The Public Construction Law Changes Bill, which alters contracting rules for public schools, state agencies and local governments, initially passed the N.C. House by a 75-32 margin last Wednesday.
On Thursday, lawmakers sent the legislation back to committee to address review requirements and cost concerns. Bills that spend state revenue require a second approval from the N.C. House before being sent to the state Senate.
If passed, the new bill will allow state agencies, including the UNC system, to hire a general contractor for construction projects. The general contractor would manage the timeline and budget for projects as well as be responsible for the hiring of subcontractors to lay plumbing, install wiring and put in heating and air conditioning.
About $3.8 million remains in state reserves after the passage of the state budget in September. The construction bill would use $738,000 out of those reserves to cover the review requirements.
Rep. David Redwine, D-Brunswick, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he expects House members to find the additional money for the bill but is not sure where the money will come from.
The committee will face a number of other end-of-session bills in the next few days that also require state revenue.
"We earmarked some (of the budget) in preparation for other bills that might pass, but many have not passed," Redwine said.
He also said the state's revenues are not coming in as expected, and there might not be enough revenue in state coffers to cover the additional legislation. "We're in the middle of a shortfall. If we pass bills, we might be passing bills to spend funny money," Redwine said.
Jim Phillips, chairman of the UNC-system Board of Governors Public Affairs Committee, said he is not sure of the significance of the issues that pushed the bill back to House committee.
