The department must include retainage clauses in certain highway and facility contracts, limit retainage by project value, and release retained amounts only after certification and a 45-day wait; a retainage bond can prevent withholding.
§256.1. Highway construction contracts; retained amounts; retainage bonds A.(1) The Department of Transportation and Development shall insert a clause in the specifications of all contracts let and awarded as a result of public lettings for the construction, improvement, maintenance, or repair of any road, highway, bridge, or appurtenance thereto or any other Department of Transportation and Development facility, providing for the retainage of amounts constituting a percentage of the gross value of the completed work as may be provided for in the contract. Retained amounts for projects which cost less than five hundred thousand dollars shall not exceed ten percent of the gross value of the completed work. Retained amounts for projects which cost five hundred thousand dollars or more shall not exceed five percent of the gross value of the completed work. (2) Final payment of the retained amounts to the contractor under the contract to which the retained amount relates shall be made after certification by the secretary or his duly appointed designee that the work has been satisfactorily completed and is accepted in accordance with the contract, plans, and specifications, and forty-five days have lapsed from filing the notice of final acceptance with the office of the recorder of mortgages in the parish where the work has been done. Any interest earned on the retained amounts shall be credited to the Transportation Trust Fund. B, C. Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 413, §2. D. If the contractor furnishes the department a retainage bond equal to ten percent of the contract amount for projects less than five hundred thousand dollars or five percent of the contract amount for projects five hundred thousand dollars or more, the department shall not withhold retainage. Added by Acts 1975, No. 661, §1. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 291, §1; Acts 1977, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 14, §1, eff. 12:01 a.m., Sept. 9, 1977; Acts 1986, No. 579, §1; Acts 1986, No. 656, §1; Acts 1986, No. 881, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1112, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 27, §1, eff. April 24, 1998; Acts 2001, No. 413, §§1 and 2.