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The Oregon Legislature has passed reforms to Oregon’s public contracting law.

Senate Bill 254 on Thursday was passed by the House with 58 ayes and no objections; it now is awaiting Gov. John Kitzhaber’s signature.

The bill creates more precise language to control when public agencies can hire general contractors directly without going through a low-bid process.

Construction manager-general contractor reform has been a long time coming. State Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, began working on the bill after the 2011 session, when lawmakers failed to address the issue. A work group of various stakeholders met between sessions.

The bill was delayed more than five times by the Senate Business and Transportation Committee as amendments were tweaked and rewritten. At one point, the entire bill went through a “gut and stuff” in which it was almost completely rewritten before being passed out of committee on April 22.

SB 254 was passed by the Senate on April 24 without any objections. It then went through the House Consumer Protection and Government Efficiency Committee; a vote on the House floor was delayed five times before eventual passage.

In other legislative news, Senate Bill 617, which requires the Oregon Appraiser Certification and Licensure Board to determine the validity of complaints against real estate appraisers, was passed by the House on Thursday.

Also, on Wednesday, the House passed Senate Bill 625, which gives the director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (and local building officials) authority to determine if buildings meet fire and safety standards as well as other state building code requirements.

Senate Bill 46 was approved by the House on Wednesday as well. It modifies the statute of limitations for taking legal action against architects, landscape architects or engineers as a result of construction, alteration or repair projects.