Req. No. 917 Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 STATE OF OKLAHOMA 1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021) SENATE BILL 896 By: Leewright AS INTRODUCED An Act relating to the Oklahoma Central Pu rchasing Act; amending 74 O.S. 2011, Section 85.7, as last amended by Section 10, Chapter 98 , O.S.L. 2020 (74 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 85.7), which relates to competitive bid procedures; exempting certain acquisitions or contracts by state agencies from competitive bidding req uirements; and providing an effective date. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2011, Section 85.7, as last amended by Section 10, Chapter 98, O.S.L. 20 20 (74 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 85.7), is amended to read as follows: 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 th e Purchasing Division, and b. no state agency shall make an acquisit ion for an amount exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) or the limit determined by the State Purchasing Req. No. 917 Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Director pursuant to rules authorized by Section 85.5 of this title, not to exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), without sub mission of a requisition to the Purchasing Division for issuance of a solicitation for the acquisition on behalf of the agency. Any exemption from competitive bid requirements of the Okla homa Central Purchasing Act further exempts the acquisition from req uisition requirements of the act. 2. The State Purchasing Director may request additional information necessary to adequately review a requisition to ensure compliance with this act and a ssociated rules. If the State Purchasing Director determines that a n 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 manner authorized by law, or b. making an acquisition for itself without submitting a requisition under this section when authorized in writing by the State Purchasing Director. 4. Any acquisition a state agency mak es shall be made pursuant to this act and associated rules. No agen cy shall use split Req. No. 917 Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 purchasing for the purpose of evading the requirement of competitive bidding or other requirement of this act or associated rules. Violation of this provision shall be cause for discipline of a state employee up to and including termina tion. 5. The State Purchasing Director may waive or increase the limit authorized for a state agency acquisition made pursuant to its own competitive procedures. To perfect an otherwise valid acquisition inadvertently exceeding the limit due to administr ative 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 circumstan ce to the State Purch asing Director. The State Purchasing Director shall report requests for waivers or increases, stating the amount and whether the request was granted or denied, upon request by the Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Re presentatives. 6. Competitive bidding requirements of this section shall not be required for the following: a. contracts for master custodian banks or trust companies, investment managers, investment consultants, and actuaries for the state retirement systems, and Oklahoma Employees Insurance and Benefits Board, pension fund management consultants of the Oklahoma State Pension Commission and the Commissioners of the Land Office, financial Req. No. 917 Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 institutions to act as depositories and manager s of the Oklahoma College Savings Plan accounts and other professional services as define d in Section 803 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes. When requested by the Oklahoma Employees Insurance and Benefits Board or the governing board of a state retirem ent system authorized to hire investment managers, the Purchasing Division shall assist i n the process of selecting investment managers, b. a state agency making such an acquisition shall notify the State Purchasing Director within fifteen (15) days following completion of the acquisition. A list of the exempt contracts shall be provided, upo n request, to a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committee of the House of Representatives or Appropriations 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 with Section 85.45j of this title, e. an acquisition for design, development, communication or implementation of the state employees flexible benefits plan; provided, procedures used for the Req. No. 917 Page 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 acquisition are consistent wit h competitive bid requirements of this act and associated rules, f. any acquisition of a service 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 direc tly 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 s ervice qualified for a fixed and uniform rate shall make a request for service qualifica tion to the State Purchasing Director and submit documentation to support the request. The State Purchasing Director shall approve or deny the request. If approved, the state agency shall establish a fixed and uniform rate for the service. No contracts shall be entered into by the state Req. No. 917 Page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 agency until the rate has been approved by the state agency in a public hearing. The proposed rate shall be clearly and separately i dentified in the agenda of the state agency for the hearing and shall be openly and sepa rately discussed during such hearing. The state agency shall notify the State Purchasing Director 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 de livered to the state agency before or at the time of the hearing. The State Purchasing Director shall specifically note in the written communications whether the Director has determined th e rate to be excessive. Any written communication presented in the absence of the State Purchasing Director shall be presented orally during the public hearing. Whether made in person or in Req. No. 917 Page 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 writing, any comment made by the State Purc hasing Director shall be made a part of the minutes of the hearing in full, (4) within two (2) weeks after the convening of the Legislature, the administrative officer of the state agency shall furnish to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Pr esident 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 services 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 the State Purchasing Director shall be specifically identified in the list by the state agency, and (5) at any time, the State Purcha sing Director may review, suspend or terminate a contract entered into pursuant to the p rovisions of this paragraph if the Director determines the contract is not necessary, is excessive or is not justified, g. an acquisition for a client of the State Depa rtment of Rehabilitation Services; provided, the agency develops Req. No. 917 Page 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 and maintains standards for such an acquisition. The agency may elect to utilize the Purchasing Division for an acquisition. The standards shall foster economy, provide a short response tim e, include appropriate safeguards, require written records, ensure appropriate competiti on for economical and efficient purchasing and shall be approved by the State Purchasing Director, 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 official 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 particular entity is made on the basis of the response to the request which is the most economical and provides the m ost competent service which furthers the best interests of the state, Req. No. 917 Page 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 i. an acquisition by a state agency pursuant to a contract the State Purchasing 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 c ontract with a local supplier for the purpose of holding a special event or an exhibition throughout the state , and k. an acquisition or contract by a state agency for information technology staff augmentation services or technology consulting . 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 Dire ctor’s discretion unusual, time -sensitive or unique circumstances 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 designee. Any such acquisitions sh all be described in detail and public ly posted as a data feed. 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 iden tified cost savings resulting from the acquisition and a description of benefits to the Req. No. 917 Page 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 state. The State Purchasing Director shall take no action under t he provisions of this subsection prior to such public posting. B. Competitively bid acquisitions shal l be awarded to the lowest and best, or best value, bidder or 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 receiving the acquisition. At a minimum, cost and technical experti se shall be considered in determining the lowest an d 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 evaluations of the Pu rchasing Division or the state agency shall be comp leted 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 item s or food products by a state agency from a public trust created pursuant to Sections 17 6 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 utilize d unless the purchasing cooperative a nd its affiliated suppliers 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 fed eral laws, rules Req. No. 917 Page 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 and regulations ther eto shall govern to the extent necessary to inure to the benefit of such funds to this state. G. A court order requi ring an acquisition by a state agency, whether or not such state agency is subject to this act, shall not invalidate competitive bidding pr ocedures required by this 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, 2021. 58-1-917 QD 1/21/2021 4:32:53 PM