Sponsors (5)
Requires that public employees perform construction inspection work on covered highway construction contracts unless a State or local transportation agency lacks staff. Temporary consultant inspectors may be used only when the agency lacks staff and only for up to 12 months after contract award; agencies must report each fiscal year to the Secretary on any such consultant exceptions and the Secretary must publish those reports online.
When entering into a contract under Section 112(b) for a project subject to subsection (a) — including design‑build projects and 2‑phase contracts — a State transportation department or local transportation agency must ensure a public employee performs construction inspection functions for the project.
If a State transportation department or local transportation agency does not have adequate existing or obtainable staff to perform the required construction inspection functions, the department or agency may obtain those services through temporary consultant contracts until adequate staff exists.
Any temporary contracts used to provide construction inspection services under the exception may not extend beyond the date that is 12 months after the date the contract is awarded.
At least once each fiscal year, a State transportation department or local transportation agency that used the exception must submit to the Secretary a report that (I) describes all construction inspection functions provided through the temporary consultant contracts and (II) provides a detailed justification for the need for each exception.
The Secretary must make the reports submitted under the annual reporting requirement available to the public through the Department’s website.
State departments of transportation and local transportation agencies are directly affected: they must ensure construction inspections on covered highway contracts are done by public employees or, only temporarily, by consultants for up to 12 months if staff are unavailable. Agencies may need to hire, reassign, or otherwise fund additional public inspection staff, creating potential personnel and budget pressures because the text does not authorize new federal funds. Private engineering and inspection consultants are affected by a likely reduction in long-term inspection contracts for those projects and may be limited to short-term engagements. Federal oversight increases because agencies must file annual exception reports and the DOT will publish them, improving transparency and enabling public and federal review of consultant usage. Project managers will face additional administrative tasks to assess staffing, document exceptions, enforce the 12-month ceiling, and prepare reports. Labor relations and procurement processes at the state and local level may be impacted if collective bargaining rules or procurement regulations interact with the new requirement.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Last progress June 12, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 12, 2025 by John Garamendi