LCO No. 3795 1 of 11
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 862
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3795
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT CONCERNING VE TERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN STATE
CONTRACTING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 4a-59 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(c) All open market orders or contracts shall be awarded to (1) the 4
lowest responsible qualified bidder, the qualities of the articles to be 5
supplied, their conformity with the specifications, their suitability to 6
the requirements of the state government and the delivery terms being 7
taken into consideration and, at the discretion of the Commissioner of 8
Administrative Services, life-cycle costs and trade-in or resale value of 9
the articles may be considered where it appears to be in the best 10
interest of the state, (2) the highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria 11
bid, in accordance with the criteria set forth in the bid solicitation for 12
the contract, or (3) the proposer whose proposal is deemed by the 13
awarding authority to be the most advantageous to the state, in 14
accordance with the criteria set forth in the request for proposals, 15 Raised Bill No. 862
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including price and evaluation factors. Notwithstanding any provision 16
of the general statutes to the contrary, each state agency awarding a 17
contract through competitive negotiation shall include price as an 18
explicit factor in the criteria in the request for proposals and for the 19
contract award. In considering past performance of a bidder for the 20
purpose of determining the "lowest responsible qualified bidder" or 21
the "highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid", the 22
commissioner shall evaluate the skill, ability and integrity of the 23
bidder in terms of the bidder's fulfillment of past contract obligations 24
and the bidder's experience or lack of experience in delivering 25
supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services of the size or 26
amount for which bids have been solicited. In determining the lowest 27
responsible qualified bidder for the purposes of this section, the 28
commissioner may give a price preference of up to ten per cent for (A) 29
the purchase of goods made with recycled materials or the purchase of 30
recyclable or remanufactured products if the commissioner determines 31
that such preference would promote recycling or remanufacturing. As 32
used in this subsection, "recyclable" means able to be collected, 33
separated or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for 34
reuse, or for use in the manufacture or assembly of another package or 35
product, by means of a recycling program which is reasonably 36
available to at least seventy-five per cent of the state's population, 37
"remanufactured" means restored to its original function and thereby 38
diverted from the solid waste stream by retaining the bulk of 39
components that have been used at least once and by replacing 40
consumable components and "remanufacturing" means any process by 41
which a product is remanufactured; (B) the purchase of motor vehicles 42
powered by a clean alternative fuel; (C) the purchase of motor vehicles 43
powered by fuel other than a clean alternative fuel and conversion 44
equipment to convert such motor vehicles allowing the vehicles to be 45
powered by either the exclusive use of clean alternative fuel or dual 46
use of a clean alternative fuel and a fuel other than a clean alternative 47
fuel. As used in this subsection, "clean alternative fuel" means natural 48
gas, electricity, hydrogen or propane when used as a motor vehicle 49
fuel; or (D) the purchase of goods or services from a micro business, 50 Raised Bill No. 862
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except that, in the case of a veteran-owned micro business, the 51
commissioner may give a price preference of up to fifteen per cent. 52
Additionally, in determining the lowest responsible qualified bidder 53
for the purposes of this section, the commissioner shall give a price 54
preference of ten per cent for the purchase of goods or services from a 55
veteran-owned business. As used in this subsection, "micro business" 56
means a business with gross revenues not exceeding three million 57
dollars in the most recently completed fiscal year, ["veteran-owned 58
micro business"] "veteran-owned" means [a micro business of which] 59
at least fifty-one per cent of [the] ownership is held by one or more 60
veterans and "veteran" means any person (i) honorably discharged 61
from, or released under honorable conditions from active service in, 62
the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, or (ii) with a qualifying 63
condition, as defined in said section, who has received a discharge 64
other than bad conduct or dishonorable from active service in the 65
armed forces. All other factors being equal, preference shall be given to 66
supplies, materials and equipment produced, assembled or 67
manufactured in the state and services originating and provided in the 68
state. Except with regard to contracts that may be paid for with United 69
States Department of Transportation funds, if any such bidder refuses 70
to accept, within ten days, a contract awarded to such bidder, such 71
contract may be awarded to the next lowest responsible qualified 72
bidder or the next highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid, 73
whichever is applicable, and so on until such contract is awarded and 74
accepted. Except with regard to contracts that may be paid for with 75
United States Department of Transportation funds, if any such 76
proposer refuses to accept, within ten days, a contract awarded to such 77
proposer, such contract shall be awarded to the next most 78
advantageous proposer, and so on until the contract is awarded and 79
accepted. There shall be a written evaluation made of each bid. This 80
evaluation shall identify the vendors and their respective costs and 81
prices, document the reason why any vendor is deemed to be 82
nonresponsive and recommend a vendor for award. A contract valued 83
at one million dollars or more shall be awarded to a bidder other than 84
the lowest responsible qualified bidder or the highest scoring bidder in 85 Raised Bill No. 862
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a multiple criteria bid, whichever is applicable, only with written 86
approval signed by the Commissioner of Administrative Services and 87
by the Comptroller. The commissioner shall post on the department's 88
Internet web site all awards made pursuant to the provisions of this 89
section. 90
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 4a-60g of the general statutes is 91
amended by adding subdivisions (16) and (17) as follows (Effective 92
October 1, 2019): 93
(NEW) (16) "Veteran-owned contractor" means any contractor, 94
subcontractor, manufacturer, service company or nonprofit 95
corporation of which at least fifty-one per cent of the ownership is held 96
by one or more veterans. 97
(NEW) (17) "Veteran" means any person (A) honorably discharged 98
from, or released under honorable conditions from active service in, 99
the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, or (B) with a qualifying 100
condition, as defined in said section, who has received a discharge 101
other than bad conduct or dishonorable from active service in the 102
armed forces. 103
Sec. 3. Subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 4a-60g of the 104
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 105
thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 106
(2) (A) Notwithstanding any provisions of the general statutes, and 107
except as set forth in this section, the head of each awarding agency 108
shall set aside in each fiscal year, for award to small contractors, on the 109
basis of competitive bidding procedures, contracts or portions of 110
contracts for the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of public 111
buildings, the construction and maintenance of highways and the 112
purchase of goods and services. The total value of such contracts or 113
portions thereof to be set aside by each such agency shall be at least 114
twenty-five per cent of the total value of all contracts let by the head of 115
such agency in each fiscal year, provided a contract for any goods or 116
services which have been determined by the Commissioner of 117 Raised Bill No. 862
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Administrative Services to be not customarily available from or 118
supplied by small contractors shall not be included. Contracts or 119
portions thereof having a value of not less than twenty-five per cent of 120
the total value of all contracts or portions thereof to be set aside shall 121
be reserved for awards to minority business enterprises. 122
(B) Notwithstanding any provisions of the general statutes, and 123
except as set forth in this section, the head of each awarding agency 124
shall set aside in each fiscal year, for award to veteran-owned 125
contractors, on the basis of competitive bidding procedures, contracts 126
or portions of contracts for the construction, reconstruction or 127
rehabilitation of public buildings, the construction and maintenance of 128
highways and the purchase of goods and services. The total value of 129
such contracts or portions thereof to be set aside by each such agency 130
shall be five per cent of the total value of all contracts let by the head of 131
such agency in each fiscal year, provided a contract for any goods or 132
services which have been determined by the Commissioner of 133
Administrative Services to be not customarily available from or 134
supplied by veteran-owned contractors shall not be included. 135
Sec. 4. Subsection (e) of section 4a-60g of the general statutes is 136
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 137
October 1, 2019): 138
(e) The awarding authority shall require that a contractor or 139
subcontractor awarded a contract or a portion of a contract under this 140
section perform not less than thirty per cent of the work with the 141
workforces of such contractor or subcontractor and shall require that 142
not less than fifty per cent of the work be performed by contractors or 143
subcontractors eligible for awards under this section. A contractor 144
awarded a contract or a portion of a contract under this section shall 145
not subcontract with any person with whom the contractor is affiliated. 146
No person who is affiliated with another person shall be eligible for 147
awards under this section if both affiliated persons considered together 148
would not qualify as [a small contractor or a minority business 149
enterprise under subsection (a) of this section.] a small contractor, 150 Raised Bill No. 862
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minority business enterprise or veteran-owned contractor under 151
subsection (a) of this section. The awarding authority shall require that 152
a contractor awarded a contract pursuant to this section submit, in 153
writing, an explanation of any subcontract to such contract that is 154
entered into with any person that is not eligible for the award of a 155
contract pursuant to this section, prior to the performance of any work 156
pursuant to such subcontract. 157
Sec. 5. Subsection (g) of section 4a-60g of the general statutes is 158
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 159
October 1, 2019): 160
(g) The awarding authority or the Commissioner of Administrative 161
Services or the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities may 162
conduct an audit of the financial, corporate and business records and 163
conduct an investigation of any [small contractor or minority business 164
enterprise which] small contractor, minority business enterprise or 165
veteran-owned contractor that applies for or is awarded a set-aside 166
contract for the purpose of determining eligibility for awards or 167
compliance with the requirements established under this section. 168
Sec. 6. Subdivision (1) of subsection (k) of section 4a-60g of the 169
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 170
thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 171
(k) (1) (A) On or before January 1, 2000, the Commissioner of 172
Administrative Services shall establish a process for certification of 173
small contractors and minority business enterprises as eligible for set-174
aside contracts. Each certification shall be valid for a period not to 175
exceed two years, unless the Commissioner of Administrative Services 176
determines that an extension of such certification is warranted, 177
provided any such extension shall not exceed a period of six months 178
from such certification's original expiration date. Any paper 179
application for certification shall be no longer than six pages. The 180
Department of Administrative Services shall maintain on its web site 181
an updated directory of small contractors and minority business 182 Raised Bill No. 862
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enterprises certified under this section. 183
(B) On or before January 1, 2020 , the Commissioner of 184
Administrative Services shall establish a process for certification of 185
veteran-owned contractors as eligible for set-aside contracts. Each 186
certification shall be valid for a period not to exceed two years, unless 187
the Commissioner of Administrative Services determines that an 188
extension of such certification is warranted, provided any such 189
extension shall not exceed a period of six months from such 190
certification's original expiration date. Any paper application for 191
certification shall be no longer than six pages. The Department of 192
Administrative Services shall maintain on its web site an updated 193
directory of veteran-owned contractors certified under this section. 194
Sec. 7. Subdivision (3) of subsection (k) of section 4a-60g of the 195
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 196
thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 197
(3) Whenever the Commissioner of Administrative Services has 198
reason to believe that [a small contractor or minority business 199
enterprise] a small contractor, minority business enterprise or veteran-200
owned contractor who has applied for or received certification under 201
this section has included a materially false statement in his or her 202
application, the commissioner may impose a penalty not exceeding ten 203
thousand dollars after notice and a hearing held in accordance with 204
chapter 54. Such notice shall include (A) a reference to the statement or 205
statements contained in the application alleged to be false, (B) the 206
maximum civil penalty that may be imposed for such 207
misrepresentation, and (C) the time and place of the hearing. Such 208
hearing shall be fixed for a date not later than fourteen days from the 209
date such notice is sent. The commissioner shall send a copy of such 210
notice to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. 211
Sec. 8. Subsection (l) of section 4a-60g of the general statutes is 212
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 213
October 1, 2019): 214 Raised Bill No. 862
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(l) On or before August thirtieth of each year, each awarding agency 215
setting aside contracts or portions of contracts under subdivision (2) of 216
subsection (b) of this section shall prepare a report establishing [small 217
and minority business] small, minority business and veteran-owned 218
contractor state set-aside program goals for the twelve-month period 219
beginning July first in the same year. Each such report shall be 220
submitted to the Commissioner of Administrative Services, the 221
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the 222
cochairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees 223
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 224
planning and development and government administration. 225
Sec. 9. Subsection (m) of section 4a-60g of the general statutes is 226
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 227
October 1, 2019): 228
(m) On or before November first of each year and on a quarterly 229
basis thereafter, each awarding agency setting aside contracts or 230
portions of contracts under subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this 231
section shall prepare a status report on the implementation and results 232
of its [small business and minority business enterprise] small 233
contractor, minority business enterprise and veteran-owned contractor 234
state set-aside program goals during the three-month period ending 235
one month before the due date for the report. Each report shall be 236
submitted to the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the 237
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. Any awarding 238
agency that achieves less than fifty per cent of its [small contractor and 239
minority business enterprise] small contractor, minority business 240
enterprise and veteran-owned contractor state set-aside program goals 241
by the end of the second reporting period in any twelve-month period 242
beginning on July first shall provide a written explanation to the 243
Commissioner of Administrative Services and the Commission on 244
Human Rights and Opportunities detailing how the awarding agency 245
will achieve its goals in the final reporting period. The Commission on 246
Human Rights and Opportunities shall: (1) Monitor the achievement of 247
the annual goals established by each awarding agency; and (2) prepare 248 Raised Bill No. 862
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a quarterly report concerning such goal achievement. The report shall 249
be submitted to each awarding agency that submitted a report, the 250
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, the 251
Commissioner of Administrative Services and the cochairpersons and 252
ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General 253
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to planning and 254
development and government administration. Failure by any 255
awarding agency to submit any reports required by this section shall 256
be a violation of section 46a-77. 257
Sec. 10. Subsection (e) of section 4a-60h of the general statutes is 258
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 259
October 1, 2019): 260
(e) (1) On or before January 1, 1994, the Commissioner of 261
Administrative Services shall, by regulations adopted in accordance 262
with chapter 54, establish a process to ensure that small contractors, 263
small businesses and minority business enterprises have fair access to 264
all competitive state contracts outside of the state set-aside program. 265
(2) On or before January 1, 2020, the Commissioner of Administrative 266
Services shall, by regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54, 267
establish a process to ensure that veteran-owned contractors have fair 268
access to all competitive state contracts outside of the state set-aside 269
program. 270
Sec. 11. Section 4a-60j of the general statutes is repealed and the 271
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 272
A small contractor and a veteran-owned contractor shall receive 273
payment on a contract awarded to [him] such contractor under the 274
provisions of sections 4a-60g to 4a-60i, inclusive, as amended by this 275
act, no later than thirty days from the due date of any such payment on 276
such contract. 277
Sec. 12. Subsection (a) of section 4a-57 of the general statutes is 278
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 279
October 1, 2019): 280 Raised Bill No. 862
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(a) All purchases of, and contracts for, supplies, materials, 281
equipment and contractual services, except purchases and contracts 282
made pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section and 283
public utility services as provided in subsection (e) of this section shall 284
be based, when possible, on competitive bids or competitive 285
negotiation. The commissioner shall solicit competitive bids or 286
proposals by providing notice of the planned purchase in a form and 287
manner that the commissioner determines will maximize public 288
participation in the competitive bidding or competitive negotiation 289
process, including participation by small contractors, as defined in 290
section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, and promote competition. In 291
the case of an expenditure that is estimated to exceed fifty thousand 292
dollars, such notice shall be posted, not less than five calendar days 293
before the final date of submitting bids or proposals, on the State 294
Contracting Portal. Each notice of a planned purchase under this 295
subsection shall indicate the type of goods and services to be 296
purchased and the estimated value of the contract award. The notice 297
shall also contain a notice of state contract requirements concerning 298
nondiscrimination and affirmative action pursuant to section 4a-60 299
and, when applicable, requirements concerning the awarding of 300
contracts to [small contractors, minority business enterprises, 301
individuals with a disability and nonprofit corporations pursuant to 302
section 4a-60g.] small contractors, minority business enterprises, 303
individuals with a disability, nonprofit corporations and veteran-304
owned contractors pursuant to section 4a-60g, as amended by this act. 305
Each bid and proposal shall be kept sealed or secured until opened 306
publicly at the time stated in the notice soliciting such bid or proposal. 307
Sec. 13. Subdivision (3) of section 22a-263a of the general statutes is 308
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 309
October 1, 2019): 310
(3) Each report required under section 4a-60g, as amended by this 311
act, setting forth [small and minority-business] small contractor, 312
minority business enterprise and veteran-owned contractor set-aside 313
program goals and addressing the authority's progress in meeting said 314 Raised Bill No. 862
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goals, not later than seven days after each such report is required to be 315
submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities 316
under said section 4a-60g, as amended by this act; 317
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 4a-59(c)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(a)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(b)(2)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(e)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(g)
Sec. 6 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(k)(1)
Sec. 7 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(k)(3)
Sec. 8 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(l)
Sec. 9 October 1, 2019 4a-60g(m)
Sec. 10 October 1, 2019 4a-60h(e)
Sec. 11 October 1, 2019 4a-60j
Sec. 12 October 1, 2019 4a-57(a)
Sec. 13 October 1, 2019 22a-263a(3)
Statement of Purpose:
To give veteran-owned businesses a ten per cent price preference on
state contracts and set aside five per cent of all such contracts for
award to veteran-owned contractors.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]