Whereas, at a referendum vote conducted on June 12, 2001, the voters of the Town of Yarmouth approved the issuance of locally funded general obligation securities of the Town of Yarmouth without state participation in an amount not to exceed $20,543,000 for school facility improvements at the Rowe School, Yarmouth Elementary School and Yarmouth High School; and

Whereas, the Yarmouth High School portion of the project involves the construction of additions and renovations to the existing high school building that must be carefully phased to avoid disruption of education; and

Whereas, the improvements to the Rowe School involve the demolition of an existing building, possible removal of hazardous material from the site and new construction; and

Whereas, the Yarmouth School Department and its advisors have determined that it will be less disruptive to education, more efficient and more cost effective to employ the construction- manager-at-risk method of construction delivery rather than the design-bid-build method of construction delivery for these projects; and

Whereas, the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 1743-A and the pilot program established by Private and Special Law 1999, chapter 79 do not permit the use of the construction-manager-at- risk method of construction delivery for school construction and renovation projects with a cost of more than $10,000,000 even if they are locally funded; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. Manager-at-risk method of construction. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 1743-A and Private and Special Law 1999, chapter 79, the Yarmouth School Department is authorized to employ the construction-manager-at-risk method of construction delivery rather than the design-bid-build method of construction delivery for the school facility improvements at the Rowe School and Yarmouth High School that were authorized by