THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY PARKER, WHEATLEY, BUXTON, JOSEPHS, THOMAS, BEYER, BELFANTI, HENNESSEY, HORNAMAN, McCALL, PAYTON, ROEBUCK, SIPTROTH, STURLA, WATERS AND YOUNGBLOOD, JANUARY 19, 2010

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 19, 2010  

AN ACT

Amending Title 62 (Procurement) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes, in small and disadvantaged businesses, providing

for agency oversight and responsibility; and making an

appropriation.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 62 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 2109.  Agency oversight and responsibility.

Each Commonwealth agency shall identify best practices to

significantly increase contracting opportunities for

disadvantaged businesses. A Commonwealth agency awarding

contracts or grant funding shall develop and implement uniform

templates, best practices and procedures to increase oversight,

transparency and accountability in overseeing, administering,

monitoring and enforcing requirements to ensure increased and

sustained contracting opportunities for disadvantaged businesses

and shall include the following:

(1)  Aspirational targets. Commonwealth agencies shall

establish an overall aspirational target of 25% of

procurement and construction moneys to be dedicated to

disadvantaged businesses in State contracts and grants,

including, but not limited to, procurement of goods and

services, construction, professional services, consulting,

insurance, investment brokers and managers, bond work, real

estate transactions and energy savings contracts. This

paragraph shall also apply to sole source contracts.

Contracts with optional renewal clauses that lacked initial

disadvantaged business requirements at award time shall be

subject to disadvantaged business review and inclusion

requirements prior to the renewal of the contract. An agency

shall monitor, track, enforce and report on the award of any

contract or grant quarterly and annually on its utilization

and spend with disadvantaged businesses to the Appropriations

Committee of the Senate and the Appropriations Committee of

the House of Representatives.

(2)  Best practices. The department shall:

(i)  Ensure that disadvantaged business participation

is included as part of agencies' strategic priorities

through identification of measurable goals and

objectives.

(ii)  Develop a best practices manual for uniform

implementation of policies, practices, programs and

participation goals for disadvantaged businesses.

(iii)  Establish a comprehensive quarterly and annual

reporting process, which includes award amount and actual

spending, for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.

(iv)  Designate single point of contact to implement,

monitor and report work force utilization and agency

contractor participation.

(v)  Create a coordinated cross-agency, integrated

small business support services system to provide

training, consulting information management, business

management and technical assistance to disadvantaged

businesses to acquire the proficiency to compete on an

equal basis with majority contractors, vendors and

consultants.

(vi)  Identify uniform monitoring, enforcement,

tracking and reporting and guideline practices.

(vii)  Expand ability to quantify and measure the

effectiveness of agency programs.

(viii)  Review the department's e-marketplace system

for potential expansion to all Commonwealth agencies.

(ix)  Continue to connect disadvantaged businesses to

other entities, such as the Small Business Development

Centers, Minority Business Enterprise Centers and

Professional Technical Assistance Centers for financial

and technical assistance.

(3)  Monitoring and enforcement. The following apply:

(i)  Pursuant to its authority under State contract

compliance laws, policies and requirements, the

department and other Commonwealth agencies shall

institute and implement all necessary monitoring and

enforcement of provisions of this section as to the

Commonwealth's disadvantaged business program and shall

implement and follow all contract compliance

requirements, policies, guidelines and regulations and

applicable laws pertaining to minority-owned, women-

owned, small and disadvantaged businesses.

(ii)  Each Commonwealth agency shall provide

mandatory quarterly and annual reports on utilization of

disadvantaged businesses on contracts. An evaluation of

the prime contractor's performance on contracts shall

include a review of good faith efforts in the oversight,

timely payment as provided under Ch. 39, Subch. D

(relating to prompt payment schedules) and continued

commitment to disadvantaged subcontractors. Sanctions for

failure to demonstrate good faith efforts in the

oversight, timely payment and commitment to disadvantaged

subcontractors shall include withholding of payments to

the prime contractor and suspension or debarment from

doing work for the Commonwealth for no less than 12

months and up to 36 months. The department and any other

Commonwealth agency may also institute any appropriate

and necessary administrative, legal, judicial and other

proceedings after inquiry, review or investigation, if it

finds that any person, contractor or grantee has failed

to comply with or has violated any requirement or action

set forth in this section.

Section 2.  The sum of $1,000,000, or as much thereof as may

be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of

General Services for the fiscal year July 1, 2009, to June 30,

2010, to obtain a customized software program for monitoring,

tracking and reporting on disadvantaged business participation

levels, including, but not limited to, percentages, dollar

amount, ethnicity, gender and geographical representation under

62 Pa.C.S. § 2109(3).

Section 3.  This act shall take effect immediately.