Committee advances bill allowing DPWT to waive project labor agreements under limited conditions

The TIE Committee on Oct. 14 advanced CB 52‑20‑25, a bill that would allow the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) to grant waivers of project labor agreement (PLA) requirements for certain curb and road rehabilitation construction projects when a competitive procurement shows no qualified bidders willing to work under a PLA.

Sponsor Council member Burrows described the bill as intended to prevent road projects from stalling when PLA requirements result in no qualified bids. The legislation was amended in committee to clarify procurement roles and decision authority: the draft adds the purchasing agent and requires mutual concurrence with the director of DPWT when a waiver is granted. The amendments reflect input from the Office of Procurement, Office of Law, DPWT and the Department of Parks.

“...the intention of this legislation was never to hold up road work because we desperately need it in our districts,” Burrows said, describing prior experience where PLAs produced no bids. The sponsor said the bill is intended to preserve PLA use where feasible while providing a path to proceed on projects when the market will not support PLA terms.

Committee member questions focused on which offices will conduct and evaluate solicitations and who will make the final waiver decision. County executive staff drafted the technical amendments and the sponsor moved them; the motion to move the bill forward with those amendments passed 3‑0.

Next steps: CB 52 will move to the full council with the committee’s recommended amendments clarifying procurement concurrence and the director’s role.