Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0103

WALTER S. TURNER CHIEF ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL • LEE L. KALE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM M. BEMURS. )R EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Dolos CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA poAR 20 113.; ADMINISTRATIVEOUILDIMG 66 NORTH UNION MONTGOMERY. ARCA lass). /54-111 SO JANIE NOOLES ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Honorable James C. Bailey President v Wallace State Community College P. O. Box 250 Hanceville, Alabama 35077 Contracts - Competitive Bid Law - Colleges and Universities There is no authority to change the bid specifications and negotiate a reduction of the contract price with the low biddpr. Den Sir: In a recent letter addressed to this office, you asked for an opinion regarding the canpetitive bid law. See Code of Alabama 1975, Section 41-16-50 through Section 41-16-63 and Code of Alabama 1975, Section 39-2-1 through Section 39-2-13. Your letter reads, in pertinent part, as follows: "On April 3, 1978, Wallace State Community College issued bonds for $1,000,000.00. These funds were designated for the construction of an Auditorium, Student Center/Music Department building. Bids for the project were opened June 27, 1978 and Perimeter Construction Company of Birmingham was the low bidder. at $1,714,400.00. A summary of the results of the bids is enclosed for your review. Negotiations have taken place to reduce the bid to $1,499,320.00. The reductions are within 107, of the base bid. This action if. favorable will allow us to begin construction soon. The $1,000,000.00 from the bond issue and an additional $500,000.00 from the TSJC authority will be used. • Honorable Jales C. Bailey Hanceville, Alabama A copy of the contract and contingent agreement is enclosed for your review and I need your opinion on the following at your earliest convenience. 1. The legality of the negotiation reduction. 2. Is it legal to execute a contract after a lapse of time, 6/27/78 to 8/11/78? 3. Does the length of time (450 days) for construction violate any state laws? 4. Is the contingent clause legal under Alabama laws? I . . .I There is no legal authority to change the bid specifications and negotiate a reduction in the contract price with a low bidder. In the event that bids are taken on a project and the lowest bid is in excess of the amount of Luney available for the project, then the project Must be rebid. When rebidding the project, the specificaticns should be redrawn in order to solicit bids which will be within the budget available for the proposed project. Any previous opinions issued by this office which are in conflict with this opinion are hereby overruled. As to the other three questions which you asked, it is my opinion that these three items mould not be illegal. It should be noted that this opinion does not affect previous Attorney General opinions which address situations where the construction of a project is in progress and a change order is necessary due to exigent circumstances. Many construction projects require that change orders be granted because of matters not contemplated at the time the contract was awarded to the low bidder. This opinion merely prohibits the awarding authority and the contractor from negotiating a change in the specifi- cations to require less work at a time when no exigent circumstances exist. Of course, if the low bidder wanted to construct the building according to the original specifi- cations at a reduced price, this would not be prohibited by the competitive bid law. If I may be of any further assistance to you regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, CHARLES A GRADDICK Attorney General By - 1 7ti-^.4; 172- ..eiv-intlace, Th PATRICK L. ROBINSON Assistant Attorney General PLR/dc