The Senate Government Organization Committee voted to report the committee substitute for Senate Bill 731 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass. The substitute repeals the statutory authority for the Design‑Build Board while preserving the ability of state entities, municipalities and school districts to use the design‑build delivery method; the bill carries an effective date of July 1, 2025.

Committee counsel explained that the original introduced bill had repealed the entire article and could have been read to prohibit future use of design‑build; the substitute was drafted to remove the board’s statutory structure while leaving the process available. Counsel told members the Department of Administration would retain rulemaking and supervisory authority over the process under the substitute.

Robert Paulson, general counsel for the West Virginia Department of Administration, testified that design‑build can speed project delivery but carries different risk profiles and that the department wants municipalities and school districts to be able to use the method without the extra step of board review in many cases. He said in practice some projects that claimed to be design‑build were not truly design‑heavy and that board oversight often added delay.

Jason Visatella, chief executive officer of the Contractors Association of West Virginia, summarized the board’s origin in Chapter 5, Article 22A and said stakeholders worked with sponsors and the Department to craft a substitute that eliminates the board as a barrier while preserving standards and the availability of the method.

Justin Williams of Affiliated Construction Trades, who serves on the design‑build board, said the board includes contractors, architects, engineers, workforce representatives and insurance interests and urged that adequate guidelines remain to protect taxpayer dollars. During discussion, several senators expressed concern about oversight for very large projects and suggested rulemaking could set dollar thresholds or other additional review for higher‑value projects.

The vice chair moved to report the committee substitute to the full Senate; the motion carried by voice vote and the chair declared the motion adopted.

Ending: The substitute will be reported to the full Senate; committee members asked that Department of Administration rulemaking address oversight and thresholds for large projects.