Substitute House Bill No. 5453
Public Act No. 22-65
AN ACT REQUIRING THE ONLINE POSTING OF CERTAIN STATE
CONTRACTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4a-57 of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
October 1, 2022):
(a) All purchases of, and contracts for, supplies, materials, equipment
and contractual services, except purchases and contracts made pursuant
to the provisions of subsection (b) or (d) of this section and public utility
services as provided in subsection (e) of this section shall be based, when
possible, on competitive bids or competitive negotiation. The
commissioner shall solicit competitive bids or proposals by providing
notice of the planned purchase in a form and manner that the
commissioner determines will maximize public participation in the
competitive bidding or competitive negotiation process, including
participation by small contractors, as defined in section 4a-60g, and
promote competition. In the case of an expenditure that is estimated to
exceed fifty thousand dollars, such notice shall be posted, not less than
five calendar days before the final date of submitting bids or proposals,
on the State Contracting Portal. Each notice of a planned purchase under
this subsection shall indicate the type of goods and services to be Substitute House Bill No. 5453
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purchased and the estimated value of the contract award. The notice
shall also contain a notice of state contract requirements concerning
nondiscrimination and affirmative action pursuant to section 4a-60 and,
when applicable, requirements concerning the awarding of contracts to
small contractors, minority business enterprises, individuals with a
disability and nonprofit corporations pursuant to section 4a-60g. Each
bid and proposal shall be kept sealed or secured until opened publicly
at the time stated in the notice soliciting such bid or proposal.
(b) The commissioner may, at the commissioner's discretion, waive
the requirement of competitive bidding or competitive negotiation in
the case of minor nonrecurring or emergency purchases of ten thousand
dollars or less in amount.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 54, establishing (1) standards and procedures for
using competitive negotiation for purchases and contracts, including
but not limited to, criteria which shall be considered in making
purchases by competitive negotiation and the weight which shall be
assigned to each such criterion, and (2) standards and procedures under
which additional purchases may be made under existing contracts.
(d) The commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of
Energy and Environmental Protection and with the approval of the
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, may waive the
requirement of competitive bidding or competitive negotiation in the
case of a purchase of cars or light-duty trucks in order to comply with
any provisions of the general statutes regarding the purchase of
alternative fuel vehicles or any such requirement of federal law.
(e) (1) The purchase of or contract for the following public utility
services shall not be subject to competitive bidding or competitive
negotiation: (A) Electric distribution services; (B) water services; (C) gas
distribution services; (D) electric generation services until the date such Substitute House Bill No. 5453
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services are competitive pursuant to the schedule set forth in section 16-
244b, provided electric generation services shall be exempt from
competitive bidding and competitive negotiation after said date if such
services are provided by an electric municipal utility other than by a
participating electric municipal utility, as defined in section 16-1, in the
service area of said electric municipal utility; and (E) gas supply services
until the date such services are competitive pursuant to legislative act or
order of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, provided gas supply
services shall be exempt from competitive bidding and competitive
negotiation after said date if such services are provided by a gas
municipal utility in the service area of said gas municipal utility.
(2) Any purchase of or contract by the department for electric
generation services that are subject to competitive bidding and
competitive negotiations shall be conducted in cooperation with the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection pursuant to
section 16a-14e.
(f) The commissioner shall post any contract entered into under this
section that has not been subject to competitive bidding or competitive
negotiation on the Internet web site of the Departmen t of
Administrative Services, provided nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to require the disclosure of any information not required to
be disclosed under subsection (b) of section 1-210.
[(f)] (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the
award of janitorial or service contracts pursuant to the provisions of
subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of section 4a-82.
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 4a-58 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October
1, 2022):
(b) Whenever an emergency exists by reason of extraordinary Substitute House Bill No. 5453
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conditions or contingencies that could not reasonably be foreseen and
guarded against, or because of unusual trade or market conditions, the
Commissioner of Administrative Services, or, in the case of purchases,
leases and contracts for information systems, information technology
personal property and telecommunication systems, the Chief
Information Officer, may, if it is in the best interests of the state, waive
the competitive bid or proposal requirements set forth in section 4a-57,
as amended by this act. If any such procurement is estimated to cost fifty
thousand dollars or more, such waiver shall be subject to the approval
of the Standardization Committee. A statement of all purchases made
under the provisions of this section and, in the case of a contract, the
contract shall be posted on the Internet web site of the Department of
Administrative Services, provided nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to require the disclosure of any information not required to
be disclosed under subsection (b) of section 1-210.
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 4a-59a of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October
1, 2022):
(c) If any contract is extended pursuant to this section without
complying with the competitive bidding requirements of subsection (a)
of section 4a-57, as amended by this act, the Commissioner of
Administrative Services shall post the contract and an explanation of the
reasons for such noncompliance on the Department of Administrative
Services' Internet web site, provided nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to require the disclosure of any information not required to
be disclosed under subsection (b) of section 1-210.
Sec. 4. Section 4e-15 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022):
Nothing in sections 4e-1 to 4e-14, inclusive, and 4e-16 shall be
construed to affect the requirements of subsection [(f)] (g) of section 4a- Substitute House Bill No. 5453
Public Act No. 22-65 5 of 5
57, as amended by this act, subsection (p) of section 4a-60g, sections 4a-
82 and 17b-656 and subsection (c) of section 31-57g.