Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0097

19- 00091/ OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 14 .1.,, LEE L. HALE 6..EPIJTY ATTORNEY . WILLIAM M. SEKURS. JR. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT S. TURNER CMIER ASSISTANT ATTORNEY JANIE NC/11LO ADMINI IVE ASS' • rej 1..44T CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA 34-77 ADMINISTRATIVE SUILOING 14 NORTH UNION STREEt MONTGOMERY IDA 3413e AREA 12011. S14-S1SO Honorable Hoyt Levie Chairman Marshall County Hospital Board 200 North Broad Street Albertville, Alabama 35950 Contracts - Hospital Boards - Ccapetitive Bid Law Hospital construction projects are subject to competitive bid. Dear Sir: In a recent letter addressed to this office, you requested an opinion regarding the applicability of the competitive bid law to the Marshall County Hospital Board. Your letter reads, in pertinent part, as follows: "As Chairman of the Marshall County Hospital Board, I request your opinion on the following: The Boaz-Albertville Hospital proposes to grade and prepare a site for a parking facility, the cost of which will be between twenty and thirty thousand dollars. I respectfully request your opinion as to whether the hospital may have this work done by negotiated contract without complying with the competitive bid law." This office has consistently ruled that contracts for the enlargement, construction, or alteration of public hospital facilities operated by the governing boards of an instrumentality of the state, counties, and municipalities are subject to the competitive bid law. For your convenience, I have attached one such opinion addressed to the Honorable Thouas Reuben Bell, Attorney At Law, Sylarauga, Alabama, dated • Honorable Hoyt Levie Albertville, Alabama "- 2 - December 15, 1971. It is my opinion that the grading and preparation of a site for a parking lot would constitute construction and enlargement of the Boaz- Albertville Hospital. Therefore, this project must be advertised for competitive bids. If I may be of any further assistance to you regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, GIMES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By - PATRICK L. ROBINSON Assistant Attorney General PLR/dc SI or) C,K December 15, 1971 Honorable Thomas Reuben Bell Attorney at Law 223 North Norton Avenue Sylacauga, Alabama 35150 Dear Mr. Bells I have your letter of December 1, 1971 in which you request my opinion on behalf of the Sylacauga Hospital board as to whether a contract for enlargement of a public hospital facility operated by the governing board of an instrumentality of the municipality must be let by Competitive bidding or if the same might be exempt under Section 507, Title 55, Code of Alabama Recompiled 1958 (1969 Cumulative Pocket Parts). Section 507 of Title 55, supra, referred to by: you is Section 2 of Act No. 217, Acts of Alabama 1967, page 259, as amended, commonly referred to as the competitive bid law. The pertinent portionof this section exempts from competitive bids . purchases for public hospitals, and nursing homes operated by the governing boards of instrumentalities of the state, counties and municipalities; Exemptions immediately preceding and subsequent to the quoted exemption in Section 507, supra, in referring to facilities operated by a medical clinic board ox leased by a medical clinic board and referring to buildings constructed and equipped for industrial development in addition to the word "purchase" used the terms "enlargement or expansion of any building or structure" and "enlargement or extension of any plant" and, in other portions, uses where applicable the term "construction, installArion and acquisition." The use of such terms indicates a clear intent on the part of the Legislature to specify those items which are intended to be exempt from the terms of competitive bidding and such terms were • If we may be of any further assistance please let me know. Very truly yours, WILLIAM J. BAXLEY Attorney General By - JAMBS W. WEBB Assistant Attorney General JWWwb Hgn. Thos. Reuben Bell 2 - 12-15-71 -..'Sylacauga, Ala. 35150 noticeably omitted from the exemption applying to the public hospitals which leads me to an obvious conclusion that the Legislature did not intend the word "purchase" to include the term "construction, expansion or enlargement" of a public facility. In Quarterly Report of Attorney General, Volume 130 at page 17, this office approved the purchases of personal property for the Muscle Shoals Mental Health Center without competitive bidding under this exemption. At the same time, it was noted in the correspondence that the center was built under competitive bids and the only exemption requested was for purchase of personal property. The9 above factors considered, I am of the opinion that the contract for enlargement of a public hospital facility is not exempt from competitive bid under Section 507, supra.