SB1371 HFLR Page 1 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION STATE OF OKLAHOMA 2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022) ENGROSSED SENATE BILL NO. 1371 By: Quinn of the Senate and Pfeiffer of the House An Act relating to the Oklahoma Central Purcha sing Act; amending 74 O.S. 2021, Section 85.7, which relates to competitive bidding procedures; modifying certain exceptions; and providing an effective date. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 85.7, is amended to read as foll ows: Section 85.7. A. 1. Except as otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, or associated rules: a. every state agency shall initiate all acquisitions by the submission of a requisition to the Purchasing Division, and b. no state agency shall make an acquisition for an amount exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) or the limit determined by the State Purchasin g Director pursuant to rules authorized by Section 85.5 SB1371 HFLR Page 2 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 of this title, not to exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), without submission of a requisition to the Purchasing Division for issuance of a solicitation for the acquisition on beha lf of the agency. Any exemption from competitive bid requirements of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act further exempts the acquisition from requisition requirements of the act. 2. The State Purchasing Director may request additional information necessary to adequately revi ew a requisition to ensure compliance with this act and associated rules. If the State Purchasing Director determines that an acquisition is not necessary, excessive or not justified, the State Purchasing Director shall deny the requisition. 3. The provisions of this act shall not preclude a state agency from: a. accepting gifts or donations in any mann er authorized by law, or b. making an acquisition for itself without submitting a requisition under this section when authorized in writing by the State Pu rchasing Director. 4. Any acquisition a state agen cy makes shall be made pursuant to this act and associated rules. No agency shall use s plit purchasing for the purpose of evading the requirement of competitive SB1371 HFLR Page 3 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 bidding or other requi rement of this act or associated rules. Violation of this provision sha ll be cause for discipline of a state employee up to and including termination. 5. The State Purchasing Director may waive or increase the limit authorized for a state agency acquisit ion made pursuant to its own competitive procedures. To perfect an othe rwise valid acquisition inadvertently exceeding th e limit due to administrative error by a state agency or unforeseeable circumstances, the state agency shall request a limited waiver or increase upon the discovery of the error or circumstance to the State Purchasing Director. The State Purchasing Direct or shall report requests for waivers o r increases, stating the amount and whether the request was granted or denied, upon request by t he Governor, Presiden t Pro Tempore of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives. 6. Competitive bidding requi rements of this section shall not be required for the following: a. contracts for master custodian banks or trust companies, investmen t managers, investmen t consultants, and actuaries for the state retireme nt systems, and Oklahoma Employees Insurance and B enefits Board, pension fund management consultants of the Oklahoma State Pension Commission and the Commissioners of the Land Office, examiners, experts, or consultants for the Insurance Department whose job SB1371 HFLR Page 4 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 duties are tied to Market Conduct Exams, Financi al Exams, and Insurance Business Transfers, financial institutions to act as depositories and managers of the Oklahoma College Savings Plan accounts and other professional services as defined in Section 803 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes. W hen requested by the Oklahoma Employees Insuran ce and Benefits Board or the governing board of a state retirement system authorized to hire investment managers, the Purchasing Division shall assist in the process of selecting investment managers, b. a state agency making such an acquisition shall notif y the State Purchasing Director within fifteen (15) days following completion of the acquisition. A list of the exempt contracts shall be provided, upon request, to a member of the Approp riations and Budget C ommittee of the House of Representatives or App ropriations Committee of the Senate., c. purchases of postage by state agencies made pursuant to Sections 90.1 through 90.4 of this title, d. a sole source acquisition made in compliance wi th Section 85.45j 85.44D.1 of this title, e. an acquisition for des ign, development, communication or implementation of the state employees flexible SB1371 HFLR Page 5 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 benefits plan; provided, procedures used for the acquisition are consistent with compe titive bid requirements of this act and associated rules, f. any acquisition of a servic e which the Office of Management and Enterprise Services has approved as qualifying for a fixe d and uniform rate, subject to the following: (1) the Purchasing Division shall establish criteria and guidelines for those services which may qualify for a fixed and uniform rate, (2) fixed and uniform rate contracts authorized by this subsection shall be limited to contracts for those services furnished to persons directly benefiting from such services and shall not be used by a state agency to employ consultants or to make other acquisitions, (3) any state agency desiring to have a service qualified for a fixed and uniform rate shall make a request for service qualification to the State Purchasing Director and submit documentation to support the request. The Sta te Purchasing Director shall approve or deny the request. If approved, the state agency shall establish a fixed and uniform rate for the service. No SB1371 HFLR Page 6 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 contracts shall be entered into by the state agency until the rate has been approved by the state agency in a public hearing. The proposed rate shall be clearly and separately identified in the agenda of the state agency for the hearing and shall be openly and separately discussed during such hearing. The state agency shall notify the State Purchasing Direc tor of its pending consideration of the proposed rate at least thirty (30) days before the sta te agency is to meet on the proposed rate and deliver a copy of the agenda items concerning the proposed rate with supporting documentation. The State Purchasing Director shall communicate any observation, reservation, criticism or recommendation to the a gency, either in person at the time of the hearing or in writing delivered to the state agency before or at the time of the hearing. The State Purchasing Directo r shall specifically note in the written communications whether the Director has determined th e rate to be excessive. Any written communication presented in the absenc e of the State Purchasing Director shall be presen ted orally during the SB1371 HFLR Page 7 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 public hearing. Whether made in person or in writing, any comment made by the State Purchasing Director shall be made a part of the minutes of the hearing in full, (4) within two (2) weeks after the convening of t he Legislature, the administrative officer of the state agency shall furnish to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and to any member of the House or Senate, if requested by the member, a complete list of all of the types of se rvices paid for by uniform fixed rates , the amount of the rate last approved by the agency for the service and the number of contrac ts then in existence for each type of service. Any rate which has been determined to be excessive by th e State Purchasing Director shall be specifically identified in the list by the state agency, and (5) at any time, the State Purchasing Director may review, suspend or terminate a contract entered into pursuant to the provisio ns of this paragraph if the Director determines th e contract is not necessary, is excess ive or is not justified, SB1371 HFLR Page 8 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 g. an acquisition for a client of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services; provided, the agency develops and maintains standards for su ch an acquisition. The agency may elect to utilize the Purchasing Division for an acquisition. The standards shall foster economy, provide a short response time, include appropriate safeguards, require written records, ensure appropriate competition for economical and efficient purchasing and shall be a pproved by the State Purchasing Direct or, h. structured settlement agreements entered into by the Attorney General’s office in order to settle any lawsuit involving the state, the Legislature, any state agency or any employee or officia l of the state if: (1) prior to entering into any contract for the services of an entity to administer a structured settlement agreement, the Attorney G eneral receives proposals from at least three entities engaged in providing such services, and (2) the selection of a partic ular entity is made on the basis of the response to the request which is the most economical and provides the most SB1371 HFLR Page 9 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 competent service which furthers the best interests of the state, i. an acquisition by a st ate agency pursuant to a contract the State Purcha sing Director enters into on behalf of a state agency or awards and designates for use by state agencies, j. an acquisition by the C ommittee for Sustaining Oklahoma’s Energy Resources pursuant to a contract with a local supplier for the purpose of holding a special event or an exhibition throu ghout the state. 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an acquisition may be exempted from requirements of this section by the State Purchasing Director when in the State Purchasing Direct or’s discretion unusual, time-sensitive or unique circumst ances exist which make such exemption in the best and immediate interest of the state. As used in this subsection, “State Purchasing Director ” shall not mean a designe e. Any such acquisitions shal l be described in detail and publicly posted as a data fee d. The description shall include the name of the supplier, cost of the acquisition, reason for exemption and, as applicable, detailed comparison of the acquisition with comparable items, any identi fied cost savings resulting from the acquisition and a des cription of benefits to the state. The State Purchasing Director shall take no action under t he provisions of this subsection prior to such public posting. SB1371 HFLR Page 10 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 B. Competitively bid acquisitions shall be awarded to the lowest and best, or best value, bidder o r bidders. C. Bids for an amount requiring submission of requisitions to the Purchasing Divis ion shall be evaluated by the Purchasing Division and the state agency rec eiving the acquisition. At a minimum, cost and te chnical expertise shall be considered in determining the lowest and best, or best value, bid. Further, the state agency shall prese nt its evaluation and recommendation to the State Purchasing Director. A documented evaluation report containing the evalua tions of the Purchasing Division or th e state agency shall be completed prior to the contract award and such report shall be a matte r of public record. D. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the acquisition of food items or food products by a state agency from a public trust created pursuant to Sections 176 through 180.56 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall comply with competitive bidding requirements of this section. E. Cooperative contracts shall not be utilized unless the purchasing cooperative and its affiliated suppl iers have complied with competitive bid requirements of this act and associated rules. F. Notwithstanding any provision of this act, in all cases where federal granted funds are involved, the feder al laws, rules and regulations thereto shall govern to the extent necessary to inure to the benefit of such funds to this state. SB1371 HFLR Page 11 BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 G. A court order requi ring an acquisition by a state agency, whether or not such state agency is subject to this act, shall no t invalidate competitive bidding procedures required by th is section if such court order does not specify a specific supplier. Any such acquisition shall comply with competitive bid procedures. SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022. COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MODERNIZATION AND EFFICIENCY, dated 04/12/2022 - DO PASS.