SECTION 1. Chapter 149 of the General Laws  is hereby amended in section 44A by striking paragraph (4) and inserting in place thereof the following:-

                (4) In cases of extreme emergency, the awarding authority may, with the prior approval of the auditor, award a contract for that portion of the work necessary to preserve the health or safety of persons or property on the basis of such competitive bids or proposals as it can obtain in the time to care for the extreme emergency and without public opening of the bids or proposals. In no case shall such a contract be approved pursuant to this paragraph for any work that the auditor determines could have been avoided through regular maintenance. All contracts awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be to remedy the immediate emergency only. Upon executing a contract pursuant to this paragraph the awarding authority shall forward a copy of said contract to the auditor. The auditor shall cause a list of such contracts to be published monthly in the central register. Said list shall include the awarding authority and a brief description of the work covered by the contract.

Where the nature of the emergency prevents the awarding authority from obtaining the prior approval of the author, the awarding authority may contract for the necessary work without said prior approval; provided, however, that the approval of the auditor shall still be sought at the earliest possible time; and provided, further, that if the auditor at that time fails to approve the emergency determination the awarding authority shall promptly cease all work for which the emergency determination was denied. In such cases, the contractor shall be entitled to payment for the fair value of the labor and materials furnished prior to cessation of the work.

The auditor shall maintain a record of all contracts awarded pursuant to this subsection, containing a description of the circumstances and the reasons for the Commissioner's determination.