Lawmaker: State bidding changes anti-free market

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter

MADISON – A measure buried in the $70 billion biennial budget will drastically change the state’s construction bidding process, forcing some contractors to work together and locking others out of the bidding process altogether, according to state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah.

Kaufert, who called the measure an “anti-new entrepreneurial bill,” predicted other changes in the same provision will slow projects, create legal headaches, and ultimately cost taxpayers more.

“DOA’s bidding rule changes will hurt taxpayers by raising the costs of future construction projects and potentially hurt job creation and new business growth by artificially limiting the number of construction companies allowed to bid on future projects,” Kaufert, vice chairman of the state Building Commission, said in a statement.

The lawmaker had hoped to offer a floor amendment to remove the provision from the budget, which he said has no business in the state budget.

That didn’t happen. The Republican-controlled Assembly on Wednesday passed the budget after Democrats opted not to debate or offer any amendments. Early Friday morning, the Senate passed the budget without a single amendment on a narrow 17-16 vote.

Gov. Scott Walker still could veto the measure, but that seems unlikely. His administration requested the changes through the state Department of Administration. DOA spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis tells Wisconsin Reporter single-prime contracting, in which the state awards a building construction contract through a competitive process to one main contractor, “makes the process more efficient, while still keeping the process fair and transparent.”