Committee backs pilot allowing construction‑manager‑at‑risk contracting for public projects above $15 million
March 20, 2025 | 2025 Legislature WV, West Virginia
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The Committee on Government Organization voted to report a committee substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 5 87 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass.
The bill would authorize state and local public entities to use construction‑manager‑at‑risk, or CMAR, contracting on public construction projects with estimated costs greater than $15,000,000. Under CMAR, a construction manager is engaged during the design phase as a consultant and later serves as the contractor that assumes responsibility to deliver the project at the contracted price.
Why it matters: the bill is pitched as a pilot intended to limit cost overruns on large public projects — particularly school construction — by involving the construction manager early for constructability review, value engineering, and supply‑chain planning.
Committee counsel explained the selection and procurement steps: public entities would issue a request for qualifications, an evaluation committee (whose membership the bill specifies) would identify at least three prequalified firms, and the owner would then issue a request for proposals that includes pricing and performance criteria. If the owner cannot negotiate a contract with the highest‑ranked firm, the owner may negotiate with the second or third ranked firms. The bill also requires a single report to the joint committee on government finance about the CMAR program.
The draft raises two code thresholds: it lengthens the time bids must remain open from 30 to 60 days to allow for contract negotiations if all bids exceed available funding, and it raises the competitive‑bidding threshold from $25,000 to $50,000 to align with related code changes enacted in 2024.
Senators who spoke in support highlighted cost overruns on school and other public projects and the potential for CMAR to control scope and price earlier in project development. “What we have been experiencing in the industry has been cost overruns that have happened on a number of state projects, and, especially within our schools that are being built,” the senior Senator from the Eighth said. He described stakeholder meetings with contractors, architects and officials and characterized the bill as a pilot to see if CMAR will work in the state.
After discussion and no further amendments, the committee agreed by voice vote to report the committee substitute to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.
Next steps: the committee’s favorable recommendation sends the bill to the full Senate for further consideration.
The bill would authorize state and local public entities to use construction‑manager‑at‑risk, or CMAR, contracting on public construction projects with estimated costs greater than $15,000,000. Under CMAR, a construction manager is engaged during the design phase as a consultant and later serves as the contractor that assumes responsibility to deliver the project at the contracted price.
Why it matters: the bill is pitched as a pilot intended to limit cost overruns on large public projects — particularly school construction — by involving the construction manager early for constructability review, value engineering, and supply‑chain planning.
Committee counsel explained the selection and procurement steps: public entities would issue a request for qualifications, an evaluation committee (whose membership the bill specifies) would identify at least three prequalified firms, and the owner would then issue a request for proposals that includes pricing and performance criteria. If the owner cannot negotiate a contract with the highest‑ranked firm, the owner may negotiate with the second or third ranked firms. The bill also requires a single report to the joint committee on government finance about the CMAR program.
The draft raises two code thresholds: it lengthens the time bids must remain open from 30 to 60 days to allow for contract negotiations if all bids exceed available funding, and it raises the competitive‑bidding threshold from $25,000 to $50,000 to align with related code changes enacted in 2024.
Senators who spoke in support highlighted cost overruns on school and other public projects and the potential for CMAR to control scope and price earlier in project development. “What we have been experiencing in the industry has been cost overruns that have happened on a number of state projects, and, especially within our schools that are being built,” the senior Senator from the Eighth said. He described stakeholder meetings with contractors, architects and officials and characterized the bill as a pilot to see if CMAR will work in the state.
After discussion and no further amendments, the committee agreed by voice vote to report the committee substitute to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.
Next steps: the committee’s favorable recommendation sends the bill to the full Senate for further consideration.
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