(1) The Attorney General shall prepare and maintain model rules that specify procedures for public contracting under the Public Contracting Code and that are appropriate for all contracting agencies to use. The Attorney General may devise and publish forms for use with the model rules. The Attorney General shall adopt the model rules in accordance with ORS Chapter 183. Before adopting or amending a model rule, the Attorney General shall consult with the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, the Director of Transportation, representatives of county governments, representatives of city governments, representatives of school boards and other knowledgeable persons.

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(2) The Attorney General shall adopt model rules that specify procedures for all contracting agencies to use to enter into energy savings performance contracts. Before adopting or amending a rule under this subsection, the Attorney General shall consult with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, the State Department of Energy, local contracting agencies and other knowledgeable persons. The Attorney General may develop standard contract forms for use with energy savings performance contracts.

(3)(a) The Attorney General shall adopt model rules that specify procedures for all contracting agencies to use to procure construction manager/general contractor services. Before adopting or amending a rule under this subsection, the Attorney General shall consult with the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, the Director of Transportation, local contracting agencies, construction contractors, construction subcontractors and other knowledgeable persons.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (6) of this section, a contracting agency may not adopt the contracting agency’s own rules for procuring construction manager/general contractor services.

(4) After each legislative session, the Attorney General shall review all laws the Legislative Assembly passed that affect public contracting to determine if the Attorney General should amend or repeal a model rule prepared under this section or adopt a new rule. If the Attorney General determines that a modification of the model rules is necessary, the Attorney General shall prepare the modification within such time as to allow the modification to take effect no later than 120 days after the effective date of the legislation that caused the Attorney General to modify the rule. The Attorney General may prepare a modification to take effect 121 or more days after the effective date of the legislation if the Attorney General, in a notice to the state agencies and persons listed in subsection (1) of this section, specifies when the modification will take effect.

(5) A contracting agency that has not adopted the contracting agency’s own rules of procedure in accordance with subsection (6) of this section is subject to the model rules the Attorney General adopts under this section, including all modifications to the model rules that the Attorney General may adopt.

(6)(a) A contracting agency may adopt the contracting agency’s own rules of procedure for public contracts that:

(A) Specifically state that the model rules the Attorney General adopts under this section do not apply to the contracting agency; and

(B) Prescribe the rules of procedure that the contracting agency will use for public contracts, which may include portions of the model rules the Attorney General adopts.

(b) A contracting agency that adopts rules under this subsection shall review the rules each time the Attorney General modifies the model rules under this section to determine whether the contracting agency should modify the contracting agency’s rules to ensure compliance with statutory changes. [2003 c.794 § 10; 2003 c.794 § 10a; 2011 c.458 § 10; 2013 c.522 § 4; 2015 c.767 § 80]