It will cost less to get publicly-funded construction projects started in South Dakota now that Governor Mike Rounds has signed legislation authorizing the use of standard contracting documents. That is because state officials, rather than pay attorneys to update old contracts from scratch, now will be able to use the ConsensusDOCS documents as a template to save time and money.
"Adopting these documents will make it easier, faster and cheaper to turn good project ideas into actual construction successes," said Larry P. Zikmund, president and chief executive officer of the South Dakota Building Chapter of the Associated General Contractors. "South Dakota is showing the nation that there is a better, more efficient way to handle contracts."
The new South Dakota law, known as HB 1212, establishes the terms and conditions in the ConsensusDOCS standard contracts as a pre-approved option for use on government-funded construction projects in the state. Zikmund noted that South Dakota's action is likely to lead other states looking to save money on construction projects to follow suit.
ConsensusDOCS are a library of already-drafted contract documents that are available for use in setting terms between an owner of a project and their contractors. The documents were created by a broad coalition of more than 20 leading construction organizations, including the Associated General Contractors of America, the Construction Owners Association of America, the Construction Owners Roundtable, among others.
The South Dakota Building Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and AGC of South Dakota worked closely with the state officials and legislators to get the new law passed. Zikmund said the legislation was needed because South Dakota is one of a few states in the country that specifies standard construction contracts in law.
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