March 6, 2015
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DOT Proposes Pilot to Simplify Hiring at State, Local Levels

DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx announced on March 3 a proposal for a new pilot program that will explore ways to make it easier for states and cities to hire local residents for transportation projects.

"Local workers often have the greatest stake in local road and transit projects, but federal rules make it hard for communities to ensure that their workers reap some of the benefits and that's just not right," Foxx said.

Federal contracting rules have traditionally prohibited FTA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) from allowing recipients to use contract provisions that do not directly relate to the performance of work but further social or economic goals, functionally prohibiting local hire provisions. The pilot program will allow both agencies to test and evaluate the merits of such provisions and determine whether the existing competitive bidding process can be improved.

"The investments we make in local communities are truly transformational," said Therese McMillan, FTA acting administrator. "These investments should not only change the landscape of a community, but it should also transform and improve the lives of its residents too."

The year-long pilot is proposed as an experiment under FTA experimental authorities and FHWA's "Special Experimental Project No. 14 (SEP-14)," which are provisions made possible by Congress to give both agencies leeway in finding new ways to build, maintain and manage federal transportation projects.

DOT published a related proposal in the Federal Register to modify the "common grant" rule geographic preference provision applied to department programs. To review and comment, go to the Comment Docket at the DOT website and search on "Notice on Contracting Initiative."
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