School boards will likely be working with an increased bid limit at the start of Fiscal Year 2021.

 

House members passed Senate Bill 135, which increases the bid limit for certain public improvements to $100,000, on a 58-8 vote after the House Local Government committee had passed the bill on a 12-0 vote.

 

ASBSD Lobbyist Dick Tieszen testified in favor of the bill during its Local Government committee hearing that “the cost of doing (building) projects is so much more expensive” today than it was nearly two decades when the law was last updated.

 

Rep. Kirk Chaffee reiterated that point on the House floor, telling his fellow Representatives “simple (building) costs have gone up” and asked them to “think about what construction costs have done over the last” 20 years.

 

Gov. Kristi Noem signed the bill into law.

 

For updates on everything related to K-12 education, check the ASBSD Blog.