CONNECTICUT’S ‘LITTLE MILLER’ Act applies to any construction, reconstruction, or development property rehabilitation by a municipality, governmental unit, or nonprofit corporation to which a municipality has delegated powers, according to a recent OLR Backgrounder. The report includes information on the bonding requirements for state and municipal construction projects, surety bond contract requirements, limits on use of owner-controlled insurance programs, means by which contractors and subcontractors may enforce payment, and payment withholding limitations.
CONNECTICUT PROVIDES an in-state preference for local goods and services, but only when all other factors are equal; agricultural products; and certain small contactors, according to an Office Legislative Research report. The law also establishes a hiring preference law for public works projects. Additionally, it provides a preference for state building code knowledge and a firm's proximity to a project site when awarding construction consultant contracts. Connecticut also has a “reciprocity” law that penalizes out-of-state firms that benefit from preferential purchasing laws in their home states. If such a firm is the low bidder for a Connecticut contract, the law potentially allows an in-state firm to match that bid.
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING sources may be unknown, but President Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood “have a considerable opportunity to make a mark on transportation,” says Mort Downey, a former deputy transportation secretary, according to Bloomberg. While there is not a lot of support for an increased gasoline tax to help fund transportation infrastructure, the public needs to be educated as to what's at stake, says Marcia Hale, president of Building America’s Future. “If you do the right type of organizing, people will come around on it.”
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