David Pugh Quoted in BBJ on Alabama Legislature’s Changes to Construction Law

Bradley attorney David Pugh was quoted in the Birmingham Business Journal on the Alabama Legislature’s modifications to its public works statutes, which increased the minimum public works contract requiring a performance bond equal to 100% of the cost of a contract and a payment bond equal to 50% from $50,000 to $100,000.

“It’s been more than 25 years since that number was changed,” said Pugh on the update.

The state legislature also updated public works statutes to create additional options for advertising projects to be bid. Formerly the receipt of bids and completion of a job were required to be advertised in newspapers for public works. “I think in every case it preserved the newspaper option, but it also added options such as a website, if the agency had a website,” Pugh said.

Alabama was behind the curve compared to other states, he explained, also pointing to another change he believes many in the state’s construction industry would like to see.

“I think it’s accurate to say that a majority, possibly even a substantial majority, of the participants in public construction projects in Alabama, both on the owner side and the contractor side, would like to see some alternative delivery method options expanded in the state of Alabama,” Pugh said, adding that most other states allow more flexibility. “For basic public works procurement, we don’t have a design-build option available on public projects. We don’t have a construction manager at risk option. We don’t have a construction management finance option so that we can do public-private partnerships like they’ve done aggressively in other states like Texas and Florida.”

The full article, “Changes in Construction Laws Creating New Options,” was published by the Birmingham Business Journal on September 18, 2023. (login required)