AL
Alabama Senate Bill SB277

Alabama 2024 Regular Session

Alabama Senate Bill SB277 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11 SB277INTRODUCED
22 Page 0
33 SB277
44 E6UP222-1
55 By Senator Kitchens
66 RFD: Finance and Taxation Education
77 First Read: 02-Apr-24
88 1
99 2
1010 3
1111 4
1212 5 E6UP222-1 04/01/2024 SLU (L)bm 2024-969
1313 Page 1
1414 First Read: 02-Apr-24
1515 SYNOPSIS:
1616 Under existing law, a prospective bidder or
1717 offeror who is protesting a competitive bid contract
1818 must follow certain time periods and deadlines
1919 throughout the process.
2020 Under existing law, any person that submits to a
2121 a contract, a contract proposal, a bid, or a grant
2222 proposal to the state for an amount equal to or greater
2323 than a certain amount, and for the purpose of financial
2424 gain, is required to include a disclosure statement for
2525 each contract, contract proposal, bid, or grant
2626 proposal that it submits, subject to certain
2727 exceptions.
2828 Under existing law a disclosure statement must
2929 provide certain information about individuals who may
3030 gain financial benefit from their relationships with
3131 the person submitting the contract, contract proposal,
3232 bid, or grant proposal.
3333 This bill would revise the procedures to protest
3434 a contract to be let by competitive bid to the Chief
3535 Procurement Officer by providing a certain number of
3636 days for filing a notice of intent to protest and an
3737 additional number of days to file a formal written
3838 protest.
3939 This bill would provide that the protest
4040 1
4141 2
4242 3
4343 4
4444 5
4545 6
4646 7
4747 8
4848 9
4949 10
5050 11
5151 12
5252 13
5353 14
5454 15
5555 16
5656 17
5757 18
5858 19
5959 20
6060 21
6161 22
6262 23
6363 24
6464 25
6565 26
6666 27
6767 28 SB277 INTRODUCED
6868 Page 2
6969 This bill would provide that the protest
7070 procedures are not subject to the Administrative
7171 Procedures Act.
7272 This bill would increase the minimum amount of a
7373 proposed contract for which a disclosure statement is
7474 required, allow the use of alternative disclosure
7575 statement forms, and allow the submission of a single
7676 annual disclosure statement for multiple proposals with
7777 the same state agency, department, or division.
7878 This bill would allow for an alternative method
7979 of certifying the authenticity of a disclosure
8080 statement.Under existing law, a prospective bidder or
8181 offeror who is protesting a competitive bid contract
8282 must follow certain time periods and deadlines
8383 throughout the process.
8484 Under existing law, any person that submits to a
8585 a contract, a contract proposal, a bid, or a grant
8686 proposal to the state for an amount equal to or greater
8787 than a certain amount, and for the purpose of financial
8888 gain, is required to include a disclosure statement for
8989 each contract, contract proposal, bid, or grant
9090 proposal that it submits, subject to certain
9191 exceptions.
9292 Under existing law a disclosure statement must
9393 provide certain information about individuals who may
9494 gain financial benefit from their relationships with
9595 the person submitting the contract, contract proposal,
9696 bid, or grant proposal.
9797 This bill would revise the procedures to protest
9898 29
9999 30
100100 31
101101 32
102102 33
103103 34
104104 35
105105 36
106106 37
107107 38
108108 39
109109 40
110110 41
111111 42
112112 43
113113 44
114114 45
115115 46
116116 47
117117 48
118118 49
119119 50
120120 51
121121 52
122122 53
123123 54
124124 55
125125 56 SB277 INTRODUCED
126126 Page 3
127127 This bill would revise the procedures to protest
128128 a contract to be let by competitive bid to the Chief
129129 Procurement Officer by providing a certain number of
130130 days for filing a notice of intent to protest and an
131131 additional number of days to file a formal written
132132 protest.
133133 This bill would provide that the protest
134134 procedures are not subject to the Administrative
135135 Procedures Act.
136136 This bill would increase the minimum amount of a
137137 proposed contract for which a disclosure statement is
138138 required, allow the use of alternative disclosure
139139 statement forms, and allow the submission of a single
140140 annual disclosure statement for multiple proposals with
141141 the same state agency, department, or division.
142142 This bill would allow for an alternative method
143143 of certifying the authenticity of a disclosure
144144 statement.
145145 A BILL
146146 TO BE ENTITLED
147147 AN ACT
148148 To amend Sections 41-4-161, 41-4-164, 41-16-82,
149149 41-16-83, 41-16-85, and 41-16-87, Code of Alabama 1975; to
150150 provide further for the procedures for protesting certain
151151 competitive bid contracts.
152152 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
153153 57
154154 58
155155 59
156156 60
157157 61
158158 62
159159 63
160160 64
161161 65
162162 66
163163 67
164164 68
165165 69
166166 70
167167 71
168168 72
169169 73
170170 74
171171 75
172172 76
173173 77
174174 78
175175 79
176176 80
177177 81
178178 82
179179 83
180180 84 SB277 INTRODUCED
181181 Page 4
182182 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
183183 Section 1. Sections 41-4-161, 41-4-164, 41-16-82,
184184 41-16-83, 41-16-85, and 41-16-87, Code of Alabama 1975, are
185185 amended to read as follows:
186186 "§41-4-161
187187 (a)(1) A bona fide prospective bidder or offeror who is
188188 aggrieved in connection with the solicitation of a contract
189189 may file a notice of intent to protest towith the Chief
190190 Procurement Officer within 14five calendar days of the date of
191191 issuance of after the date the solicitation , or any amendment
192192 to it is issued, if the amendment is at issue. Upon filing the
193193 notice, a bona fide prospective bidder or offeror shall have
194194 seven calendar days to submit a formal written protest.
195195 (2)a. Except as provided in paragraph b., a bona fide
196196 actual bidder or offeror who is aggrieved in connection with
197197 the intended award or the award of a contract may file a
198198 notice of intent to protest towith the Chief Procurement
199199 Officer within 14five calendar days of after the earlier of:
200200 (i) the date of the award; or (ii) noticenotification of
201201 intent to award, whichever is earlier, is posted in accordance
202202 with this article. Upon filing a notice of intent to protest,
203203 a bona fide actual bidder or offeror may submit a formal
204204 protest within seven calendar days. The Chief Procurement
205205 Officer may make an award if he or she does not receive the
206206 notice of intent to protest within five days after it is
207207 timely filed.
208208 b. A matter that could have been raised under
209209 subdivision (1) as a protest of the solicitation may not be
210210 raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a
211211 85
212212 86
213213 87
214214 88
215215 89
216216 90
217217 91
218218 92
219219 93
220220 94
221221 95
222222 96
223223 97
224224 98
225225 99
226226 100
227227 101
228228 102
229229 103
230230 104
231231 105
232232 106
233233 107
234234 108
235235 109
236236 110
237237 111
238238 112 SB277 INTRODUCED
239239 Page 5
240240 raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a
241241 contract.
242242 (3) A notice of intent to protest filed under
243243 subdivision (1) or (2) shall be in writing, be filed with the
244244 Chief Procurement Officer, and set forth the intent to
245245 protest, and state the grounds of the protest and the relief
246246 requested with enough particularity to give notice of the
247247 issues to be decided.
248248 (b) The Chief Procurement Officer, or his or her
249249 designee, may settle and resolve the protest of a bona fide
250250 actual or prospective bidder or offeror concerning the
251251 solicitation or award of a contract in accordance with rules
252252 adopted under this article.
253253 (c) If the protest is not resolved by mutual agreement
254254 within 10 days after the protest is filed, the Chief
255255 Procurement Officer shall commence an administrative review of
256256 the protest and issue a decision in writing within 14 days
257257 ofafter the review.
258258 (d) A copy of the decision under subsection (c) shall
259259 be mailed or otherwise furnished immediately to the protestor
260260 and any other party intervening.
261261 (e) A decision under subsection (c) shall be final and
262262 conclusive, unless fraudulent , or unless a party adversely
263263 affected by the decision appeals administratively to the
264264 Director of Finance in accordance with Section 41-4-164.
265265 (f) In the event of a timely protest under subsection
266266 (a) or an appeal under Section 41-4-164, the state may not
267267 proceed further with the solicitation or with the award of the
268268 contract until five days after notice of the final decision is
269269 113
270270 114
271271 115
272272 116
273273 117
274274 118
275275 119
276276 120
277277 121
278278 122
279279 123
280280 124
281281 125
282282 126
283283 127
284284 128
285285 129
286286 130
287287 131
288288 132
289289 133
290290 134
291291 135
292292 136
293293 137
294294 138
295295 139
296296 140 SB277 INTRODUCED
297297 Page 6
298298 contract until five days after notice of the final decision is
299299 provided to the protestor , ; however, aexcept that
300300 solicitation or award of a protested contract is not stayedmay
301301 proceed without delay if the Chief Procurement Officer, after
302302 consultation with the head of the using agency or the head of
303303 a purchasing agency, makes a written determination that the
304304 solicitation or award of the contract without further delay is
305305 necessary to protect the best interests of the state."
306306 "§41-4-164
307307 (a) A party that receives an adverse decision from the
308308 Chief Procurement Officer under subsection (c) of Section
309309 41-4-161(c) or subsection (c) of Section 41-4-162 (c) may
310310 appeal the decision to the Director of Finance.
311311 (b) AnAny appeal to the Director of Finance shall be
312312 made in writing within five days ofafter receipt of the
313313 adverse decision fromby the Chief Procurement Officer.
314314 (c) The Director of Finance shall hold unlawful and set
315315 aside any decision issued by the Chief Procurement Officer
316316 that the director finds to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse
317317 of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance inconsistent with
318318 law.
319319 (d) The Director of Finance shall issue a written
320320 decision within 14 days ofafter receipt of the appeal.
321321 (e) A copy of the decision under subsection (d) shall
322322 be mailed or otherwise furnished immediately to the parties.
323323 (f) A decision under subsection (d) shall be final and
324324 conclusive unless fraudulent.
325325 (g) The administrative procedures and remedies provided
326326 in this division shall not be construed as a contested case
327327 141
328328 142
329329 143
330330 144
331331 145
332332 146
333333 147
334334 148
335335 149
336336 150
337337 151
338338 152
339339 153
340340 154
341341 155
342342 156
343343 157
344344 158
345345 159
346346 160
347347 161
348348 162
349349 163
350350 164
351351 165
352352 166
353353 167
354354 168 SB277 INTRODUCED
355355 Page 7
356356 in this division shall not be construed as a contested case
357357 under the Alabama Administrative Procedures Act. "
358358 "§41-16-82
359359 (a) This article shall only apply in cases where the to
360360 either of the following:
361361 (1) A proposed grant that exceeds twenty-five thousand
362362 dollars ($25,000).
363363 (2) A or proposed contract at issue exceeds five
364364 thousand dollars ($5,000) that meets or exceeds the threshold
365365 for bid or other formal solicitations under Title 39, Article
366366 5 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, or any other law that requires
367367 formal solicitation procedures for awarding public contracts .
368368 (b)(1) All persons whothat, for the purpose of direct
369369 financial gain, submit a proposal, bid, contract, or grant
370370 proposal to the State of Alabama, shall include a disclosure
371371 statement identical to, or provide the same required
372372 disclosures as, the disclosure statement developed by the
373373 Attorney General and approved by the Legislative Council. The
374374 disclosure statement shall not be required for any of the
375375 following:contracts
376376 a. Contracts with publicly traded companies.
377377 b. Contracts for gas, water, and electric services
378378 where no competition exists, or where rates are fixed by law
379379 or ordinance.
380380 c. The award of economic development incentives .
381381 (2) In circumstances where a contract is awarded by
382382 competitive bid or other formal solicitation procedure , the
383383 disclosure statement shall be required only from the person
384384 receivingawarded the contract and shall be submitted by that
385385 169
386386 170
387387 171
388388 172
389389 173
390390 174
391391 175
392392 176
393393 177
394394 178
395395 179
396396 180
397397 181
398398 182
399399 183
400400 184
401401 185
402402 186
403403 187
404404 188
405405 189
406406 190
407407 191
408408 192
409409 193
410410 194
411411 195
412412 196 SB277 INTRODUCED
413413 Page 8
414414 receivingawarded the contract and shall be submitted by that
415415 person within 1030 days of the award.
416416 (c) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to
417417 the contrary, a person entering into contracts or receiving
418418 multiple grants during the same calendar year with multiple
419419 state agencies may submit a single comprehensive annual
420420 disclosure statement to each agency, department, or division
421421 from which the person has been awarded, contracts, or grants.
422422 (d)(1) State agencies, departments, or divisions are
423423 authorized to establish electronic systems for submission of
424424 annual disclosure statements, and submission to the shared
425425 electronic systems shall satisfy the requirements for
426426 submitting a disclosure statement to the agency, department,
427427 or division.
428428 (2) Agencies, departments, and divisions are further
429429 authorized to establish shared electronic systems to satisfy
430430 the requirements of this article. "
431431 "§41-16-83
432432 (a) The information required on the disclosure
433433 statement shall be made under oath and penalty as prescribed
434434 herein and shall include, but not be limited to, the
435435 following:
436436 (1) A list of the names and addresses of any public
437437 official, and public employee, andor family members of the
438438 public official andor public employee , who may have a family
439439 relationship with the submitting person or his or her
440440 immediate family members , or his or her employees, and who may
441441 directly personally benefit financially from the contract,
442442 proposal, request for proposal, invitation to bid, or grant
443443 197
444444 198
445445 199
446446 200
447447 201
448448 202
449449 203
450450 204
451451 205
452452 206
453453 207
454454 208
455455 209
456456 210
457457 211
458458 212
459459 213
460460 214
461461 215
462462 216
463463 217
464464 218
465465 219
466466 220
467467 221
468468 222
469469 223
470470 224 SB277 INTRODUCED
471471 Page 9
472472 proposal, request for proposal, invitation to bid, or grant
473473 proposal.
474474 (2) A description of any financial benefit that may be
475475 knowingly gained by any public official, public employee,
476476 andor family membersmember of the public official andor public
477477 employee that may result either directly or indirectly from
478478 the person or his or her immediate family members, or his or
479479 her employees.
480480 (3) The names and addresses of any paid consultant or
481481 lobbyist for the contract, proposal, request for proposal,
482482 invitation to bid, or grant proposal.
483483 (b) The State of Alabama shall not enter into any
484484 contract or appropriate any public funds with any person
485485 whothat refuses to provide information required by this
486486 section.
487487 (c) The information required on the disclosure
488488 statement shall be certified by the vendor or the grant
489489 recipient. The certification may be performed by electronic
490490 methods and must include all of the following:
491491 (1) A representation that the individual who signs the
492492 document is authorized to sign on behalf of the vendor, if
493493 applicable.
494494 (2) A declaration that the disclosure statement is
495495 given under the penalty of perjury in the jurisdiction in
496496 which it is executed.
497497 (3) The date and place of execution. "
498498 "§41-16-85
499499 A copy of the disclosure statement shall be filed with
500500 the awarding entity and as required by this article, retained
501501 225
502502 226
503503 227
504504 228
505505 229
506506 230
507507 231
508508 232
509509 233
510510 234
511511 235
512512 236
513513 237
514514 238
515515 239
516516 240
517517 241
518518 242
519519 243
520520 244
521521 245
522522 246
523523 247
524524 248
525525 249
526526 250
527527 251
528528 252 SB277 INTRODUCED
529529 Page 10
530530 the awarding entity and as required by this article, retained
531531 as required by the State Records Commission, and made
532532 available for review for audit purposes by the Department of
533533 Examiners of Public Accounts and if it pertains to a state
534534 contract,or other auditing authority. If the disclosure
535535 pertains to a state contract that must be submitted to the
536536 Contract Review Permanent Legislative Oversight Committee
537537 pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Title 29, a copy
538538 shallmust be submitted to the Contract Review Permanent
539539 Legislative Oversight Committee committee. Any disclosure
540540 statement filed pursuant to this article shall be a public
541541 record."
542542 "§41-16-87
543543 This article shall not apply to either of the
544544 following:
545545 (a) Any person who any entity which does not receive
546546 state funds under a grant or a contract .
547547 (b) Any grants or contracts between public procurement
548548 units as defined in Section 41-4-170. "
549549 Section 2. This act shall become effective on June 1,
550550 2024.
551551 253
552552 254
553553 255
554554 256
555555 257
556556 258
557557 259
558558 260
559559 261
560560 262
561561 263
562562 264
563563 265
564564 266
565565 267
566566 268
567567 269
568568 270
569569 271
570570 272