Section 4. (a) Before undertaking a building project using construction management at-risk services, a public agency shall notify and submit a detailed application to proceed to the office of the inspector general. The detailed application shall conform to regulations and procedures promulgated by the inspector general. In order to receive a notice to proceed from the office of the inspector general, the public agency shall demonstrate the following:—

(1) The public agency has authorization from its governing body to enter into a contract with a construction management at risk firm. The authorization shall include the results of any public vote if applicable.

(2) The public agency has the capacity, a plan and procedures in place and approved of by the governing body, where appropriate, to effectively procure and manage construction management at-risk services for the specific project and has retained the services of a qualified owner's project manager.

(3) The public agency has in place procedures to ensure fairness in competition, evaluation and reporting of results at every stage in the procurement process.

(4) The building project has an estimated construction value of $5,000,000 or more.

(5) The public agency has determined that the use of construction management at-risk services is appropriate for the building project and states in writing the reasons for the determination.

(b) A public agency that meets all requirements established by the inspector general shall be issued a notice to proceed to use the construction management at risk delivery method for the construction of a building project. If the inspector general declines to issue a notice to proceed to a public agency, the inspector general shall provide in writing to the public agency the reason or reasons for the decision. A public agency not receiving a notice to proceed from the inspector general may re-submit a detailed application upon correcting or responding to the reason or reasons provided to the public agency by the inspector general. The inspector general shall review the resubmitted application and, if the application meets the requirements established by the inspector general, the inspector general shall issue a notice to proceed.

(c) Applications submitted to the inspector general for approval to use construction management at risk services shall be considered in a timely manner. All decisions shall be rendered by the inspector general to a public agency in not less than 60 days from the date the application is submitted to the inspector general.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the division of capital asset management and maintenance, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the Massachusetts State College Building Authority, and the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, hereinafter referred to as exempt agencies, shall not be subject to said subsection (a). Each exempt agency shall submit its procedures for the procurement and use of construction management at risk services to the inspector general, and so long as the inspector general determines that the procedures of an exempt agency comply with sections 1 to 10, inclusive, the inspector general shall approve the procedures and each exempt agency, so approved, may use the construction management at risk delivery method consistent with the procedures so approved on building projects. Each exempt agency shall annually submit its procedures to the inspector general for review and approval by the inspector general. If an exempt agency modify or amend the procedures so approved, the exempt agency shall immediately submit the amended procedures to the inspector general for approval. The inspector general shall have 60 days from the time an exempt agency submits its procedures to approve or disapprove the procedures. An exempt agency whose procedures have been disapproved may correct the deficiency or deficiencies contained therein and re-submit the corrected procedures to the inspector general for review and approval. The inspector general shall conduct an expedited review of corrected procedures.

(e) A public agency after receiving a notice to proceed or an exempt agency after having its procedures approved may use the construction management at risk delivery method. The public agency or exempt agency shall procure a construction management at risk firm in accordance with a 2–phase process in a manner consistent with section 5.