(1) As used in this section,unless the context otherwise requires, "public project" means:

(a) Any public project as defined in section 24-92-102 (8), including any such project awarded by any county, including any home rule county, municipality, as defined in section 31-1-101 (6), school district, special district, or other political subdivision of the state;

(b) Any publicly funded contract for construction entered into by a governmental body of the executive branch of this state which is subject to this code; and

(c) Any highway or bridge construction, whether undertaken by the department of transportation or by any political subdivision of this state, in which the expenditure of funds may be reasonably expected to exceed fifty thousand dollars.

(2) (a) When a construction contract for a public project is to be awarded to a bidder, a resident bidder shall be allowed a preference against a nonresident bidder from a state or foreign country equal to the preference given or required by the state or foreign country in which the nonresident bidder is a resident.

(b) If it is determined by the procurement agent responsible for awarding the bid that compliance with this section may cause denial of federal moneys which would otherwise be available or would otherwise be inconsistent with requirements of federal law, this section shall be suspended, but only to the extent necessary to prevent denial of the moneys or to eliminate the inconsistency with federal requirements.

(3) (a) The executive director of the department of personnel, or the executive director's designee, shall use a national registry of bidding preferences published by another state or national organization or shall conduct a survey and compile the results into a list of which states provide a bidding preference on public works contracts for their resident bidders. The list must include details on the type of preference provided by each state, the amount of the preference, and how the preference is applied. The executive director shall complete the initial list on or before July 1, 2014, shall update the list periodically as needed but at least on an annual basis, and shall make the list available to the public on the department's website.

(b) In any bidding process for public works in which a bid is received from a bidder who is not a resident bidder and who is from a state that provides a percentage bidding preference to resident bidders of that state, a comparable percentage disadvantage shall be applied to the bid of that bidder.

(c) Any request for proposals issued by a state agency or political subdivision of the state must include a notice to nonresident bidders that if the nonresident bidder is from a state that provides a bidding preference to bidders from that state, then a comparable percentage disadvantage will be applied to the bid of that nonresident bidder. The notice must also specify that the bidder may obtain additional information from the department of personnel's website.

(d) The executive director of the department of personnel may promulgate rules necessary for the implementation of this section. Such rules shall be promulgated in accordance with the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of this title 24.

(4) Nothing in this section applies to any project that receives federal moneys. In addition, nothing in this section contravenes any existing treaty, law, agreement, or regulation of the United States. Contracts entered into in accordance with any treaty, law, agreement, or regulation of the United States do not violate this section to the extentof that accordance. The requirements of this section are suspended if such requirement would contravene any treaty, law, agreement, or regulation of the United States, or would cause denial of federal moneys or preclude the ability to access federal moneys that would otherwise be available.