This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Upset legislators started Wednesday to erect a roadblock to stop the Utah Department of Transportation from making any more huge, secretive settlements.
The Transportation Interim Committee endorsed a bill that would force UDOT to get permission of the governor for any settlements of more than $100,000; permission of the governor and Transportation Commission for any costing more than $500,000; and from those two plus the Legislative Management Committee for any costing more than $1 million.
That comes after UDOT made a $13 million payoff — without reporting it to the governor or Legislature — to a company that claimed UDOT cost it a $1.1 billion contract to rebuild I-15 in Utah County by tweaking scoring until another company won by one point.
UDOT took advantage of a legal loophole to make that payment quietly. Other state agencies must inform the Legislature and governor of settlements that cost more than $500,000 — but UDOT had been exempted from that law passed in 1995. Lawmakers involved with that 1995 law said recently they do not remember exempting UDOT. Nor did they recall who asked for the exemption or why.
The $13 million payout became a big issue in this year's governor's race because the company that won the I-15 contract after tweaking of the scores had just given $87,500 in donations to Gov. Gary Herbert.
Democrat Peter Corroon attacked Herbert over that, and questioned the state's contract system.
The payout also infuriated lawmakers, who vowed to eliminate UDOT's reporting exemption. They took the first step Wednesday by unveiling a bill drafted by the committee, unanimously endorsing it and passing it onto the full Legislature for consideration.
"We want transparency and openness, and in the case of the settlement, I don't think we had that," said Rep. Julie Fisher, R- Fruit Heights, who chairs the House committee and sponsored the bill.
Deputy UDOT Director Carlos Braceras told the committee Wednesday that UDOT is comfortable with the bill and its limits. The governor already had ordered the agency to inform him of any settlements of more than $100,000. Braceras said it has reported a few such cases to Herbert so far, all in eminent domain cases to condemn land for highway projects.
Braceras also told the committee that UDOT is changing its bid review procedures to erase any perception of influence.
He said officials will not know by name who submitted bids they review. They will compare advantages and disadvantages of each and make recommendations. Top UDOT officials will also make final decisions without knowing by name which bid belongs to what company.
"We think this process will lend a lot more credibility that influence is not being used," Braceras said.
UDOT Executive Director John Njord previously told the committee that he approved the $13 million payment because tweaking of scores "looked bad." He said he was confident that everything had been proper and wise, but worried it could still lead to a lawsuit that could bring long delays on the I-15 project. He said he figured it would save money overall by making the settlement.
Njord also has said that the winning contractor, Provo River Constructors, had better plans on how to keep I-15 open during construction, and most scoring changes related to that. But it hurt the second place bidder of Flatiron/Skanska/Zachry (FSZ).