Jamail & Smith Construction Contributes to Changes in JOC Legislation to Benefit Public Entities

Greg Smith, PE, Executive VP
Jamail & Smith Construction

During the last legislative session, Jamail & Smith Construction, and a consortium of Job Order Contractors worked collaboratively with the Associated General Contractors (ABC) and Texas Society of Architects (TSA) to make improvements to the laws affecting Job Order Contracting (JOC).  The original law, which had been drawn directly from the Federal Government, included provisions which were both undefined and ambiguous in the context of Texas Statute, leaving customers and contractors with questions on when and where JOC brought best value to Public Agencies.

Job Order Contracting

JOC has been used for decades by public entities to complete renovation and repair projects. JOC involves multi-year contracts that allow organizations to easily call on their chosen contractor when they need construction services. This delivery method increases response time and helps expedite the construction schedule, while saving owners time and money without compromising quality. JOC is fairly simple and straightforward, but it has often been misunderstood due to the ambiguity surrounding what exactly qualified as a JOC project and who could utilize the delivery method. On September 1, 2011, a law was codified that clarified the meaning of JOC, which helped to move the industry forward as a leading construction process.

Improvements in Legislation

1.      The first substantive improvement to come from House Bill 628 (HB 628) is a change in the verbiage to clearly authorize job order contracting for "maintenance, repair, alteration, renovation, remediation, or minor construction."  This new bill gives ALL public agencies the ability to confidently utilize job order contracting and minimizes the ambiguity that previously surrounded the definition of JOC work. 

2.      Second, HB 628 increases public transparency in the utilization of JOC, while preserving a public entity’s right to access JOC services through interlocal agreements and purchasing cooperatives.

3.  The third change is the establishment of an approval requirement of $500,000 for individual job orders. This approval requirement means an agency may use JOC for a job of any size, but if it costs more than $500,000, the public agency would have to approve the project in an open meeting with its governing board.  This approval threshold is substantially higher than any other procurement method.  Additionally, if an entity decided to use an interlocal agreement or purchasing cooperative to obtain JOC services, the interlocal agreement would require governing body approval, as well. 

Benefits for Public Entities

Overall, the changes in JOC legislation have streamlined the laws for local, state and education codes, making them consistent across the spectrum. HB 628 provides significant enhancements in the JOC law that allows for greater confidence of application by public agencies and improved transparency for taxpayers, while increasing the acceptance of a reliable service in the public market.

Jamail & Smith Construction is committed to helping our customers obtain greater value and improve the way they build.    Our efforts to improve the law, the techniques, and results of the construction process helps customers continue to get more, for less, more quickly.

Greg Smith, PE, Executive Vice President, Jamail & Smith Construction