PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1079, 1434, 2264 PRINTER'S NO. 2284
No. 903 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, FOLMER, WAUGH, RAFFERTY, ARMSTRONG, EARLL,
ROBBINS AND REGOLA, JUNE 1, 2007
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, JUNE 30, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 62 (Procurement) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, further providing for contracts relating to
3 consulting; and making a repeal related to form and legality
4 review of consulting contracts.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Sections 511 and 515 of Title 62 of the
8 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
9 § 511. Methods of source selection.
10 Unless otherwise authorized by law, all Commonwealth agency
11 contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding under
12 section 512 (relating to competitive sealed bidding) except as
13 provided in:
14 Section 512.1 (relating to competitive electronic auction
15 bidding).
16 Section 513 (relating to competitive sealed proposals).
17 Section 514 (relating to small procurements).
18 Section 515 (relating to sole source procurement).
1 Section 516 (relating to emergency procurement).
2 Section 517 (relating to multiple awards).
3 Section 518 (relating to competitive selection procedures
4 for certain services).
5 Section 519 (relating to selection procedure for
6 insurance and notary bonds).
7 Section 520 (relating to supplies manufactured and
8 services performed by persons with disabilities).
9 Section 905 (relating to procurement of design
10 professional services).
11 Chapter 11 (relating to legal bond or management
12 consulting contracts).
13 § 515. Sole source procurement.
14 A contract may be awarded for a supply, service or
15 construction item without competition if the contracting officer
16 first determines in writing that one of the following conditions
17 exists:
18 (1) Only a single contractor is capable of providing the
19 supply, service or construction.
20 (2) A Federal or State statute or Federal regulation
21 exempts the supply, service or construction from the
22 competitive procedure.
23 (3) The total cost of the supply, service, other than
24 services under Chapter 11 (relating to legal, bond or
25 management consulting contracts), or construction is less
26 than the amount established by the department for small, no-
27 bid procurements under section 514 (relating to small
28 procurements).
29 (4) It is clearly not feasible to award the contract for
30 supplies or services on a competitive basis.
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1 (5) The services are to be provided by attorneys or
2 litigation consultants selected by the Office of General
3 Counsel, the Office of Attorney General, the Department of
4 the Auditor General or the Treasury Department in connection
5 with pending litigation against the Commonwealth.
6 (6) The services are to be provided by expert witnesses.
7 (7) The services involve the repair, modification or
8 calibration of equipment and they are to be performed by the
9 manufacturer of the equipment or by the manufacturer's
10 authorized dealer, provided the contracting officer
11 determines that bidding is not appropriate under the
12 circumstances.
13 (8) The contract is for investment advisors or managers
14 selected by the Public School Employees' Retirement System,
15 the State Employees' Retirement System or a State-affiliated
16 entity.
17 (9) The contract is for financial or investment experts
18 to be used and selected by the Treasury Department or
19 financial or investment experts selected by the Secretary of
20 the Budget.
21 (10) The contract for supplies or services is in the
22 best interest of the Commonwealth.
23 The written determination authorizing sole source procurement
24 shall be included in the contract file and shall be available
25 for public inspection. With the exception of small procurements
26 under section 514 and emergency procurements under section 516
27 (relating to emergency procurement), if the sole source
28 procurement is for a supply, except for computer software
29 updates under $50,000, for which the department acts as
30 purchasing agency, it must be approved by the Board of
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1 Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings prior to the award
2 of a contract.
3 Section 2. Chapter 11 heading of Title 62 is amended and the
4 chapter is amended by adding sections to read:
5 CHAPTER 11
6 [RESERVED) <--
7 [(RESERVED)] <--
8 LEGAL, BOND OR MANAGEMENT CONSULTING CONTRACTS
9 Sec.
10 1101. Short title of chapter.
11 1102. Definitions.
12 1103. Contract prohibitions.
13 1104. Qualifications, criteria and procedure. <--
14 1105. Consulting contracts under $25,000 in value.
15 1106. Consulting contracts over $25,000 in value.
16 1107. Campaign contributions.
17 1108. Public inspection.
18 1104. FORM AND LEGALITY REVIEW OF CONSULTING CONTRACTS. <--
19 1105. CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.
20 1106. PUBLIC INSPECTION.
21 § 1101. Short title of chapter.
22 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Openness
23 in Consulting Contracts Act.
24 § 1102. Definitions.
25 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
26 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
27 context clearly indicates otherwise:
28 "Business." Any corporation, partnership, sole
29 proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association,
30 organization, self-employed individual, holding company, joint
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1 stock company, receivership, trust or any legal entity organized
2 for profit.
3 "COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT." THE GOVERNMENT OF THE <--
4 COMMONWEALTH, INCLUDING THE COURTS AND OTHER OFFICERS OR
5 AGENCIES OF THE UNIFIED JUDICIAL SYSTEM, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
6 AND ITS OFFICERS AND AGENCIES, THE GOVERNOR, AND THE
7 DEPARTMENTS, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AUTHORITIES AND OFFICERS AND
8 AGENCIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH, BUT THE TERM DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY
9 POLITICAL SUBDIVISION, MUNICIPAL OR OTHER LOCAL AUTHORITY, OR
10 ANY OFFICER OR AGENCY OF ANY SUCH POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OR LOCAL
11 AUTHORITY.
12 "Consulting services." The provision, by independent
13 contractors who receive a fee or compensation, of professional
14 or expert advice, opinion or other advisory examination which
15 involves the delivery of an end product consisting primarily of
16 correspondence, graphs, drawings or other oral or written
17 reports. The term shall include:
18 (1) Management consulting contracts designed to improve
19 the effectiveness of management strategies, processes or
20 operations by assessing needs, functions, plans and operating
21 procedures.
22 (2) Legal consulting services that provide legal
23 opinions, strategies or assessments of agency conduct, other
24 than those related to pending litigation.
25 (3) Provision of legal services in connection with the
26 sale or issuance of bonds authorized by law.
27 § 1103. Contract prohibitions.
28 No executive or independent agency of the Commonwealth NO <--
29 AGENCY OF COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT may contract with any
30 individual or business who is not an employee of such entity to
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1 provide legal, bond or management consulting services, unless
2 such contracting meets the disclosure and other requirements of
3 this chapter or is opened up to competitive bidding pursuant to
4 this title.
5 § 1104. Form and legality review of consulting contracts.
6 (A) GENERAL RULE.--Notwithstanding any other provision of <--
7 law to the contrary, the Attorney General shall not delegate its
8 responsibility for form and legality review pursuant to the act
9 of October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the Commonwealth
10 Attorneys Act, with regard to contracts involving consulting
11 services. Contracts involving consulting services shall not be
12 approved or deemed approved absent review by the Attorney
13 General for form and legality under section 204 of the
14 Commonwealth Attorneys Act. The review under this section shall
15 include a review under the act of July 19, 1957 (P.L.1017,
16 No.451), known as the State Adverse Interest Act, and 65 Pa.C.s.
17 Pt. II (relating to accountability).
18 (B) APPLICABILITY.--THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO EXECUTIVE <--
19 AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
20 § 1105. Campaign contributions.
21 All individuals and businesses who perform work for State
22 government under this chapter shall be required to report their
23 campaign contributions as one condition of receiving future
24 consulting contracts.
25 § 1106. Public inspection.
26 All information as to criteria, contracts awarded and
27 contributions shall be made available for public inspection on
28 the Internet.
29 Section 3. Repeals are as follows:
30 (1) The General Assembly declares that the repeal under
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1 paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate the addition of 62
2 Pa.C.S. § 1104.
3 (2) The act of October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known
4 as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, is repealed insofar as it
5 is inconsistent with the provisions of 62 Pa.C.S. § 1104.
6 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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