Chapter 4 - § 4.1 • INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 4.1 • INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers Colorado law governing Colorado construction contracts to which the State of Colorado or one of its agencies is a party. It also addresses the procurement of services and supplies for construction, including architectural and engineering contracts by the state and its agencies. Other construction-related issues, not particular to the state and its agencies, are covered in other chapters.

The principal statutes governing state construction contracts in Colorado appear in Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, Article 91, Construction Contracts with Public Entities,¹ which applies broadly to most construction contracts of the state, county, city, town, and district governments.² Colorado construction law applicable to counties, cities, towns, and district governments is covered in Chapter 5. Article 92, Construction Bidding for Public Projects,³ applies to all state agencies that exercise construction authority or discretion.⁴

Colorado has a Procurement Code based on the Model Procurement Code (Colorado Procurement Code).⁵ The Colorado Procurement Code has unique features, however, and practitioners familiar with the Model Code should always check the Colorado Procurement Code. The purpose of the Colorado Procurement Code is to simplify, clarify, and modernize procurement law; to ensure fair and equitable treatment; and to foster effective broad-based competition.⁶ The Colorado Procurement Code applies to "all publicly funded contracts entered into by all governmental bodies of the executive branch of this state,"⁷ except for specified exceptions such as the procurement of bridge and highway construction, contracts between the state and political subdivisions, utilities, real property, and professional services.⁸ It also applies to contracts funded in whole or in part with federal assistance money.⁹ Since the Colorado Procurement Code applies to the procurement of capital construction and controlled maintenance, it is important in a state construction project to evaluate the interaction of the Colorado Procurement Code with the construction-specific acts referenced above. The Colorado Procurement Code is comprehensive, and extensive regulations have been promulgated.¹⁰ Finally, it encourages local government entities to adopt it, but no local governmental entities are known to have done so.¹¹

The Department of Personnel and Administration is the umbrella agency in charge of much of the procurement of goods and...