(a) A grant for a school building project under this chapter to meet project costs not eligible for state financial assistance under section 10-287a shall be paid in installments, the number and time of payment of which shall correspond to the number and time of principal installment payments on municipal bonds, including principal payments to retire temporary notes renewed for the third and subsequent years pursuant to section 7-378a or 7-378e, issued for the purpose of financing such costs and shall be equal to the state’s share of project costs per principal installment on municipal bonds or notes, except in cases where the project has been fully paid for, in which case the number of installments shall be five or, in the case of a regional agricultural science and technology education center or a cooperative regional special educational facility, shall be one; provided final payment shall not be made prior to an audit conducted by the State Board of Education for each project for which a final calculation was not made prior to July 31, 1983. Grants under twenty-five thousand dollars shall be paid in one lump sum. The Commissioner of Administrative Services shall certify to the State Comptroller, upon completion of the issuance of bonds or such renewal of temporary notes to finance each school building project, the dates and amounts of grant payments to be made pursuant to this chapter and the State Comptroller shall draw an order on the State Treasurer upon such certification to pay the amounts so certified when due. All site acquisition and project cost grant payments shall be made at least ten days prior to the principal payment on bonds or temporary notes related thereto or short-term financing issued to finance such site acquisition or project. Annual grant installments paid pursuant to this section on principal installment payments to retire temporary notes renewed pursuant to section 7-378a or 7-378e shall be based each year on the amount required to be retired pursuant to said sections, as adjusted for any ineligible project costs, and shall be paid only if at the time such temporary notes are renewed the rate of interest applicable to such notes is less than the rate of interest that would be applicable with respect to twenty-year bonds if issued at the time of such renewal. The determination related to such rates of interest pursuant to this subsection may be reviewed and shall be subject to approval by the Commissioner of Administrative Services prior to renewal of such notes. In the event that a school building project is not completed at the time bonds or temporary notes related thereto are issued to finance the project, the certification of the grant payments made pursuant to this section by the Commissioner of Administrative Services may be based on estimates, provided upon completion of such project and notification of final acceptance to the state, the Commissioner of Administrative Services shall adjust and recertify the dates and amounts of subsequent grant payments based on the state’s share of final eligible costs.

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(b) (1) All orders and contracts for school building construction receiving state assistance under this chapter, except as provided in subdivisions (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection, shall be awarded to the lowest responsible qualified bidder only after a public invitation to bid, except for (A) school building projects for which the town or regional school district is using a state contract pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-292, and (B) change orders, those contracts or orders costing less than ten thousand dollars and those of an emergency nature, as determined by the Commissioner of Administrative Services, in which cases the contractor or vendor may be selected by negotiation, provided no local fiscal regulations, ordinances or charter provisions conflict.

(2) All orders and contracts for architectural services shall be awarded from a pool of not more than the four most responsible qualified proposers after a public selection process. Such process shall, at a minimum, involve requests for qualifications, followed by requests for proposals, including fees, from the proposers meeting the qualifications criteria of the request for qualifications process. Following the qualification process, the awarding authority shall evaluate the proposals to determine the four most responsible qualified proposers using those criteria previously listed in the requests for qualifications and requests for proposals for selecting architectural services specific to the project or school district. Such evaluation criteria shall include due consideration of the proposer’s pricing for the project, experience with work of similar size and scope as required for the order or contract, organizational and team structure, including any subcontractors to be utilized by the proposer, for the order or contract, past performance data, including, but not limited to, adherence to project schedules and project budgets and the number of change orders for projects, the approach to the work required for the order or contract and documented contract oversight capabilities, and may include criteria specific to the project. Final selection by the awarding authority is limited to the pool of the four most responsible qualified proposers and shall include consideration of all criteria included within the request for proposals. As used in this subdivision, “most responsible qualified proposer” means the proposer who is qualified by the awarding authority when considering price and the factors necessary for faithful performance of the work based on the criteria and scope of work included in the request for proposals.

(3) (A) All orders and contracts for construction management services shall be awarded from a pool of not more than the four most responsible qualified proposers after a public selection process. Such process shall, at a minimum, involve requests for qualifications, followed by requests for proposals, including fees, from the proposers meeting the qualifications criteria of the request for qualifications process. Following the qualification process, the awarding authority shall evaluate the proposals to determine the four most responsible qualified proposers using those criteria previously listed in the requests for qualifications and requests for proposals for selecting construction management services specific to the project or school district. Such evaluation criteria shall include due consideration of the proposer’s pricing for the project, experience with work of similar size and scope as required for the order or contract, organizational and team structure for the order or contract, past performance data, including, but not limited to, adherence to project schedules and project budgets and the number of change orders for projects, the approach to the work required for the order or contract, and documented contract oversight capabilities, and may include criteria specific to the project. Final selection by the awarding authority is limited to the pool of the four most responsible qualified proposers and shall include consideration of all criteria included within the request for proposals. As used in this subdivision, “most responsible qualified proposer” means the proposer who is qualified by the awarding authority when considering price and the factors necessary for faithful performance of the work based on the criteria and scope of work included in the request for proposals.

(B) The construction manager’s contract shall include a guaranteed maximum price for the cost of construction. Such guaranteed maximum price shall be determined not later than ninety days after the selection of the trade subcontractor bids. Each construction manager shall invite bids and give notice of opportunities to bid on project elements on the State Contracting Portal. Each bid shall be kept sealed until opened publicly at the time and place set forth in the notice soliciting such bid. The construction manager shall, after consultation and approval by the town or regional school district, award any related contracts for project elements to the responsible qualified contractor submitting the lowest bid in compliance with the bid requirements, provided that (i) the construction manager shall not be eligible to submit a bid for any such project element, and (ii) construction shall not begin prior to the determination of the guaranteed maximum price, except work relating to site preparation and demolition may commence prior to such determination.

(4) All orders and contracts for any other consultant services, including, but not limited to, consultant services rendered by an owner’s representatives, construction administrators, program managers, environmental professionals, planners and financial specialists, shall comply with the public selection process described in subdivision (2) of this subsection. No costs associated with an order or contract for such consultant services shall be eligible for state financial assistance under this chapter unless such order or contract receives prior approval from the Commissioner of Administrative Services.

(c) If the Commissioner of Administrative Services determines that a building project has not met the approved conditions of the original application, the Department of Administrative Services may withhold subsequent state grant payments for said project until appropriate action, as determined by the commissioner, is taken to cause the building project to be in compliance with the approved conditions or may require repayment of all state grant payments for said project when such appropriate action is not undertaken within a reasonable time.

(d) (1) Each town or regional school district shall submit a final grant application to the Department of Administrative Services within one year from the date of completion and acceptance of the school building project by the town or regional school district. If a town or regional school district fails to submit a final grant application within said period of time, the commissioner may withhold ten per cent of the state reimbursement for such project.

(2) (A) On and after July 1, 2022, each town or regional school district shall submit a notice of project completion within three years from the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the school building project by the town or regional school district. If a town or regional school district fails to submit such notice of project completion within said period of time, the commissioner shall deem such project completed and conduct an audit of such project in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(B) For any school building project authorized by the General Assembly prior to July 1, 2022, the commissioner shall deem as complete any such project in which a certificate of occupancy has been granted, but for which a notice of project completion has not been submitted by the town or regional school district on or before July 1, 2025.