Bill > S1885

This bill amends various sections of Massachusetts law to define fraud in the context of public construction bid laws. The key provisions are: 1. It modifies the certification required on construction bids, replacing the statement about the bid being "bona fide, fair and made without collusion or fraud" with a statement that the bid is "bona fide, fair and made without collusion" and contains no "intentional misrepresentations, omissions or false statements." 2. It defines "fraud" as a statement, act or omission related to a material fact that is knowingly false or misleading, or recklessly disregards the truth, and is intended to mislead, regardless of whether it is actually relied upon. 3. It updates the definition of "responsible" bidder to include a requirement that the bid contains no misrepresentations, omissions or false statements. 4. It incorporates the fraud definition into the certification required for responses to requests for proposals (RFPs) under the state's construction manager-at-risk law. 5. It allows the pre-qualification committee's decision to be appealed on the grounds of intentional, material misrepresentations, omissions, or false statements, or collusion. The overall purpose of the bill is to provide a clear legal definition of fraud in the context of public construction bidding processes in Massachusetts.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S1885