriction on work that may be performed by public 29
employees on a single project. 30
The cost of a separate public works project shall be the costs of 31
materials, supplies, equipment, and labor on the construction of that 32
project. The value of the public works budget shall be the value of 33
all the separate public works projects within the budget.34
(12) In addition to the accounting and recordkeeping requirements 35
contained in chapter 39.04 RCW, any county which uses public 36
employees to perform public works projects under RCW 36.32.240(1) 37
shall prepare a year-end report to be submitted to the state auditor 38
indicating the total dollar amount of the county's public works 39
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construction budget and the total dollar amount for public works 1
projects performed by public employees for that year.2
The year-end report submitted pursuant to this subsection to the 3
state auditor shall be in accordance with the standard form required 4
by RCW 43.09.205. 5
(13) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, 6
counties may use public employees without any limitation for 7
emergency work performed under an emergency declared pursuant to RCW 8
36.32.270, and any such emergency work shall not be subject to the 9
limitations of this section. Publication of the description and 10
estimate of costs relating to correcting the emergency may be made 11
within seven days after the commencement of the work. Within two 12
weeks of the finding that such an emergency existed, the county 13
legislative authority shall adopt a resolution certifying the damage 14
to public facilities and costs incurred or anticipated relating to 15
correcting the emergency. Additionally this section shall not apply 16
to architectural and engineering or other technical or professional 17
services performed by public employees in connection with a public 18
works project. 19
(14) In lieu of the procedures of subsections (3) through (12) of 20
this section, a county may let contracts using the small works roster 21
process provided in RCW 39.04.151 through 39.04.154.22
Whenever possible, the county shall invite at least one proposal 23
from a certified minority or woman contractor who shall otherwise 24
qualify under this section. 25
(15) The allocation of public works projects to be performed by 26
county employees shall not be subject to a collective bargaining 27
agreement. 28
(16) This section does not apply to performance-based contracts, 29
as defined in RCW 39.35A.020(6), that are negotiated under chapter 30
39.35A RCW. 31
(17) Nothing in this section prohibits any county from allowing 32
for preferential purchase of products made from recycled materials or 33
products that may be recycled or reused. 34
(18) This section does not apply to contracts between the public 35
stadium authority and a team affiliate under RCW 36.102.060(4), or 36
development agreements between the public stadium authority and a 37
team affiliate under RCW 36.102.060(7) or leases entered into under 38
RCW 36.102.060(8). 39
p. 6 HB 2566
Sec. 2. RCW 36.32.245 and 2016 c 95 s 9 are each amended to read 1
as follows: 2
(1) No contract for the purchase of materials, equipment, or 3
supplies may be entered into by the county legislative authority or 4
by any elected or appointed officer of the county until after bids 5
have been submitted to the county. Bid specifications shall be in 6
writing and shall be filed with the clerk of the county legislative 7
authority for public inspection. An advertisement shall be published 8
in the official newspaper of the county stating the time and place 9
where bids will be opened, the time after which bids will not be 10
received, the materials, equipment, supplies, or services to be 11
purchased, and that the specifications may be seen at the office of 12
the clerk of the county legislative authority. The advertisement 13
shall be published at least once at least thirteen days prior to the 14
last date upon which bids will be received. 15
(2)(a) The bids shall be in writing, may be in either hard copy 16
or electronic form as specified by the county, and shall be filed 17
with the clerk. The bids shall be opened and read in public at the 18
time and place named in the advertisement. Contracts requiring 19
competitive bidding under this section may be awarded only to the 20
lowest responsible bidder. Immediately after the award is made, the 21
bid quotations shall be recorded and open to public inspection and 22
shall be available by telephone inquiry. Any or all bids may be 23
rejected for good cause. 24
(b) If no bid is received on the first call for bids, the county 25
legislative authority may:26
(i) Readvertise and make a second call for bids;27
(ii) Enter into a contract without any further call for bids; or28
(iii) Purchase the supplies, materials, or equipment.29
(3) For advertisement and formal sealed bidding to be dispensed 30
with as to purchases between ((ten thousand )) $20,000 and ((fifty 31
thousand dollars )) $100,000, the county legislative authority must 32
use the uniform process to award contracts as provided in RCW 33
39.04.190. Advertisement and formal sealed bidding may be dispensed 34
with as to purchases of less than ((ten thousand dollars )) $20,000 35
upon the order of the county legislative authority.36
(4) This section does not apply to performance-based contracts, 37
as defined in RCW 39.35A.020(((4))), that are negotiated under 38
chapter 39.35A RCW; or contracts and purchases for the printing of 39
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election ballots, voting machine labels, and all other election 1
material containing the names of candidates and ballot titles.2
(5) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the legislative 3
authority of any county from allowing for preferential purchase of 4
products made from recycled materials or products that may be 5
recycled or reused. 6
(6) This section does not apply to contracting for public 7
defender services by a county. 8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. RCW 36.32.240 (Competitive bids— Purchasing 9
department— Counties with a population of less than four hundred 10
thousand) and 2009 c 229 s 7, 1996 c 219 s 1, 1993 c 198 s 5, 1991 c 11
363 s 57, 1985 c 169 s 8, 1983 c 3 s 77, 1974 ex.s. c 52 s 1, 1967 12
ex.s. c 144 s 15, & 1963 c 4 s 36.32.240 are each repealed.13
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