Connecticut 2020 2020 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB05400 Introduced / Bill

Filed 02/26/2020

                        
 
 
 
 
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General Assembly  Raised Bill No. 5400  
February Session, 2020  
LCO No. 2239 
 
 
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS  
 
 
Introduced by:  
(VA)  
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING VE TERAN-OWNED MICRO BU SINESSES. 
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2 
1, 2020): 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 the 6 
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 interest 10 
of the state, (2) the highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid, in 11 
accordance with the criteria set forth in the bid solicitation for the 12 
contract, or (3) the proposer whose proposal is deemed by the awarding 13 
authority to be the most advantageous to the state, in accordance with 14 
the criteria set forth in the request for proposals, including price and 15 
evaluation factors. Notwithstanding any provision of the general 16  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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statutes to the contrary, each state agency awarding a contract through 17 
competitive negotiation shall include price as an explicit factor in the 18 
criteria in the request for proposals and for the contract award. In 19 
considering past performance of a bidder for the purpose of 20 
determining the "lowest responsible qualified bidder" or the "highest 21 
scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid", the commissioner shall 22 
evaluate the skill, ability and integrity of the bidder in terms of the 23 
bidder's fulfillment of past contract obligations and the bidder's 24 
experience or lack of experience in delivering supplies, materials, 25 
equipment or contractual services of the size or amount for which bids 26 
have been solicited. In determining the lowest responsible qualified 27 
bidder for the purposes of this section, the commissioner may give a 28 
price preference of up to ten per cent for (A) the purchase of goods made 29 
with recycled materials or the purchase of recyclable or remanufactured 30 
products if the commissioner determines that such preference would 31 
promote recycling or remanufacturing. As used in this subsection, 32 
"recyclable" means able to be collected, separated or otherwise 33 
recovered from the solid waste stream for reuse, or for use in the 34 
manufacture or assembly of another package or product, by means of a 35 
recycling program which is reasonably available to at least seventy-five 36 
per cent of the state's population, "remanufactured" means restored to 37 
its original function and thereby diverted from the solid waste stream 38 
by retaining the bulk of components that have been used at least once 39 
and by replacing consumable components and "remanufacturing" 40 
means any process by which a product is remanufactured; (B) the 41 
purchase of motor vehicles powered by a clean alternative fuel; (C) the 42 
purchase of motor vehicles powered by fuel other than a clean 43 
alternative fuel and conversion equipment to convert such motor 44 
vehicles allowing the vehicles to be powered by either the exclusive use 45 
of clean alternative fuel or dual use of a clean alternative fuel and a fuel 46 
other than a clean alternative fuel. As used in this subsection, "clean 47 
alternative fuel" means natural gas, electricity, hydrogen or propane 48 
when used as a motor vehicle fuel; or (D) the purchase of goods or 49 
services from a micro business, except that, in the case of a veteran-50 
owned micro business, the commissioner may give a price preference of 51  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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[up to fifteen] ten per cent. As used in this subsection, "micro business" 52 
means a business with gross revenues not exceeding three million 53 
dollars in the most recently completed fiscal year, "veteran-owned micro 54 
business" means a micro business of which at least fifty-one per cent of 55 
the ownership is held by one or more veterans and "veteran" means any 56 
person (i) honorably discharged from, or released under honorable 57 
conditions from active service in, the armed forces, as defined in section 58 
27-103, or (ii) with a qualifying condition, as defined in said section, who 59 
has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from 60 
active service in the armed forces. All other factors being equal, 61 
preference shall be given to supplies, materials and equipment 62 
produced, assembled or manufactured in the state and services 63 
originating and provided in the state. Except with regard to contracts 64 
that may be paid for with United States Department of Transportation 65 
funds, if any such bidder refuses to accept, within ten days, a contract 66 
awarded to such bidder, such contract may be awarded to the next 67 
lowest responsible qualified bidder or the next highest scoring bidder in 68 
a multiple criteria bid, whichever is applicable, and so on until such 69 
contract is awarded and accepted. Except with regard to contracts that 70 
may be paid for with United States Department of Transportation funds, 71 
if any such proposer refuses to accept, within ten days, a contract 72 
awarded to such proposer, such contract shall be awarded to the next 73 
most advantageous proposer, and so on until the contract is awarded 74 
and accepted. There shall be a written evaluation made of each bid. This 75 
evaluation shall identify the vendors and their respective costs and 76 
prices, document the reason why any vendor is deemed to be 77 
nonresponsive and recommend a vendor for award. A contract valued 78 
at one million dollars or more shall be awarded to a bidder other than 79 
the lowest responsible qualified bidder or the highest scoring bidder in 80 
a multiple criteria bid, whichever is applicable, only with written 81 
approval signed by the Commissioner of Administrative Services and 82 
by the Comptroller. The commissioner shall post on the department's 83 
Internet web site all awards made pursuant to the provisions of this 84 
section. 85  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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Sec. 2. Section 4a-60g of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes 86 
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 87 
October 1, 2020): 88 
(a) As used in this section and sections 4a-60h to 4a-60j, inclusive, as 89 
amended by this act, the following terms have the following meanings: 90 
(1) "Small contractor" means any contractor, subcontractor, 91 
manufacturer, service company or nonprofit corporation (A) that 92 
maintains its principal place of business in the state, (B) that had gross 93 
revenues not exceeding twenty million dollars in the most recently 94 
completed fiscal year prior to such application, and (C) that is 95 
independent. "Small contractor" does not include any person who is 96 
affiliated with another person if both persons considered together have 97 
a gross revenue exceeding twenty million dollars. 98 
(2) "Independent" means the viability of the enterprise of the small 99 
contractor does not depend upon another person, as determined by an 100 
analysis of the small contractor's relationship with any other person in 101 
regards to the provision of personnel, facilities, equipment, other 102 
resources and financial support, including bonding. 103 
(3) "State agency" means each state board, commission, department, 104 
office, institution, council or other agency with the power to contract for 105 
goods or services itself or through its head. 106 
(4) "Minority business enterprise" means any small contractor, (A) 107 
fifty-one per cent or more of the capital stock, if any, or assets of which 108 
are owned by a person or persons who (i) exercise operational authority 109 
over the daily affairs of the enterprise, (ii) have the power to direct the 110 
management and policies and receive the beneficial interest of the 111 
enterprise, (iii) possess managerial and technical competence and 112 
experience directly related to the principal business activities of the 113 
enterprise, and (iv) are members of a minority, as such term is defined 114 
in subsection (a) of section 32-9n, or are individuals with a disability, or 115 
(B) which is a nonprofit corporation in which fifty-one per cent or more 116 
of the persons who (i) exercise operational authority over the enterprise, 117  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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(ii) possess managerial and technical competence and experience 118 
directly related to the principal business activities of the enterprise, (iii) 119 
have the power to direct the management and policies of the enterprise, 120 
and (iv) are members of a minority, as defined in this subsection, or are 121 
individuals with a disability. 122 
(5) "Affiliated" means the relationship in which a person directly, or 123 
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by 124 
or is under common control with another person. 125 
(6) "Control" means the power to direct or cause the direction of the 126 
management and policies of any person, whether through the 127 
ownership of voting securities, by contract or through any other direct 128 
or indirect means. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person, 129 
directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or 130 
holds proxies representing, twenty per cent or more of any voting 131 
securities of another person. 132 
(7) "Person" means any individual, corporation, limited liability 133 
company, partnership, association, joint stock company, business trust, 134 
unincorporated organization or other entity. 135 
(8) "Individual with a disability" means an individual (A) having a 136 
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of 137 
the major life activities of the individual, which mental impairment may 138 
include, but is not limited to, having one or more mental disorders, as 139 
defined in the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric 140 
Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", 141 
or (B) having a record of such an impairment. 142 
(9) "Nonprofit corporation" means a nonprofit corporation 143 
incorporated pursuant to chapter 602 or any predecessor statutes 144 
thereto. 145 
(10) "Municipality" means any town, city, borough, consolidated 146 
town and city or consolidated town and borough. 147  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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(11) "Quasi-public agency" has the same meaning as provided in 148 
section 1-120. 149 
(12) "Awarding agency" means a state agency or political subdivision 150 
of the state other than a municipality. 151 
(13) "Public works contract" has the same meaning as provided in 152 
section 46a-68b. 153 
(14) "Municipal public works contract" means that portion of an 154 
agreement entered into on or after October 1, 2015, between any 155 
individual, firm or corporation and a municipality for the construction, 156 
rehabilitation, conversion, extension, demolition or repair of a public 157 
building, highway or other changes or improvements in real property, 158 
which is financed in whole or in part by the state, including, but not 159 
limited to, matching expenditures, grants, loans, insurance or 160 
guarantees but excluding any project of an alliance district, as defined 161 
in section 10-262u, financed by state funding in an amount equal to fifty 162 
thousand dollars or less. 163 
(15) "Quasi-public agency project" means the construction, 164 
rehabilitation, conversion, extension, demolition or repair of a building 165 
or other changes or improvements in real property pursuant to a 166 
contract entered into on or after October 1, 2015, which is financed in 167 
whole or in part by a quasi-public agency using state funds, including, 168 
but not limited to, matching expenditures, grants, loans, insurance or 169 
guarantees. 170 
(16) "Veteran-owned micro business" has the same meaning as 171 
provided in section 4a-59, as amended by this act. 172 
(b) (1) It is found and determined that there is a serious need to help 173 
small contractors, minority business enterprises, veteran-owned micro 174 
businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals with disabilities to 175 
be considered for and awarded state contracts for the purchase of goods 176 
and services, public works contracts, municipal public works contracts 177 
and contracts for quasi-public agency projects. Accordingly, the 178  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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necessity of awarding such contracts in compliance with the provisions 179 
of this section, sections 4a-60h to 4a-60j, inclusive, as amended by this 180 
act, and sections 32-9i to 32-9p, inclusive, for advancement of the public 181 
benefit and good, is declared as a matter of legislative determination. 182 
(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of the general statutes, and 183 
except as set forth in this section, the head of each awarding agency shall 184 
set aside in each fiscal year, for award to small contractors, on the basis 185 
of competitive bidding procedures, contracts or portions of contracts for 186 
the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of public buildings, the 187 
construction and maintenance of highways and the purchase of goods 188 
and services. The total value of such contracts or portions thereof to be 189 
set aside by each such agency shall be at least twenty-five per cent of the 190 
total value of all contracts let by the head of such agency in each fiscal 191 
year, provided a contract for any goods or services which have been 192 
determined by the Commissioner of Administrative Services to be not 193 
customarily available from or supplied by small contractors shall not be 194 
included. Contracts or portions thereof having a value of not less than 195 
twenty-five per cent of the total value of all contracts or portions thereof 196 
to be set aside shall be reserved for awards to minority business 197 
enterprises. Contracts or portions thereof having a value of not less than 198 
five per cent of the total value of all contracts or portions thereof to be 199 
set aside shall be reserved for awards to veteran-owned micro 200 
businesses. 201 
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, and except 202 
as provided in this section, on and after October 1, 2015, each 203 
municipality when awarding a municipal public works contract shall 204 
state in its notice of solicitation for competitive bids or request for 205 
proposals or qualifications for such contract that the general or trade 206 
contractor shall be required to comply with the provisions of this section 207 
and the requirements concerning nondiscrimination and affirmative 208 
action under sections 4a-60 and 4a-60a. Any such contractor awarded a 209 
municipal public works contract shall, on the basis of competitive 210 
bidding procedures, (A) set aside at least twenty-five per cent of the total 211 
value of the state's financial assistance for such contract for award to 212  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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subcontractors who are small contractors, and (B) of that portion to be 213 
set aside in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, 214 
reserve a portion equivalent to (i) twenty-five per cent of the total value 215 
of the contract or portion thereof to be set aside for awards to 216 
subcontractors who are minority business enterprises, and (ii) five per 217 
cent of the total value of the contract or portion thereof to be set aside 218 
for awards to subcontractors who are veteran-owned micro businesses. 219 
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any municipality that 220 
has established a set-aside program pursuant to section 7-148u, as 221 
amended by this act, where the percentage of contracts set aside for 222 
minority business enterprises [is] and veteran-owned micro businesses 223 
are equivalent to or exceeds the percentage set forth in this subsection. 224 
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, and except 225 
as provided in this section, on and after October 1, 2015, any individual, 226 
firm or corporation that enters into a contract for a quasi-public agency 227 
project shall, prior to awarding such contract, notify the contractor to be 228 
awarded such project of the requirements of this section and the 229 
requirements concerning nondiscrimination and affirmative action 230 
under sections 4a-60 and 4a-60a. Any such contractor awarded a 231 
contract for a quasi-public agency project shall, on the basis of 232 
competitive bidding procedures, (A) set aside at least twenty-five per 233 
cent of the total value of the state's financial assistance for such contract 234 
for award to subcontractors who are small contractors, and (B) of that 235 
portion to be set aside in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this 236 
subdivision, reserve a portion equivalent to (i) twenty-five per cent of 237 
the total value of the contract or portions thereof to be set aside for 238 
awards to subcontractors who are minority business enterprises, and (ii) 239 
five per cent of the total value of the contract or portions thereof to be 240 
set aside for awards to subcontractors who are veteran-owned micro 241 
businesses. 242 
(5) Eligibility of nonprofit corporations under the provisions of this 243 
section shall be limited to predevelopment contracts awarded by the 244 
Commissioner of Housing for housing projects. 245  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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(6) In calculating the percentage of contracts to be set aside under 246 
subdivisions (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection, the awarding agency 247 
or contractor shall exclude any contract that may not be set aside due to 248 
a conflict with a federal law or regulation. 249 
(c) The head of any awarding agency may, in lieu of setting aside any 250 
contract or portions thereof, require any general or trade contractor or 251 
any other entity authorized by such agency to award contracts, to set 252 
aside a portion of any contract for subcontractors who are eligible for 253 
set-aside contracts under this section. Nothing in this subsection shall 254 
be construed to diminish the total value of contracts which are required 255 
to be set aside by any awarding agency pursuant to this section. 256 
(d) The head of each awarding agency shall notify the Commissioner 257 
of Administrative Services of all contracts to be set aside pursuant to 258 
subdivision (2) of subsection (b) or subsection (c) of this section at the 259 
time that bid documents for such contracts are made available to 260 
potential contractors. 261 
(e) The awarding authority shall require that a contractor or 262 
subcontractor awarded a contract or a portion of a contract under this 263 
section perform not less than thirty per cent of the work with the 264 
workforces of such contractor or subcontractor and shall require that not 265 
less than fifty per cent of the work be performed by contractors or 266 
subcontractors eligible for awards under this section. A contractor 267 
awarded a contract or a portion of a contract under this section shall not 268 
subcontract with any person with whom the contractor is affiliated. No 269 
person who is affiliated with another person shall be eligible for awards 270 
under this section if both affiliated persons considered together would 271 
not qualify as a small contractor, [or] a minority business enterprise or 272 
a veteran-owned micro business under subsection (a) of this section. The 273 
awarding authority shall require that a contractor awarded a contract 274 
pursuant to this section submit, in writing, an explanation of any 275 
subcontract to such contract that is entered into with any person that is 276 
not eligible for the award of a contract pursuant to this section, prior to 277 
the performance of any work pursuant to such subcontract. 278  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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(f) The awarding authority may require that a contractor or 279 
subcontractor awarded a contract or a portion of a contract under this 280 
section furnish the following documentation: (1) A copy of the certificate 281 
of incorporation, certificate of limited partnership, partnership 282 
agreement or other organizational documents of the contractor or 283 
subcontractor; (2) a copy of federal income tax returns filed by the 284 
contractor or subcontractor for the previous year; and (3) evidence of 285 
payment of fair market value for the purchase or lease by the contractor 286 
or subcontractor of property or equipment from another contractor who 287 
is not eligible for set-aside contracts under this section. 288 
(g) The awarding authority or the Commissioner of Administrative 289 
Services or the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities may 290 
conduct an audit of the financial, corporate and business records and 291 
conduct an investigation of any small contractor, [or] minority business 292 
enterprise [which] or veteran-owned micro business that applies for or 293 
is awarded a set-aside contract for the purpose of determining eligibility 294 
for awards or compliance with the requirements established under this 295 
section. 296 
(h) The provisions of this section shall not apply to (1) any awarding 297 
agency for which the total value of all contracts or portions of contracts 298 
of the types enumerated in subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this 299 
section is anticipated to be equal to ten thousand dollars or less, or (2) 300 
any municipal public works contract or contract for a quasi-public 301 
agency project for which the total value of the contract is anticipated to 302 
be equal to fifty thousand dollars or less. 303 
(i) In lieu of a performance, bid, labor and materials or other required 304 
bond, a contractor or subcontractor awarded a contract under this 305 
section may provide to the awarding authority, and the awarding 306 
authority shall accept a letter of credit. Any such letter of credit shall be 307 
in an amount equal to ten per cent of the contract for any contract that 308 
is less than one hundred thousand dollars and in an amount equal to 309 
twenty-five per cent of the contract for any contract that exceeds one 310 
hundred thousand dollars. 311  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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(j) (1) Whenever the awarding agency has reason to believe that any 312 
contractor or subcontractor awarded a state set-aside contract has 313 
wilfully violated any provision of this section, the awarding agency 314 
shall send a notice to such contractor or subcontractor by certified mail, 315 
return receipt requested. Such notice shall include: (A) A reference to 316 
the provision alleged to be violated; (B) a short and plain statement of 317 
the matter asserted; (C) the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed 318 
for such violation; and (D) the time and place for the hearing. Such 319 
hearing shall be fixed for a date not earlier than fourteen days after the 320 
notice is mailed. The awarding agency shall send a copy of such notice 321 
to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. 322 
(2) The awarding agency shall hold a hearing on the violation 323 
asserted unless such contractor or subcontractor fails to appear. The 324 
hearing shall be held in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. If, 325 
after the hearing, the awarding agency finds that the contractor or 326 
subcontractor has wilfully violated any provision of this section, the 327 
awarding agency shall suspend all set-aside contract payments to the 328 
contractor or subcontractor and may, in its discretion, order that a civil 329 
penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars per violation be imposed on 330 
the contractor or subcontractor. If such contractor or subcontractor fails 331 
to appear for the hearing, the awarding agency may, as the facts require, 332 
order that a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars per 333 
violation be imposed on the contractor or subcontractor. The awarding 334 
agency shall send a copy of any order issued pursuant to this subsection 335 
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the contractor or 336 
subcontractor named in such order. The awarding agency may cause 337 
proceedings to be instituted by the Attorney General for the 338 
enforcement of any order imposing a civil penalty issued under this 339 
subsection. 340 
(k) (1) (A) On or before January 1, 2000, the Commissioner of 341 
Administrative Services shall establish a process for certification of 342 
small contractors and minority business enterprises as eligible for set-343 
aside contracts. (B) On or before January 1, 2021, the Commissioner of 344 
Administrative Services shall establish a process for certification of 345  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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veteran-owned micro businesses as eligible for set-aside contracts. (C) 346 
Each certification shall be valid for a period not to exceed two years, 347 
unless the Commissioner of Administrative Services determines that an 348 
extension of such certification is warranted, provided any such 349 
extension shall not exceed a period of six months from such 350 
certification's original expiration date. Any paper application for 351 
certification shall be no longer than six pages. (D) The Department of 352 
Administrative Services shall maintain on its web site an updated 353 
directory of small contractors, [and] minority business enterprises and 354 
veteran-owned micro businesses certified under this section. 355 
(2) The Commissioner of Administrative Services may deny an 356 
application for the initial issuance or renewal of such certification after 357 
issuing a written decision to the applicant setting forth the basis for such 358 
denial. The commissioner may revoke such certification for cause after 359 
notice and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the 360 
provisions of chapter 54. Any person aggrieved by the commissioner's 361 
decision to deny the issuance or renewal of or to revoke such 362 
certification may appeal such decision to the Superior Court, in 363 
accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. 364 
(3) Whenever the Commissioner of Administrative Services has 365 
reason to believe that a small contractor, [or] minority business 366 
enterprise [who] or veteran-owned micro business that has applied for 367 
or received certification under this section has included a materially 368 
false statement in [his or her] its application, the commissioner may 369 
impose a penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars after notice and a 370 
hearing held in accordance with chapter 54. Such notice shall include 371 
(A) a reference to the statement or statements contained in the 372 
application alleged to be false, (B) the maximum civil penalty that may 373 
be imposed for such misrepresentation, and (C) the time and place of 374 
the hearing. Such hearing shall be fixed for a date not later than fourteen 375 
days from the date such notice is sent. The commissioner shall send a 376 
copy of such notice to the Commission on Human Rights and 377 
Opportunities. 378  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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(4) The commissioner shall hold a hearing prior to such revocation or 379 
denial or the imposition of a penalty, unless such contractor or 380 
subcontractor fails to appear. If, after the hearing, the commissioner 381 
finds that the contractor or subcontractor has wilfully included a 382 
materially false statement in his or her application for certification under 383 
this subsection, the commissioner shall revoke or deny the certification 384 
and may order that a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars 385 
be imposed on the contractor or subcontractor. If such contractor or 386 
subcontractor fails to appear for the hearing, the commissioner may, as 387 
the facts require, revoke or deny the certification and order that a civil 388 
penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars be imposed on the 389 
contractor or subcontractor. The commissioner shall send a copy of any 390 
order issued pursuant to this subsection to the contractor or 391 
subcontractor named in such order. The commissioner may cause 392 
proceedings to be instituted by the Attorney General for the 393 
enforcement of any order imposing a civil penalty issued under this 394 
subsection. 395 
(l) On or before August thirtieth of each year, each awarding agency 396 
setting aside contracts or portions of contracts under subdivision (2) of 397 
subsection (b) of this section shall prepare a report establishing small 398 
[and] contractor, minority business enterprise and veteran-owned micro 399 
business state set-aside program goals for the twelve-month period 400 
beginning July first in the same year. Each such report shall be 401 
submitted to the Commissioner of Administrative Services, the 402 
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the 403 
cochairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees 404 
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 405 
planning and development and government administration. 406 
(m) On or before November first of each year and on a quarterly basis 407 
thereafter, each awarding agency setting aside contracts or portions of 408 
contracts under subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section shall 409 
prepare a status report on the implementation and results of its small 410 
business, [and] minority business enterprise and veteran-owned micro 411 
business state set-aside program goals during the three-month period 412  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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ending one month before the due date for the report. Each report shall 413 
be submitted to the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the 414 
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. Any awarding 415 
agency that achieves less than fifty per cent of its small contractor, [and] 416 
minority business enterprise and veteran-owned micro business state 417 
set-aside program goals by the end of the second reporting period in 418 
any twelve-month period beginning on July first shall provide a written 419 
explanation to the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the 420 
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities detailing how the 421 
awarding agency will achieve its goals in the final reporting period. The 422 
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities shall: (1) Monitor the 423 
achievement of the annual goals established by each awarding agency; 424 
and (2) prepare a quarterly report concerning such goal achievement. 425 
The report shall be submitted to each awarding agency that submitted 426 
a report, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, 427 
the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the cochairpersons 428 
and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General 429 
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to planning and 430 
development and government administration. Failure by any awarding 431 
agency to submit any reports required by this section shall be a violation 432 
of section 46a-77. 433 
(n) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the janitorial 434 
or service contracts awarded pursuant to subsections (b) to (d), 435 
inclusive, of section 4a-82. 436 
(o) The Commissioner of Administrative Services may adopt 437 
regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to 438 
implement the provisions of this section.  439 
Sec. 3. Section 4a-60h of the general statutes is repealed and the 440 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 441 
(a) The Commissioner of Administrative Services shall be responsible 442 
for the administration of the set-aside program for public works 443 
contracts and state contracts for goods and services, as described in 444  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 4a-60g, as amended by this 445 
act. The commissioner shall conduct regular training sessions, as often 446 
as the commissioner deems necessary, for state agencies to explain the 447 
state set-aside program and to specify the factors that must be addressed 448 
in calculating awarding agency goals under the program. The 449 
commissioner shall conduct informational workshops to inform 450 
businesses of state set-aside opportunities and responsibilities. 451 
(b) The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities shall be 452 
responsible for the administration of the set-aside program for 453 
municipal public works contracts and contracts for quasi-public agency 454 
projects, as described in subdivisions (3) and (4) of subsection (b) of 455 
section 4a-60g, as amended by this act. The commission shall conduct 456 
regular training sessions, as often as the commission deems necessary, 457 
for municipalities, quasi-public agencies and contractors to explain the 458 
municipal and quasi-public agency project set-aside program. The 459 
commission may adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of 460 
chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of sections 4a-60g to 4a-60j, 461 
inclusive, as amended by this act, in regard to the municipal and quasi-462 
public agency project set-aside program. 463 
(c) In any case where an individual contract is both a public works 464 
contract of an awarding agency and a quasi-public agency project 465 
contract, the provisions of this chapter governing awarding agency 466 
public works contracts shall apply to such contract. 467 
(d) The Commissioner of Administrative Services shall adopt 468 
regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to carry out 469 
the purposes of sections 4a-60g to 4a-60j, inclusive, as amended by this 470 
act, in regard to the state set-aside program. Such regulations shall 471 
include (1) provisions concerning the application of the program to 472 
individuals with a disability; (2) guidelines for a legally acceptable 473 
format for, and content of, letters of credit authorized under subsection 474 
(j) of section 4a-60g, as amended by this act; (3) procedures for random 475 
site visits to the place of business of an applicant for certification at the 476 
time of application and at subsequent times, as necessary, to ensure the 477  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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integrity of the application process; and (4) time limits for approval or 478 
disapproval of applications. 479 
(e) (1) On or before January 1, 1994, the Commissioner of 480 
Administrative Services shall, by regulations adopted in accordance 481 
with chapter 54, establish a process to ensure that small contractors, 482 
small businesses and minority business enterprises have fair access to 483 
all competitive state contracts outside of the state set-aside program. 484 
(2) On or before July 1, 2021, the Commissioner of Administrative 485 
Services shall, by regulations adopted in accordance with chapter 54, 486 
establish a process to ensure that veteran-owned micro businesses have 487 
fair access to all competitive state contracts outside of the state set-aside 488 
program.  489 
Sec. 4. Section 4a-60j of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes is 490 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 491 
1, 2020): 492 
A small contractor, minority business enterprise and veteran-owned 493 
micro business shall receive payment on a contract awarded to [him or 494 
her] such contractor, enterprise or business under the provisions of 495 
sections 4a-60g to 4a-60i, inclusive, as amended by this act, no later than 496 
twenty-five days from the due date of any such payment on such 497 
contract.  498 
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 4a-57 of the general statutes is 499 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 500 
1, 2020): 501 
(a) All purchases of, and contracts for, supplies, materials, equipment 502 
and contractual services, except purchases and contracts made pursuant 503 
to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section and public utility 504 
services as provided in subsection (e) of this section shall be based, when 505 
possible, on competitive bids or competitive negotiation. The 506 
commissioner shall solicit competitive bids or proposals by providing 507 
notice of the planned purchase in a form and manner that the 508  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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commissioner determines will maximize public participation in the 509 
competitive bidding or competitive negotiation process, including 510 
participation by small contractors, minority business enterprises and 511 
veteran-owned micro businesses, as defined in section 4a-60g, as 512 
amended by this act, and promote competition. In the case of an 513 
expenditure that is estimated to exceed fifty thousand dollars, such 514 
notice shall be posted, not less than five calendar days before the final 515 
date of submitting bids or proposals, on the State Contracting Portal. 516 
Each notice of a planned purchase under this subsection shall indicate 517 
the type of goods and services to be purchased and the estimated value 518 
of the contract award. The notice shall also contain a notice of state 519 
contract requirements concerning nondiscrimination and affirmative 520 
action pursuant to section 4a-60 and, when applicable, requirements 521 
concerning the awarding of contracts to small contractors, minority 522 
business enterprises, veteran-owned micro businesses, individuals with 523 
a disability and nonprofit corporations pursuant to section 4a-60g, as 524 
amended by this act. Each bid and proposal shall be kept sealed or 525 
secured until opened publicly at the time stated in the notice soliciting 526 
such bid or proposal. 527 
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 4b-91 of the general statutes is 528 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 529 
1, 2020): 530 
(a) (1) As used in this section, "prequalification classification" means 531 
the prequalification classifications established by the Commissioner of 532 
Administrative Services pursuant to section 4a-100, "public agency" has 533 
the same meaning as provided in section 1-200, "awarding authority" 534 
means the Department of Administrative Services, except "awarding 535 
authority" means (A) the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, 536 
in the case of a contract for the construction of or work on a building or 537 
other public work under the supervision and control of the joint 538 
committee, (B) a constituent unit of the state system of higher education, 539 
in the case of a contract for the construction of or work on a building or 540 
other public work under the supervision and control of such constituent 541 
unit, or (C) the Military Department, in the case of a contract for the 542  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	18 of 35 
 
construction of or work on a building or other public work under the 543 
supervision and control of said department and "community court 544 
project", "downtown Hartford higher education center project", 545 
"correctional facility project", "juvenile detention center project" and 546 
"priority higher education facility project" have the same meanings as 547 
provided in section 4b-55. 548 
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, every 549 
contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, 550 
repair or demolition of any public building or any other public work by 551 
the state that is estimated to cost more than five hundred thousand 552 
dollars shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and qualified general 553 
bidder who is prequalified pursuant to section 4a-100 on the basis of 554 
competitive bids in accordance with the procedures set forth in this 555 
chapter, after the awarding authority has invited such bids by posting 556 
notice on the State Contracting Portal. The awarding authority shall 557 
indicate the prequalification classification required for the contract in 558 
such notice. 559 
(3) The requirements set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection 560 
shall not apply to (A) a public highway or bridge project or any other 561 
construction project administered by the Department of Transportation, 562 
or (B) a contract awarded by the Commissioner of Administrative 563 
Services for (i) any public building or other public works project 564 
administered by the Department of Administrative Services that is 565 
estimated to cost one million five hundred thousand dollars or less, (ii) 566 
a community court project, (iii) the downtown Hartford higher 567 
education center project, (iv) a correctional facility project, (v) a juvenile 568 
detention center project, or (vi) a student residential facility for the 569 
Connecticut State University System that is a priority higher education 570 
facility project.  571 
(4) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, 572 
remodeling, repair or demolition of any public building or any other 573 
public work by a public agency that is paid for, in whole or in part, with 574 
state funds and that is estimated to cost more than five hundred 575  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	19 of 35 
 
thousand dollars shall be awarded to a bidder that is prequalified 576 
pursuant to section 4a-100 after the public agency has invited such bids 577 
by posting notice on the State Contracting Portal, except for (A) a public 578 
highway or bridge project or any other construction p roject 579 
administered by the Department of Transportation, or (B) any public 580 
building or other public works project administered by the Department 581 
of Administrative Services that is estimated to cost one million five 582 
hundred thousand dollars or less. The awarding authority or public 583 
agency, as the case may be, shall indicate the prequalification 584 
classification required for the contract in such notice. 585 
(5) (A) The Commissioner of Administrative Services may select 586 
contractors to be on lists established for the purpose of providing 587 
contractor services for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, 588 
remodeling, repair or demolition of any public building or other public 589 
works project administered by the Department of Administrative 590 
Services involving an expense to the state of one million five hundred 591 
thousand dollars or less. The commissioner shall use the 592 
prequalification classifications established pursuant to section 4a-100 to 593 
determine the specific categories of services that contractors may 594 
perform after being selected in accordance with this subparagraph and 595 
subparagraph (B) of this subdivision and awarded a contract in 596 
accordance with subparagraph (C) of this subdivision. The 597 
commissioner may establish a separate list for projects involving an 598 
expense to the state of less than five hundred thousand dollars for the 599 
purpose of selecting and utilizing the services of small contractors, [and] 600 
minority business enterprises and veteran-owned micro businesses, as 601 
such terms are defined in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act. 602 
(B) The commissioner shall invite contractors to submit qualifications 603 
for each specific category of services sought by the department by 604 
posting notice of such invitation on the State Contracting Portal. The 605 
notice shall be in the form determined by the commissioner, and shall 606 
set forth the information that a contractor is required to submit to be 607 
considered for selection. Upon receipt of the submittal from the 608 
contractor, the commissioner shall select, for each specified category, 609  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	20 of 35 
 
those contractors who (i) are determined to be the most responsible and 610 
qualified, as such terms are defined in section 4b-92, to perform the 611 
work required under the specified category, (ii) have demonstrated the 612 
skill, ability and integrity to fulfill contract obligations considering their 613 
past performance, financial responsibility and experience with projects 614 
of the size, scope and complexity required by the state under the 615 
specified category, and (iii) for projects with a cost exceeding five 616 
hundred thousand dollars, have the ability to obtain the requisite 617 
bonding. The commissioner shall establish the duration that each list 618 
remains in effect, which in no event may exceed three years. 619 
(C) For any public building or public works project involving an 620 
expense to the state of one million five hundred thousand dollars or less, 621 
the commissioner shall invite bids from only those contractors selected 622 
pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision for the 623 
specific category of services required for the particular project. The 624 
commissioner shall determine the form of bid invitation, the manner of, 625 
and time for, submission of bids, and the conditions and requirements 626 
of such bids. The contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible 627 
and qualified bidder, subject to the provisions of sections 4b-92 and 4b-628 
94. In the event that fewer than three bids are received in response to an 629 
invitation to bid under this subdivision, or that all the bids are in excess 630 
of the amount of available funds for the project, the commissioner may 631 
negotiate a contract with any of the contractors submitting a bid, or 632 
reject the bids received and rebid the project in accordance with this 633 
section. 634 
Sec. 7. Section 4-261 of the general statutes is repealed and the 635 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 636 
(a) Each public-private partnership project shall either be subject to 637 
the prevailing wage requirements pursuant to section 31-53 or the rate 638 
established by the use of a project labor agreement. The agency shall 639 
provide notice of which requirement applies prior to soliciting bids or 640 
proposals for such public-private partnership. 641  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	21 of 35 
 
(b) Each public-private partnership project shall comply with: (1) The 642 
state's environmental policy requirements as set forth in sections 22a-1 643 
and 22a-1a, (2) the requirements of the set-aside program for small 644 
contractors, minority business enterprises and veteran-owned micro 645 
businesses, as set forth in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, and (3) 646 
any applicable permitting or inspection requirements for projects of a 647 
similar type, scope and size as set forth in the general statutes or the 648 
local ordinances of the municipality where the project is to be located. 649 
(c) Any agency that is subject to section 4e-16 shall comply with the 650 
provisions of section 4e-16, provided, notwithstanding the provisions of 651 
subsection (a) of section 4e-16, any agency that enters into a partnership 652 
agreement concerning the operations or maintenance of a state facility 653 
that meets the definition of a privatization contract, as defined in section 654 
4e-1, as amended by this act, shall be subject to the requirements of 655 
section 4e-16 regardless of whether such services are currently 656 
privatized.  657 
Sec. 8. Section 4e-1 of the general statutes is repealed and the 658 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 659 
For the purposes of sections 4e-1 to 4e-47, inclusive: 660 
(1) "Best value selection" means a contract selection process in which 661 
the award of a contract is based on a combination of quality, timeliness 662 
and cost factors; 663 
(2) "Bid" means an offer, submitted in response to an invitation to bid, 664 
to furnish supplies, materials, equipment, construction or contractual 665 
services to a state contracting agency under prescribed conditions at a 666 
stated price; 667 
(3) "Bidder" means a business submitting a bid in response to an 668 
invitation to bid by a state contracting agency; 669 
(4) "Business" means any individual or sole proprietorship, 670 
partnership, firm, corporation, trust, limited liability company, limited 671  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	22 of 35 
 
liability partnership, joint stock company, joint venture, association or 672 
other legal entity through which business for profit or not-for-profit is 673 
conducted; 674 
(5) "Competitive bidding" means the submission of prices by a 675 
business competing for a contract to provide supplies, materials, 676 
equipment or contractual services to a state contracting agency, under a 677 
procedure in which the contracting authority does not negotiate prices, 678 
as set forth in statutes and regulations concerning procurement; 679 
(6) "Consultant" means (A) any architect, professional engineer, 680 
landscape architect, land surveyor, accountant, interior designer, 681 
environmental professional or construction administrator, who is 682 
registered or licensed to practice such person's profession in accordance 683 
with the applicable provisions of the general statutes, (B) any planner or 684 
any environmental, management or financial specialist, or (C) any 685 
person who performs professional work in areas including, but not 686 
limited to, educational services, medical services, information 687 
technology and real estate appraisal; 688 
(7) "Consultant services" means those professional services rendered 689 
by a consultant and any incidental services that a consultant and those 690 
in the consultant's employ are authorized to perform; 691 
(8) "Contract" or "state contract" means an agreement or a 692 
combination or series of agreements between a state contracting agency 693 
or quasi-public agency and a business for: 694 
(A) A project for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, 695 
remodeling, repair or demolition of any public building, public work, 696 
mass transit, rail station, parking garage, rail track or airport; 697 
(B) Services, including, but not limited to, consultant and professional 698 
services; 699 
(C) The acquisition or disposition of personal property; 700 
(D) The provision of goods and services, including, but not limited 701  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	23 of 35 
 
to, the use of purchase of services contracts and personal service 702 
agreements; 703 
(E) The provision of information technology, state agency 704 
information system or telecommunication system facilities, equipment 705 
or services; 706 
(F) A lease; or 707 
(G) A licensing agreement; 708 
"Contract" or "state contract" does not include a contract between a state 709 
agency or a quasi-public agency and a political subdivision of the state;  710 
(9) "Term contract" means the agreement reached when the state 711 
accepts a bid or proposal to furnish supplies, materials, equipment or 712 
contractual services at a stated price for a specific period of time in 713 
response to an invitation to bid; 714 
(10) "Contract risk assessment" means (A) the identification and 715 
evaluation of loss exposures and risks, including, but not limited to, 716 
business and legal risks associated with the contracting process and the 717 
contracted goods and services, and (B) the identification, evaluation and 718 
implementation of measures available to minimize potential loss 719 
exposures and risks; 720 
(11) "Contractor" means any business that is awarded, or is a 721 
subcontractor under, a contract or an amendment to a contract with a 722 
state contracting agency under statutes and regulations concerning 723 
procurement, including, but not limited to, a small contractor, minority 724 
business enterprise or veteran-owned micro business as defined in 725 
section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, an individual with a disability, 726 
as defined in section 4a-60, or an organization providing products and 727 
services by persons with disabilities; 728 
(12) "Contractual services" means the furnishing of labor by a 729 
contractor, not involving the delivery of a specific end product other 730 
than reports, which are merely incidental to the required performance 731  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	24 of 35 
 
and includes any and all laundry and cleaning service, pest control 732 
service, janitorial service, security service, the rental and repair, or 733 
maintenance, of equipment, machinery and other state-owned personal 734 
property, advertising and photostating, mimeographing, human 735 
services and other service arrangements where the services are 736 
provided by persons other than state employees. "Contractual services" 737 
includes the design, development and implementation of technology, 738 
communications or telecommunications systems or the infrastructure 739 
pertaining thereto, including hardware and software and services for 740 
which a contractor is conferred a benefit by the state, whether or not 741 
compensated by the state. "Contractual services" does not include 742 
employment agreements or collective bargaining agreements; 743 
(13) "Data" means recorded information, regardless of form or 744 
characteristic; 745 
(14) "Vote of two-thirds of the members of the board present and 746 
voting" means a vote by the State Contracting Standards Board that is 747 
agreed upon by two-thirds of the members of the State Contracting 748 
Standards Board present and voting for a particular purpose and that 749 
includes the vote of one member of the board appointed by a legislative 750 
leader; 751 
(15) "Electronic" means electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, 752 
electromagnetic, or any other similar technology; 753 
(16) "Emergency procurement" means procurement by a state 754 
contracting agency, quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-120, 755 
judicial department or constituent unit of higher education that is made 756 
necessary by a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear and 757 
imminent danger to public safety or requires immediate action to 758 
prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property or 759 
essential public services or in response to a court order, settlement 760 
agreement or other similar legal judgment; 761 
(17) "Equipment" means personal property of a durable nature that 762 
retains its identity throughout its useful life; 763  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	25 of 35 
 
(18) "Materials" means items required to perform a function or used 764 
in a manufacturing process, particularly those incorporated into an end 765 
product or consumed in its manufacture; 766 
(19) "Nonprofit agency" means any organization that is not a for-767 
profit business under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 768 
1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the 769 
United States, as from time to time amended, makes no distribution to 770 
its members, directors or officers and provides services contracted for 771 
by (A) the state, or (B) a nonstate entity; 772 
(20) "Professional services" means any type of service to the public 773 
that requires that members of a profession rendering such service obtain 774 
a license or other legal authorization as a condition precedent to the 775 
rendition thereof, including, but not limited to, the professional services 776 
of architects, professional engineers, or jointly by architects and 777 
professional engineers, landscape architects, certified public 778 
accountants and public accountants, land surveyors, attorneys-at-law, 779 
psychologists, licensed marital and family therapists, licensed 780 
professional counselors and licensed clinical social workers as well as 781 
such other professional services described in section 33-182a; 782 
(21) "Privatization contract" means an agreement or series of 783 
agreements between a state contracting agency and a person or entity in 784 
which such person or entity agrees to provide services that are 785 
substantially similar to and in lieu of services provided, in whole or in 786 
part, by state employees, other than contracts with a nonprofit agency, 787 
which are in effect as of January 1, 2009, and which through a renewal, 788 
modification, extension or rebidding of contracts continue to be 789 
provided by a nonprofit agency; 790 
(22) "Procurement" means contracting for, buying, purchasing, 791 
renting, leasing or otherwise acquiring or disposing of, any supplies, 792 
services, including but not limited to, contracts for purchase of services 793 
and personal service agreements, interest in real property, or 794 
construction, and includes all government functions that relate to such 795  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	26 of 35 
 
activities, including best value selection and qualification based 796 
selection; 797 
(23) "Proposer" means a business submitting a proposal to a state 798 
contracting agency in response to a request for proposals or other 799 
competitive sealed proposal; 800 
(24) "Public record" means a public record, as defined in section 1-801 
200; 802 
(25) "Qualification based selection" means a contract selection process 803 
in which the award of a contract is primarily based on an assessment of 804 
contractor qualifications and on the negotiation of a fair and reasonable 805 
price; 806 
(26) "Regulation" means regulation, as defined in section 4-166; 807 
(27) "Request for proposals" means all documents, whether attached 808 
or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting proposals; 809 
(28) "State contracting agency" means any executive branch agency, 810 
board, commission, department, office, institution or council. "State 811 
contracting agency" does not include the judicial branch, the legislative 812 
branch, the offices of the Secretary of the State, the State Comptroller, 813 
the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, with respect to their 814 
constitutional functions, any state agency with respect to contracts 815 
specific to the constitutional and statutory functions of the office of the 816 
State Treasurer. For the purposes of section 4e-16, "state contracting 817 
agency" includes any constituent unit of the state system of higher 818 
education and for the purposes of section 4e-19, "state contracting 819 
agency" includes the State Education Resource Center, established 820 
under section 10-4q; 821 
(29) "Subcontractor" means a subcontractor of a contractor for work 822 
under a contract or an amendment to a contract; 823 
(30) "Supplies" means any and all articles of personal property, 824 
including, but not limited to, equipment, materials, printing, insurance 825  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	27 of 35 
 
and leases of real property, excluding land or a permanent interest in 826 
land furnished to or used by any state agency; 827 
(31) "Infrastructure facility" means a building, structure or network 828 
of buildings, structures, pipes, controls and equipment that provide 829 
transportation, utilities, public education or public safety services. 830 
Infrastructure facility includes government office buildings, public 831 
schools, jails, water treatment plants, distribution systems and pumping 832 
stations, wastewater treatment plants, collections systems and pumping 833 
stations, solid waste disposal plants, incinerators, landfills, and related 834 
facilities, public roads and streets, highways, public parking facilities, 835 
public transportation systems, terminals and rolling stock, rail, air and 836 
water port structures, terminals and equipment; and 837 
(32) "State employee" means state employee, as defined in section 5-838 
154 and, for purposes of section 4e-16, state employee includes an 839 
employee of any state contracting agency.  840 
Sec. 9. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 4e-12 of the general statutes 841 
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 842 
October 1, 2020): 843 
(a) [On or before February 1, 2011, the] The judicial branch and the 844 
legislative branch shall each prepare a procurement code applicable to 845 
contracting expenditures, including, but not limited to, expenditures: (1) 846 
Involving contracting and procurement processes for purchasing or 847 
leasing of supplies, materials or equipment, consultant or consultant 848 
services, personal service agreements or purchase of service 849 
agreements; and (2) relating to contracts for the renovation, alteration or 850 
repair of any judicial branch or legislative branch facility in accordance 851 
with section 4b-1. 852 
(b) The procurement codes described in subsection (a) of this section 853 
shall be designed to: (1) Establish uniform contracting standards and 854 
practices; (2) simplify and clarify contracting standards and 855 
procurement policies and practices, including, but not limited to, 856 
procedures for competitive sealed bids, competitive sealed proposals, 857  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	28 of 35 
 
small purchases, sole source procurements, emergency procurements 858 
and special procurements; (3) ensure the fair and equitable treatment of 859 
all businesses and persons who deal with the procurement system; (4) 860 
include a process to maximize the use of small contractors, [and] 861 
minority business enterprises and veteran-owned micro businesses, as 862 
defined in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act; (5) provide increased 863 
economy in procurement activities and maximize purchasing value to 864 
the fullest extent possible; (6) ensure that the procurement of supplies, 865 
materials, equipment, services, real property and construction is 866 
obtained in a cost-effective and responsive manner; (7) include a process 867 
to ensure contractor and judicial branch or legislative branch 868 
accountability; and (8) provide a process for competitive sealed bids, 869 
competitive sealed proposals, small purchases, sole source 870 
procurements, emergency procurements, special procurements, best 871 
value selection, qualification based selection and the conditions for their 872 
use. 873 
Sec. 10. Section 7-148u of the general statutes is repealed and the 874 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 875 
(a) As used in this section: 876 
(1) "Small contractor" means any contractor, subcontractor, 877 
manufacturer or service company (A) which has been doing business 878 
and has maintained its principal place of business in the state for a 879 
period of at least one year prior to the date of application for certification 880 
under this section, (B) which had gross revenues not exceeding ten 881 
million dollars in the most recently completed fiscal year prior to such 882 
application, and (C) at least fifty-one per cent of the ownership of which 883 
is held by a person or persons who are active in the daily affairs of the 884 
business and have the power to direct the management and policies of 885 
the business. 886 
(2) "Minority business enterprise" means any small contractor (A) 887 
fifty-one per cent or more of the capital stock, if any, or assets of which 888 
are owned by a person or persons (i) who are active in the daily affairs 889  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	29 of 35 
 
of the enterprise, (ii) who have the power to direct the management and 890 
policies of the enterprise, and (iii) who are members of a minority, as 891 
such term is defined in subsection (a) of section 32-9n, or (B) who is an 892 
individual with a disability. 893 
(3) "Individual with a disability" means an individual (A) having a 894 
physical impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major 895 
life activities of the individual, or (B) having a record of such an 896 
impairment. 897 
(4) "Veteran-owned micro business" has the same meaning as 898 
provided in section 4a-59, as amended by this act. 899 
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or of any 900 
special act or any municipal charter or home rule ordinance, a 901 
municipality may, by ordinance, set aside in each fiscal year, for award 902 
to small contractors, minority business enterprises and veteran-owned 903 
micro businesses, on the basis of a competitive bidding procedure, 904 
municipal contracts or portions of municipal contracts for the 905 
construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of public buildings, the 906 
construction and maintenance of highways and the purchase of goods 907 
and services. The total value of such contracts or portions thereof to be 908 
set aside shall be not more than twenty-five per cent of the average of 909 
the total value of all such contracts let by the municipality for each of 910 
the previous three fiscal years, provided a contract that may not be set 911 
aside due to a conflict with a federal law or regulation shall not be 912 
included in the calculation of such average. Contracts or portions 913 
thereof having a value of not less than twenty-five per cent of the total 914 
value of all contracts or portions thereof to be set aside shall be reserved 915 
for awards to minority business enterprises.  916 
Sec. 11. Subsection (e) of section 8-169jj of the 2020 supplement to the 917 
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 918 
thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 919 
(e) The authority shall have the power to negotiate, and, with the 920 
approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, to 921  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	30 of 35 
 
enter into an agreement with any private developer, owner or lessee of 922 
any building or improvement located on land in a development district 923 
providing for payments to the authority in lieu of real property taxes. 924 
Such an agreement shall be made a condition of any private right of 925 
development within the development district, and shall include a 926 
requirement that such private developer, owner or lessee make good 927 
faith efforts to hire, or cause to be hired, available and qualified minority 928 
business enterprises and veteran-owned micro businesses, as defined in 929 
section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, to provide construction services 930 
and materials for improvements to be constructed within the 931 
development district in an effort to achieve (1) a minority business 932 
enterprise utilization goal of ten per cent, and (2) a veteran-owned micro 933 
business utilization goal of five per cent, of the total costs of construction 934 
services and materials for such improvements. Such payments to the 935 
authority in lieu of real property taxes shall have the same lien and 936 
priority, and may be enforced by the authority in the same manner, as 937 
provided for municipal real property taxes. Such payments as received 938 
by the authority shall be used to carry out the purposes of the authority 939 
set forth in subsection (a) of this section. 940 
Sec. 12. Subsection (d) of section 8-169mm of the 2020 supplement to 941 
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 942 
thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 943 
(d) The authority shall designate a contract compliance officer from 944 
its staff to monitor compliance of the operations of facilities and parking 945 
facilities associated with authority development projects that are under 946 
the management or control of the authority, with (1) the provisions of 947 
state law applicable to such operations, and (2) applicable requirements 948 
of contracts entered into by the authority relating to set-asides for small 949 
contractors, [and] minority business enterprises and veteran-owned 950 
micro businesses, as defined in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, 951 
and required efforts to hire available and qualified members of 952 
minorities, as defined in section 32-9n. Each year during the period of 953 
operations of facilities associated with authority development projects, 954 
such officer shall file a written report with the authority as to findings 955  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	31 of 35 
 
and recommendations regarding such compliance.  956 
Sec. 13. Section 13a-95a of the general statutes is repealed and the 957 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 958 
The Commissioner of Transportation may, in the performance of his 959 
duties under this title and title 13b and notwithstanding the provisions 960 
of any general statute to the contrary, award contracts in a total amount 961 
not in excess of fifteen million dollars and not in excess of five million 962 
dollars per firm for any fiscal year, bidding for which shall be limited to 963 
(1) "small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and 964 
economically disadvantaged individuals" as defined in the federal Small 965 
Business Act, 94 Stat. 2321 (1980) 15 USC 637, [and] (2) minority business 966 
enterprises, as defined in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, and (3) 967 
veteran-owned micro businesses, as defined in section 4a-60g, as 968 
amended by this act. The commissioner may expend an amount not in 969 
excess of three hundred thousand dollars in any fiscal year for the 970 
purpose of assisting such concerns in bidding on such contracts. Such 971 
assistance shall include, but not be limited to, advice concerning 972 
bonding, legal requirements of proper bidding, bid documents, 973 
accounting requirements and other matters that will enable such 974 
concerns to file a proper bid.  975 
Sec. 14. Section 22a-263a of the general statutes is repealed and the 976 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020): 977 
The Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority shall make the 978 
following information available to the public through the Internet, 979 
except for any such information which is not required to be disclosed to 980 
the public pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in 981 
section 1-200: 982 
(1) The schedule of meetings of the board of directors of the authority 983 
and each committee established by said board, not later than seven days 984 
after such schedule is established; 985 
(2) Draft minutes of each meeting of the board of directors of the 986  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	32 of 35 
 
authority and each committee established by said board, not later than 987 
seven days after each such meeting is held; 988 
(3) Each report required under section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, 989 
setting forth small [and minority-business] contractor, minority 990 
business enterprise and veteran-owned micro business set-aside 991 
program goals and addressing the authority's progress in meeting said 992 
goals, not later than seven days after each such report is required to be 993 
submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities 994 
under [said] section 4a-60g, as amended by this act; 995 
(4) The annual plan of operations which the authority is required to 996 
prepare pursuant to section 22a-264, not later than seven days after the 997 
plan is promulgated; 998 
(5) Each report that the authority is required to submit to the General 999 
Assembly pursuant to the general statutes, not later than seven days 1000 
after the report is submitted; 1001 
(6) Each audit of the authority conducted by the Auditors of Public 1002 
Accounts, each compliance audit of the authority's activities conducted 1003 
pursuant to section 1-122 and each audit conducted by an independent 1004 
auditing firm, not later than seven days after each such audit is received 1005 
by the board of directors of the authority; and 1006 
(7) A report on any contract between the authority and a person, 1007 
other than a director, officer or employee of the authority, for the 1008 
purpose of influencing any legislative or administrative action on behalf 1009 
of the authority or providing legal advice to the authority. The report 1010 
shall indicate for each such contract (A) the names of the parties to the 1011 
contract, (B) the cost of the contract, (C) the term of the contract, (D) a 1012 
summary of the services to be provided under the contract, (E) the 1013 
method used by the authority to award the contract, and (F) a summary 1014 
of the authority's need for the services provided under the contract. 1015 
Such report shall be made available through the Internet not later than 1016 
fifteen days after the contract is entered into between the authority and 1017 
the person.  1018  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	33 of 35 
 
Sec. 15. Subsection (a) of section 32-23o of the general statutes is 1019 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1020 
1, 2020): 1021 
(a) A Small Contractors' Revolving Loan Fund is created. In order to 1022 
stimulate and encourage the growth and development of the state 1023 
economy through the private enterprise of veteran-owned micro 1024 
businesses, as defined in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, and 1025 
small contractors, the state, acting by the Department of Economic and 1026 
Community Development, may provide working capital loans or 1027 
provide lines of credit to veteran-owned micro businesses and small 1028 
contractors from the Small Contractors' Revolving Loan Fund. For the 1029 
purposes of this section, "small contractor" means contractors, 1030 
subcontractors, minority business enterprises, manufacturers or service 1031 
companies who have been doing business and have maintained their 1032 
principal office and place of business in the state for a period of at least 1033 
one year prior to the date of their application for assistance under this 1034 
section, whose gross revenues in their most recently completed fiscal 1035 
year did not exceed one million five hundred thousand dollars and 1036 
which are considered small in accordance with such size standards as 1037 
shall be established by regulations adopted by the department. In 1038 
establishing such standards, the department shall consider the number 1039 
of employees of the concern, provided any maximum number of 1040 
employees which a small contractor may have under such definition 1041 
shall vary from business to business to the extent necessary to reflect 1042 
different characteristics of such business and to take proper account of 1043 
other relevant factors. Not less than twenty-five per cent of the working 1044 
capital loans and lines of credit provided under this section shall be 1045 
made available to minority business enterprises and to veteran-owned 1046 
micro businesses. The department shall charge and collect interest on 1047 
each such working capital loan or line of credit at a rate to be determined 1048 
in accordance with subsection (t) of section 3-20. In no event shall the 1049 
total amount of such working capital loans or lines of credit provided to 1050 
any single small contractor in any period of twelve consecutive months 1051 
exceed two hundred thousand dollars. Payments made by small 1052  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
LCO No. 2239   	34 of 35 
 
contractors on all working capital loans and lines of credit paid to the 1053 
Treasurer for deposit in the Small Contractors' Revolving Loan Fund 1054 
shall be transferred to the Connecticut Growth Fund established under 1055 
section 32-23v. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations 1056 
in accordance with chapter 54 to carry out the provisions of this section. 1057 
Such rules and regulations shall establish size standards for different 1058 
types of small contractors, loan procedures, repayment terms, security 1059 
requirements, default and remedy provisions and such other terms and 1060 
conditions as the department shall deem appropriate. 1061 
Sec. 16. Subsection (c) of section 32-605 of the general statutes is 1062 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1063 
1, 2020): 1064 
(c) The authority shall designate a contract compliance officer from 1065 
the staff of the authority to monitor compliance of the operations of 1066 
facilities under the management or control of the authority, the 1067 
convention center, convention center hotel and related parking facilities 1068 
of the center and the hotel, with the provisions of state law applicable to 1069 
such operations, including, but not limited to, this section and sections 1070 
32-650 to 32-668, inclusive, and with applicable requirements of 1071 
contracts entered into by the authority, relating to set-asides for small 1072 
contractors, [and] minority business enterprises and veteran-owned 1073 
micro businesses, as defined in section 4a-60g, as amended by this act, 1074 
and required efforts to hire available and qualified members of 1075 
minorities, as defined in section 32-9n, and available and qualified 1076 
residents of the city of Hartford for jobs in such operations. Such officer 1077 
shall file, each year during the period of facility operations, a written 1078 
report with the authority as to findings and recommendations regarding 1079 
such compliance. 1080 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 October 1, 2020 4a-59(c) 
Sec. 2 October 1, 2020 4a-60g 
Sec. 3 October 1, 2020 4a-60h  Raised Bill No.  5400 
 
 
 
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Sec. 4 October 1, 2020 4a-60j 
Sec. 5 October 1, 2020 4a-57(a) 
Sec. 6 October 1, 2020 4b-91(a) 
Sec. 7 October 1, 2020 4-261 
Sec. 8 October 1, 2020 4e-1 
Sec. 9 October 1, 2020 4e-12(a) and (b) 
Sec. 10 October 1, 2020 7-148u 
Sec. 11 October 1, 2020 8-169jj(e) 
Sec. 12 October 1, 2020 8-169mm(d) 
Sec. 13 October 1, 2020 13a-95a 
Sec. 14 October 1, 2020 22a-263a 
Sec. 15 October 1, 2020 32-23o(a) 
Sec. 16 October 1, 2020 32-605(c) 
 
Statement of Purpose:   
To provide veteran-owned micro businesses with economic 
opportunities. 
[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.]