BATON ROUGE — On Tuesday, the Louisiana Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 216, authored by Sen. Valarie Hodges (R-Denham Springs), aiming to enhance efficiency and transparency in the state's road construction projects.
The bill authorizes the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) to implement the "A+B" bidding method. This approach evaluates both the cost of a project (A) and the time required for its completion (B), encouraging contractors to deliver quality work promptly. By incentivizing timely project completion, the bill seeks to reduce delays and associated costs in road construction.
Sen. Hodges highlighted the significance of this legislation, stating that it is a "game-changer for Louisiana," as it ties project costs to completion times, promoting accountability and efficiency in public infrastructure projects.
After the bill's passing, Sen. Hodges stated on X that it was designed to "reform the bid process/contracting system, so never again will we see road projects like JUBAN" dragging on for over a decade."
Having cleared the Senate, SB 216 now advances to the House for further consideration.
For the full text of the bill visit https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=25RS&b=SB216&sbi=y
