As you may have noticed, the State Architect's Office has published an 1109 version of the Architect/Engineer Agreement, which includes changes that our office participated in, and which includes some input from our clients in response to our recent solicitation for input.  We have tailored the A/E Agreement and related documents to meet the needs of our higher education clients, and they are now posted on the Business Counsel Web site at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/ConstructionContractsChecklists

We understand that our clients have different projects in different phases, so while you are free to start using the new A/E forms and checklists at any time, we will not require their use until February 1, 2010.  All projects advertised after February 1, 2010 will be required to use the new A/E forms and checklists.

Please note that we have made a new A/E Short Form available for projects with a total project cost less than $1 million.  We have also posted a template for Exhibit 1 for the Long Form and a template for Exhibit 1 for the Short Form.  Please note that all A/E Agreements should be submitted with a corresponding Exhibit 1.

It has been brought to our attention that the State Architect's Office's policy requires the use of partnering for all construction projects.  As a result, no changes are being made to the partnering language in the A/E Agreement, since partnering is required for all projects.

New construction contracts will be released in the next couple of months.  We will let you know when the new construction contracts have been released and tailored for higher education.  In the meantime, you should continue to use the construction contracts that are posted on the Business Counsel Web site, and all other construction documents should be obtained from the State Architect's Office's new Web site: http://das.ohio.gov/Divisions/GeneralServices/StateArchitectsOffice/tabid/305/Default.aspx

As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.