A plan to give Idaho state agencies more discretion when selecting construction contractors has been toned down to limit the reasons why contractors could be rejected.  An Idaho Senate committee initially rejected the legislation, with lawmakers saying to was too broad and could lead to blacklisting some contractors.

Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, said he will take out sections of the legislation that would let the Department of Administration or other agencies use “good faith factors” to exclude contractors from bidding on projects.  “That language is removed by the amendment,” he said.  The legislation would still let agencies consider past performance, reliability, and safety in decisions not to take contractors’ bids.  Darrington said his amendment also includes a requirement that the state notify disqualified contractors.  “That seems to satisfy Sen. (Bart) Davis and Sen. (Kate) Kelly, who had some concerns,” Darrington said.

Darrington’s amendments next need to be approved by the full Senate.  Read the text of the legislation, without amendments, here.