§ 61-204. Department of Real Estate Services - Planning, review and approval.

A.  The Department of Real Estate Services shall:

1.  Maintain a comprehensive master plan for utilization and construction of state buildings, capital improvements, and utilization of land owned by this state.  Requirements of the master planning process shall include:

a.reporting by each state agency concerning facility needs,

b.data acquisition of condition and performance benchmarking of state agency facilities,

c.analyses and audits of state agency facilities, properties and leaseholds to determine critical and long-range needs,

d.development of state agency long-range strategic facility plans,

e.short-range project programming to identify budget requests for facility capital improvements and asset management decisions, and

f.an annual capital plan for all state agencies submitted to the Legislature for line-item appropriation requests;

2.  Review and approve all construction plans and specifications to ensure compliance with good construction practices and space standards, costs of project, proposed construction timetables, and agency need for the project;

3.  Inspect prior to acceptance and final payment all completed projects for which the Department issued bid solicitations to ensure compliance with the plans and specifications of the project;

4.  Select and hire consultants and construction managers for projects as determined or approved by the Department.  The Department shall select, award and execute contracts to consultants and construction managers that provide services to state agencies subject to this act;

5.  Develop and issue solicitations for award of state agency contracts for construction services.  The Department shall have final approval authority for contracts and contract documents.  Neither the Department nor any public entity shall, for performance of work that requires that a contractor be licensed by this state, issue a solicitation to, or make a contract with, a contractor not licensed by this state;

6.  Review inspections performed by consultants and construction managers during construction, perform primary inspections when consultants or construction managers are not used, and final inspections after completion;

7.  Establish standards and policies as required to standardize facility assessment and benchmarking, facility operations and maintenance, asset preservation, design and energy standards, space utilization, material testing, indexes of efficiency, economy, and effectiveness;

8.  Monitor indices of facility condition, effectiveness of operations and maintenance programs, deferred maintenance prioritization, effectiveness of planning processes, budgeting for capital needs, application of facility standards as established by the Department, and performance outcomes of construction projects to ensure maximum efficiency in the expenditure of state funds for asset management and preservation of the state’s capital real property;

9.  Coordinate, monitor and report on statewide energy conservation programs delegated to the Office;

10.  Provide property leasing and brokerage services delegated to the Office;

11.  Report fraud or waste in any construction project by written notification with documentation for the report to the Attorney General.  The Attorney General shall take appropriate action to protect the interest of the state; and

12.  Prequalify as good and sufficient insurance carriers, bonding companies and surety companies to meet provisions of Sections 1 and 134 of this title.  The Director shall promulgate rules to establish criteria to determine whether a carrier or company is good and sufficient.  The prequalification requirement and process shall not violate the provisions of Section 135 of this title.

B.  When a state agency employs a licensed architect or licensed engineer as a full-time employee, said licensed employee may conduct required facility planning, prepare project plans and specifications and monitor construction work as prescribed by the Department.  State agencies authorized to employ licensed architects and engineers for the purposes of this section include:

1.  The Department of Transportation with respect to highways, bridges and dams;

2.  The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and its constituent institutions;

3.  The Military Department of the State of Oklahoma;

4.  The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department; and

5.  The Department of Human Services.

C.  Not later than December 31, 2012, with the advice of the State Facilities Director, the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall provide a report containing recommendations to the Legislature for the streamlining, integration, and consolidation of state construction, maintenance, and real property management processes to maximize capital assets and achieve cost savings to the state.  The report shall identify the necessary planning processes for transitioning from a decentralized capital budgeting process to a centralized annual capital plan appropriation process, to be implemented no later than January 1, 2014.

Added by Laws 1983, c. 304, § 172, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  Amended by Laws 1984, c. 279, § 13, operative July 1, 1984; Laws 1985, c. 294, § 10, emerg. eff. July 24, 1985; Laws 1986, c. 301, § 22, operative July 1, 1986; Laws 1988, c. 319, § 11, eff. Sept. 30, 1988; Laws 1998, c. 364, § 17, emerg. eff. June 8, 1998; Laws 2000, c. 363, § 16, emerg. eff. June 6, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 294, § 29, eff. Nov. 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 277, § 2, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2006, c. 271, § 29, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2012, c. 184, § 2; Laws 2013, c. 15, § 50, emerg. eff. April 8, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 302, § 10, eff. Nov. 1, 2013.

Note

NOTE:  Laws 2012, c. 304, § 321 repealed by Laws 2013, c. 15, § 51, emerg. eff. April 8, 2013.