(a) Whenever consultant services are required by the commissioner in fulfilling the responsibilities under section 4b-1, and in the case of each project, the commissioner shall invite responses from such firms by posting notice on the State Contracting Portal, except that the commissioner may receive consultant services under a contract entered into pursuant to subsection (d) of section 4b-51. The commissioner shall prescribe, by regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54, the advance notice required for, the manner of submission, and conditions and requirements of, such responses.

(b) In the case of a project, the responses received shall be considered by the selection panel. The panel shall select from among those responding no fewer than three firms, which such panel determines in accordance with criteria established by the commissioner are most qualified to perform the required consultant services. In the case of any project that requires consultant services by an architect or professional engineer, additional criteria to be considered by such panel in selecting a list of the most qualified firms shall include: (1) Such firm's knowledge of this state's building and fire codes, and (2) the geographic location of such firm in relation to the geographic location of the proposed project. The selection panel shall submit a list of the most qualified firms to the commissioner for the commissioner's consideration unless fewer than three responses for a particular project have been received, in which case the panel shall submit the names of all firms who have submitted responses.

(c) In the case of consultants selected under subsection (d) of section 4b-51, the responses received shall be considered by the selection panel. The panel shall select, from among those persons responding, a list of those persons most qualified to perform the consultant services. Knowledge of the state building and fire code and whether the consultant is a micro business, as defined in subsection (c) of section 4a-59, shall be considered in determining a consultant's qualifications.

(P.A. 79-450, S. 4, 8; P.A. 80-483, S. 13, 186; P.A. 96-235, S. 11, 19; P.A. 05-287, S. 29; P.A. 06-196, S. 32; P.A. 07-213, S. 20; P.A. 10-190, S. 1; P.A. 16-81, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 80-483 made technical changes; Sec. 4-134c transferred to Sec. 4b-57 in 1989; P.A. 96-235 substituted “consultant” for “design professional”, effective June 6, 1996; P.A. 05-287 amended Subsec. (b) to provide additional criteria to be considered by the panel in the case of a project that requires consultant services by an architect or professional engineer, effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 07-213 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change and create exception for consultant services under contract entered into pursuant to Sec. 4b-51(d) and added Subsec. (c) re consultants selected under Sec. 4b-51(d), effective July 10, 2007; P.A. 10-190 amended Subsec. (c) to include consideration of whether consultant is a micro business, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 16-81 amended Subsec. (a) to replace provision re advertising in newspaper with provision re posting notice on State Contracting Portal, effective July 1, 2016.