Laurel Public Library
Maryland
Prince George’s County trashed its PLA requirement when it saw how it would drive up the costs.
In 2013, Prince George’s County revoked the PLA requirement on the construction of a new, $14 million library. PG County mistakenly neglected to include the PLA requirement in the project’s Requests for Proposals. The County explored enforcing the PLA on the winning bidder but determined that it would send the project over budget and lead to another year of delays due to a shortage of union labor.
How it failed
In 2011, politicians in PG County passed a bill to require PLAs on certain county projects with little to no knowledge of the county’s construction market. The requirement was intended to apply to the construction of a new Laurel Public Library.
But bidders were not initially informed of the PLA requirement, which meant they did not include the extra costs and time associated a PLA into their bids.
PG County retroactively examined the possibility of requiring the PLA post-bid, but determined that it would increase the cost of the library beyond the budgeted $14 million.
The County also determined that there was not enough union labor in the county, which would lead to delays in completing the project which had been in the works since 2005.
PG County determined that the PLA requirement was too costly and would further hamper the project, so the County abandoned the requirement.
