North Michigan News

State Representative Parker Fairbairn has introduced a legislative proposal aimed at changing how Michigan state agencies award engineering and architectural design contracts. The proposed plan would require agencies to consider the qualifications and experience of design firms, instead of awarding contracts solely to the lowest bidder.

“Our state shouldn’t be awarding every design contract to whomever submits the lowest estimate,” said Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs. “It doesn’t make sense to automatically go with the cheapest option and ignore the potential long-term costs that may come with poor design and engineering. The sarcastic expression ‘good enough for government work’ may well have come from this very practice. The people of Michigan deserve and demand more for their money, and I believe this is one way to get if for them.”

Currently, Michigan law mandates that government contracts for architects and engineers are given to the lowest bidder. According to Fairbairn, this process can exclude reputable firms whose initial bids are higher but who might offer designs that better serve public needs or result in future savings.

The legislation seeks to introduce a Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) process for these contracts. This approach would allow agencies to evaluate contractors based on quality as well as cost. QBS is already used by 42 other states and by federal agencies.

A study conducted by the American Council of Engineering Companies indicates that using QBS can lead to cost savings, faster project completion times, and higher client satisfaction rates—with 89% of QBS projects rated highly by project owners.

“It’s surprising that Michigan has yet to adopt these best practices for government contracts when the overwhelming majority of our country already considers quality as a primary criterion,” Fairbairn said. “Michigan should be less focused on the cheapest bid and focus more on health, safety, and long-term costs when awarding such contracts."

House Bill 4774 has been sent to the House Regulatory Reform Committee, with a hearing scheduled for mid-September.