Washington State Department of Enterprise Services

The committee meeting agenda includes a Prevailing Wage Study and ongoing discussions regarding the Project Review Committee position descriptions and their relation to the overall strategic plan. Additional strategic issues to be discussed include owner and stakeholder readiness for public works contracting, the role and future of the Project Review Committee, defining the value added by the board for public works, outcome-oriented reviews of the strategic plan, ethical considerations for membership, and the reauthorization process for board operations.

The agenda for the meeting includes leadership elections for the Chair and Vice-Chair positions, appointments for the Project Review Committee across various sectors including architects, higher education, and public hospitals, and reports from the BE/DBI Committee, Board Development Committee, and the Prevailing Wage Study Taskforce. Additional items include a review of shared commitments and administrative recaps of action items.

The committee discussed the upcoming prevailing wage study, including the study's objectives, legislative reporting requirements, and the formation of a task force to examine the impact of annual wage adjustments on public works contracts. Additionally, the committee continued discussions regarding the reimagining of the Project Review Committee (PRC) process, focusing on ways to reduce administrative burdens, improve the efficiency of project approvals, and establish better feedback mechanisms for public owners.

The board focused on several key items including a report on legislative bills and the establishment of a task force to conduct a prevailing wage feasibility study. Extensive time was dedicated to appointing individuals to fill multiple expired positions for the Project Review Committee, including roles for construction managers, design industry engineers, general contractors, minority/women business representatives, and specialty subcontractors. The meeting also included updates from various committees and workgroups, a review of shared commitments for board conduct, and preliminary information regarding upcoming leadership elections. Additionally, the board received information regarding ongoing efforts to create a publicly owned state bank for Washington.

The key discussion centered on reviewing the Draft Joint Legislative Audit & Review Committee (JLARC) Report before the submission deadline. Objectives included reviewing content, identifying missing items, and finalizing performance measures for future submission to JLARC. Performance measures reviewed included the number of bills submitted, reports issued, and committee work related to advising the legislature. Specific focus areas were the reauthorization of the General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) program, the inclusion of Business Equity/Diverse Business Inclusion (BE/DBI) reports, and prompt pay/change order best practices. The committee discussed documenting the formation of the BE/DBI Committee and the WSDOT Project Delivery Method Review Task Force. Another significant topic involved the Project Review Committee (PRC) appointments, noting 50 appointments since 2021 and efforts to align term expirations. The committee also discussed documenting PRC denials to demonstrate value, suggesting visual presentation enhancements like dashboards or charts for key performance indicators, and whether to include the full 12-page lessons learned document as an attachment.