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16B.33 DESIGNER SELECTION BOARD.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the meanings
given them:
(a) "Agency" has the meaning given in section 16B.01.
(b) "Architect" means an architect or landscape architect registered to practice under sections
326.02 to 326.15.
(c) "Board" means the state Designer Selection Board.
(d) "Design-build" means the process of entering into and managing a single contract between
the commissioner and the design-builder in which the design-builder agrees to both design and
construct a project as specified in the contract at a guaranteed maximum or a fixed price.
(e) "Design-builder" means a person who proposes to design and construct a project in
accordance with the requirements of section 16C.33.
(f) "Designer" means an architect or engineer, or a partnership, association, or corporation
comprised primarily of architects or engineers or of both architects and engineers.
(g) "Engineer" means an engineer registered to practice under sections 326.02 to 326.15.
(h) "Person" includes an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or any other
legal entity.
(i) "Primary designer" means the designer who is to have primary design responsibility
for a project, and does not include designers who are merely consulted by the user agency and
do not have substantial design responsibility, or designers who will or may be employed or
consulted by the primary designer.
(j) "Project" means an undertaking to construct, erect, or remodel a building by or for the
state or an agency.
(k) "User agency" means the agency undertaking a specific project. For projects undertaken
by the state of Minnesota, "user agency" means the Department of Administration or a state
agency with an appropriate delegation to act on behalf of the Department of Administration.
    Subd. 2. Organization of board. (a) Membership. The state Designer Selection Board
consists of seven individuals, the majority of whom must be Minnesota residents. Each of the
following four organizations shall nominate one individual whose name and qualifications shall
be submitted to the commissioner of administration for consideration: the Consulting Engineers
Council of Minnesota after consultation with other professional engineering societies in the
state; the AIA Minnesota; the Minnesota chapter of the Associated General Contractors after
consultation with other commercial contractor associations in the state; and the Minnesota
Board of the Arts. The commissioner may appoint the four named individuals to the board but
may reject a nominated individual and request another nomination. The fifth member shall be a
representative of the user agency, the University of Minnesota, or the Minnesota State Colleges
and Universities, designated by the user agency. The remaining two citizen members shall also
be appointed by the commissioner.
(b) Nonvoting member. In addition to the seven members of the board, one nonvoting
member representing the commissioner shall participate in the interviewing and selection of
designers pursuant to this section.
(c) Terms; compensation; removal; vacancies. The membership terms, compensation,
removal of members, and filling of vacancies on the board are as provided in section 15.0575.
No individual may serve for more than two consecutive terms.
(d) Officers, rules. At its first meeting, the board shall elect a voting member of the board as
chair. The board shall also elect other officers necessary for the conduct of its affairs. The board
shall adopt rules governing its operations and the conduct of its meetings. The rules shall provide
for the terms of the chair and other officers.
(e) Meetings. The board shall meet as often as is necessary, not less than twice annually, in
order to act expeditiously on requests submitted to it for selection of primary designers.
(f) Office, staff, records. The Department of Administration shall provide the board with
suitable quarters to maintain an office, hold meetings, and keep records. The commissioner shall
designate an employee of the Department of Administration to serve as executive secretary to the
board and shall furnish a secretarial staff to the board as necessary for the expeditious conduct of
the board's duties and responsibilities.
    Subd. 3. Agencies must request designer. (a) Application. Upon undertaking a project with
an estimated cost greater than $2,000,000 or a planning project with estimated fees greater than
$200,000, every user agency, except the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board, shall
submit a written request for a primary designer for its project to the commissioner, who shall
forward the request to the board. The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges
and Universities shall follow the process in subdivision 3a to select designers for their projects.
The written request must include a description of the project, the estimated cost of completing the
project, a description of any special requirements or unique features of the proposed project, and
other information which will assist the board in carrying out its duties and responsibilities set
forth in this section.
(b) Reactivated project. If a project for which a designer has been selected by the board
becomes inactive, lapses, or changes as a result of project phasing, insufficient appropriations, or
other reasons, the commissioner, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, or the University
of Minnesota may, if the project is reactivated, retain the same designer to complete the project.
(c) Fee limit reached after designer selected. If a project initially estimated to be below
the cost and planning fee limits of this subdivision has its cost or planning fees revised so that
the limits are exceeded, the project must be referred to the board for designer selection even if
a primary designer has already been selected. In this event, the board may, without conducting
interviews, elect to retain the previously selected designer if it determines that the interests of the
state are best served by that decision and shall notify the commissioner of its determination.
    Subd. 3a. Higher education projects. (a) When the University of Minnesota or the
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities undertakes a project involving construction or major
remodeling, as defined in section 16B.335, subdivision 1, with an estimated cost greater than
$2,000,000 or a planning project with estimated fees greater than $200,000, the system shall
submit a written request for a primary designer to the commissioner, as provided in subdivision 3.
(b) When the University of Minnesota or the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
undertakes a project involving renovation, repair, replacement, or rehabilitation, the system
office may submit a written request for a primary designer to the commissioner as provided in
subdivision 3.
(c) For projects at the University of Minnesota or the State Colleges and Universities, the
board shall select at least two primary designers under subdivision 4 for recommendation to the
Board of Regents or the Board of Trustees. Meeting records or written evaluations that document
the final selection are public records. The Board of Regents or the Board of Trustees shall notify
the commissioner of the designer selected from the recommendations.
    Subd. 4. Designer selection process. (a) Publicity. Upon receipt of a request from a user
agency for a primary designer, the board shall publicize the proposed project in order to determine
the identity of designers interested in the design work on the project. The board shall establish
criteria for the selection process and make this information public, and shall compile data on and
conduct interviews of designers. The board's selection criteria must include consideration of each
interested designer's performance on previous projects for the state or any other person. Upon
completing the process, the board shall select the primary designer and shall state its reasons
in writing. If the board's vote for the selection of a primary designer results in a tie vote, the
nonvoting member appointed under subdivision 2, paragraph (b), must vote for the selection of the
primary designer. Notification to the commissioner of the selection shall be made not more than 60
days after receipt from a user agency of a request for a primary designer. The commissioner shall
promptly notify the designer and the user agency. The commissioner shall negotiate the designer's
fee and prepare the contract to be entered into between the designer and the user agency.
(b) Conflict of interest. A board member may not participate in the review, discussion, or
selection of a designer or firm in which the member has a financial interest.
(c) Selection by commissioner. In the event the board receives a request for a primary
designer on a project, the estimated cost of which is less than the limit established by subdivision
3, or a planning project with estimated fees of less than the limit established by subdivision
3, the board may submit the request to the commissioner of administration, with or without
recommendations, and the commissioner shall thereupon select the primary designer for the
project.
(d) Second selection. If the designer selected for a project declines the appointment or is
unable to reach agreement with the commissioner on the fee or the terms of the contract, the
commissioner shall, within 60 days after the first appointment, request the board to make another
selection.
(e) Sixty days to select. If the board fails to make a selection and forward its recommendation
to the commissioner within 60 days of the user agency's request for a designer, the commissioner
may appoint a designer to the project without the recommendation of the board.
(f) Less than satisfactory performance. The commissioner, or the University of Minnesota
and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for projects under their supervision, shall
forward to the board a written report describing each instance in which the performance of a
designer selected by the board or the commissioner has been less than satisfactory. Criteria for
determining satisfaction include the ability of the designer to complete design work on time, to
provide a design responsive to program needs within the constraints of the budget, to solve design
problems and achieve a design consistent with the proposed function of the building, to avoid
costly design errors or omissions, and to observe the construction work. These reports are public
data and are available for inspection under section 13.03.
    Subd. 5.[Expired]
History: 1984 c 544 s 38; 1985 c 285 s 5; 1986 c 444; 1992 c 514 s 8; 1996 c 398 s 7-10;
2000 c 384 s 1,2; 2001 c 33 s 1; 2002 c 393 s 38; 1Sp2003 c 8 art 1 s 4; 2005 c 78 s 2; 2005 c
156 art 2 s 20

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes