Municipalities Must Include All Estimated Costs, Not Just Labor Costs, in Determining Project Construction Costs Under G.L. c. 149

The Office of the Attorney General recently released a bid decision concerning what costs awarding authorities should consider when determining which bid procedures to use for public building construction contracts. The decision resulted from a bid protest asserting that a community college violated public bidding laws by failing to consider the cost of materials when it determined that quotes for the project could be solicited pursuant to G.L. c. 149, § 44A(2)(B), which is reserved for public construction contracts estimated to cost between $10,000 and $50,000. The college asserted that it relied on previous guidance from the state that stated that only construction labor costs counted toward the $50,000 threshold when determining whether a municipality could solicit three quotes pursuant to G.L. c. 149, § 44A(2)(B). 

The AGO’s decision clarified that awarding authorities are obligated to consider all costs, including materials, when estimating the cost of a public construction contract for the purposes of soliciting quotes. This clarification is a change from prior guidance from the Operational Services Division.