City of Dallas Public Works Contracts: Bonds, Insurance and DRIVE

The addendum's definitions say a bid or proposal bond is furnished by each bidder on all bids in excess of $50,000, in an amount designated in the advertisement. The percentage is not stated in the addendum, so it is set in each solicitation. Clause 102.11.COD(6) lists a bid bond issued by a surplus line company as grounds for rejecting the bid.

Under 102.4.COD and 102.4.1.COD the City can ask for a financial statement and the bidder's bonding limits, and it requires a notarized safety affidavit with the bid, plus OSHA records for subcontractors performing $10,000 or more of the work. The addendum treats six or more serious violations, or three or more willful violations, within three years as disqualifying, and it looks for experience on similar projects completed within three years. For Public Works and Water Utilities contracts, the contractor must perform no less than 25 percent of the work with its own forces.

Clause 103.2.COD says the City attempts to award within 150 days, and bonds and insurance are due within 10 days after the contractor receives the contract. That short window is easier to meet when the surety has the bid results and the insurance certificate language before award.

The addendum's definitions place the performance and payment bonds under Section 3503.002 of the Texas Insurance Code and Chapter 2253 of the Texas Government Code, in the amount of the contract, and set the maintenance bond in the amount of the contract as well. Bonds go on City forms.

Clause 103.3.1.5.COD sets the surety rules in plain terms. The bond must be from a corporate surety, and the clause reads: "Texas Lloyd's Plan carriers are not acceptable." The surety must be an admitted carrier, surplus lines carriers are not acceptable, the surety must appear on the federal Treasury list (a requirement the clause says may be waived) and its underwriting limitation must be sufficient for 100 percent of the project cost.

Meeting those rules is separate from a surety agreeing to write the bond. Capacity, indemnity and pricing are subject to the surety's underwriting and can vary by program, so a contractor moving from private work into Dallas capital projects should test the surety's appetite before bidding.

The 2021 addendum states two sets of general liability limits, and this page cites both rather than choosing one. The text of 103.4.1.2.COD calls for $500,000 per occurrence and a $1 million annual aggregate. Table 103.4.1.2.(a).COD in the same document lists $1 million each occurrence, a $2 million general aggregate, a $2 million products-completed operations aggregate and $1 million personal and advertising injury, with $50,000 fire damage and $5,000 medical expense. Ask the City which figure the solicitation uses, and expect the insurance exhibit in the bid package to control.

The same clause adds several terms. Claims-made coverage must stay continuous for 60 months, completed operations must be maintained for at least one year after final acceptance, and explosion, collapse and underground coverage and asbestos coverage (if applicable) must be included. The policy must also carry the CG 25 03 amendment of limits endorsement for a designated project or premises, which gives the project its own aggregate.

Notes to the table say all liability coverage must name the City as additional insured and all coverage, including workers' compensation, must provide the City a waiver of subrogation. The addendum's endorsement clauses ask for the broadest additional insured form available, say the policy's other insurance clause does not apply to the City, require an occurrence trigger on liability coverage, call for 30 days' notice of cancellation to the Office of Risk Management and require the contractor to tell the City within 24 hours of receiving an insurer's notice.

Clause 103.4.1.3.COD requires auto liability on owned, hired and non-owned vehicles at $1 million combined single limit per occurrence, including loading and unloading. Under 103.4.3.COD the umbrella must be not less than $1 million per occurrence, follow form, name the City as additional insured and provide drop-down coverage; the table notes say Risk Management may raise the umbrella limit for a given project.

Railroad protective liability applies when the special provisions call for it (103.4.4.COD). Workers' compensation follows the certificate-of-coverage rules in 28 TAC 110.110 (103.4.7.COD). Insurers must be authorized or approved in Texas, and subcontractors' liability policies must name both the contractor and the City as additional insured on the broadest form, including completed operations.

Three lines are not stated in the 2021 addendum: employer's liability minimums, pollution liability and builder's risk. They can appear in a project's special provisions, so check each insurance exhibit rather than assuming the addendum is the full list.

Clause 109.5.2.COD reads that "the OWNER shall retain 10-percent of the total dollar amount of work done on all contracts less than $400,000" and 5 percent on contracts of $400,000 or more. On contracts over $400,000, the City may reduce retainage to 2 percent once the work is 80 percent complete. Final payment under 105.10.4.COD releases all retainage and is paid within 30 days after final acceptance, with the consent of the surety.

The guarantee runs one year. Clause 105.2.2.COD refers to defects found within one year after final acceptance, and 105.10.2.COD, Guarantee After Completion, covers a period of one year from the date of final written acceptance, with repairs at the expense of the contractor or its surety. Because the maintenance bond is written in the amount of the contract, that year carries full bonded exposure.

The City Council's Resolution 25-1879, adopted December 10, 2025, adopted the Developing Regional and Inclusive Vendor Enterprises policy and states that the Business Inclusion and Development (BID) Policy is suspended effective immediately. The resolution recites that BID had been suspended on June 26, 2025, for federal compliance and describes DRIVE as a race- and gender-neutral small business development framework. Under BID, the construction M/WBE goal had been 32 percent, according to the December 3, 2025, council briefing.

The DRIVE policy, revision dated March 1, 2026, applies to construction and other contracts over $100,000. Its construction services benchmark is 33 percent, and the policy calls its benchmarks aspirational, not enforceable quotas; contract-specific goals are set by scope and availability. A small business qualifies by SBA size standards and a principal office in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. The City does not certify small businesses itself and accepts certifications from bodies including NCTRCA, DFWMSDC, WSBC, the SBA and the Texas Comptroller's HUB program.

The City's 2026 bond package fact sheet says the 2024 Bond Program totaled $1.25 billion across 10 propositions. The 2024 bond procurement page says Transportation and Public Works, Parks, Water Utilities and Bond and Construction Management procure design and construction services through Bonfire.

Proposition A is on the November 3, 2026, ballot and has not been approved. It asks voters for $443 million in general obligation bonds for five public safety facility projects: a law enforcement training center at $82 million, a public safety training complex at $149 million, an emergency operations and 911 center at $40 million, a police property room and crime lab at $150 million and Fire Station No. 4 at $22 million. If voters approve it, those projects would be bid under the City's own terms and each solicitation's special provisions.