PRINTER'S NO. 2068
No. 1417 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, RAFFERTY, EARLL, WAUGH, FOLMER, ERICKSON,
EICHELBERGER, SCARNATI, BROWNE, PICCOLA AND VANCE,
MAY 20, 2008
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 20, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 62 (Procurement) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, further providing for service contracts.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Sections 511, 514 and 515 of Title 62 of the
6 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
7 § 511. Methods of source selection.
8 Unless otherwise authorized by law, all Commonwealth agency
9 contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding under
10 section 512 (relating to competitive sealed bidding) except as
11 provided in:
12 Section 512.1 (relating to competitive electronic auction
13 bidding).
14 Section 513 (relating to competitive sealed proposals).
15 Section 514 (relating to small procurements).
16 Section 515 (relating to sole source procurement).
17 Section 516 (relating to emergency procurement).
1 Section 517 (relating to multiple awards).
2 Section 518 (relating to competitive selection procedures
3 for certain services).
4 Section 519 (relating to selection procedure for
5 insurance and notary bonds).
6 Section 520 (relating to supplies manufactured and
7 services performed by persons with disabilities).
8 Section 905 (relating to procurement of design
9 professional services).
10 Section 1105 (relating to contracts for services under
11 $100,000 in value).
12 § 514. Small procurements.
13 If the procurement is not the subject of a Statewide
14 requirements contract between the purchasing agency and a
15 contractor, the head of the purchasing agency may authorize in
16 writing procurements without formal bid procedures, not
17 exceeding the amount established by the purchasing agency. The
18 head of the purchasing agency may authorize procurement of the
19 supply, computer technology-related service or construction-
20 related service on a no-bid basis for procurements which do not
21 exceed the amount established by the head of the purchasing
22 agency for small, no-bid procurements. The head of the
23 purchasing agency may authorize procurement on a no-bid basis
24 for construction projects that do not exceed a total
25 construction cost of $10,000. The amount of $10,000 shall be
26 adjusted annually by the department to reflect the annual
27 percentage change in the Composite Construction Cost Index of
28 the United States Department of Commerce occurring in the one-
29 year period ending December 31 of each year. Procurement
30 requirements shall not be artificially divided so as to
20080S1417B2068 - 2 -
1 constitute a small procurement under this section. Small
2 procurements shall be made in accordance with the requirements
3 of the written authorization and this section. Records of all
4 small procurements shall be transmitted to the purchasing
5 agency.
6 § 515. Sole source procurement.
7 A contract may be awarded for a supply, service or
8 construction item without competition if the contracting officer
9 first determines in writing that one of the following conditions
10 exists:
11 (1) Only a single contractor is capable of providing the
12 supply, service or construction.
13 (2) A Federal or State statute or Federal regulation
14 exempts the supply, service or construction from the
15 competitive procedure.
16 (3) The total cost of the supply, computer technology-
17 related service, construction-related service or construction
18 is less than the amount established by the department for
19 small, no-bid procurements under section 514 (relating to
20 small procurements).
21 (4) It is clearly not feasible to award the contract for
22 supplies or services on a competitive basis.
23 (5) The services are to be provided by attorneys or
24 litigation consultants selected by the Office of General
25 Counsel, the Office of Attorney General, the Department of
26 the Auditor General or the Treasury Department.
27 (6) The services are to be provided by expert witnesses.
28 (7) The services involve the repair, modification or
29 calibration of equipment and they are to be performed by the
30 manufacturer of the equipment or by the manufacturer's
20080S1417B2068 - 3 -
1 authorized dealer, provided the contracting officer
2 determines that bidding is not appropriate under the
3 circumstances.
4 (8) The contract is for investment advisors or managers
5 selected by the Public School Employees' Retirement System,
6 the State Employees' Retirement System or a State-affiliated
7 entity.
8 (9) The contract is for financial or investment experts
9 to be used and selected by the Treasury Department or
10 financial or investment experts selected by the Secretary of
11 the Budget.
12 (10) The contract for supplies or services is in the
13 best interest of the Commonwealth.
14 The written determination authorizing sole source procurement
15 shall be included in the contract file. With the exception of
16 small procurements under section 514 and emergency procurements
17 under section 516 (relating to emergency procurement), if the
18 sole source procurement is for a supply, except for computer
19 software updates under $50,000, for which the department acts as
20 purchasing agency, it must be approved by the Board of
21 Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings prior to the award
22 of a contract.
23 Section 2. Chapter 11 heading of Title 62 is amended and the
24 chapter is amended by adding sections to read:
25 CHAPTER 11
26 [(Reserved)]
27 CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES
28 Sec.
29 1101. Short title of chapter.
30 1102. Definitions.
20080S1417B2068 - 4 -
1 1103. Contract prohibitions.
2 1104. Qualifications, criteria and procedure.
3 1105. Contracts for services under $100,000 in value.
4 1106. Contracts for service over $100,000 in value.
5 1107. Prior disclosure.
6 1108. Public inspection.
7 § 1101. Short title of chapter.
8 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
9 Transparency in Service Contracts Act.
10 § 1102. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
12 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Business." Any corporation, partnership, sole
15 proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association,
16 organization, self-employed individual, holding company, joint
17 stock company, receivership, trust or any legal entity organized
18 for profit.
19 "Consulting services." The provision, by independent
20 contractors who receive a fee or compensation, of professional
21 or expert advice, opinion or other advisory examination which
22 involves the delivery of an end product consisting primarily of
23 correspondence, graphs, drawings or other oral or written
24 reports. The term shall include:
25 (1) Management consulting contracts designed to improve
26 the effectiveness of management strategies, processes or
27 operations by assessing needs, functions, plans and operating
28 procedures.
29 (2) Legal consulting services that provide legal
30 opinions, strategies or assessments of agency conduct, other
20080S1417B2068 - 5 -
1 than those related to pending litigation.
2 (3) Provision of legal services in connection with the
3 sale or issuance of bonds authorized by law.
4 "Services." Services that are not goods, as also defined in
5 section 103 (relating to definitions). The term shall also
6 include services such as accounting, banking, cleaning,
7 consulting, education or training, legal advice unrelated to
8 pending or anticipated litigation, and know-how.
9 § 1103. Contract prohibitions.
10 No Commonwealth agency or State-affiliated entity, including
11 the General Assembly, may contract with any individual or
12 business who is not an employee of such entity to provide
13 services, unless such contracting meets the disclosure and other
14 requirements of this chapter or is opened up to competitive
15 bidding pursuant to this chapter.
16 § 1104. Qualifications, criteria and procedure.
17 If a Commonwealth agency or State-affiliated entity,
18 including the General Assembly, has a need or anticipates a
19 future need for services, which are not related to construction
20 or office equipment and supplies, the agency or entity shall
21 promulgate and publish the minimum qualifications and criteria
22 which must be met by any individual or business that desires to
23 provide such services to the agency or entity. The agency or
24 entity shall also promulgate and publish the procedure that must
25 be followed by an individual or firm desiring to provide such
26 services.
27 § 1105. Contracts for services under $100,000 in value.
28 With the exception of contracts under section 514 (relating
29 to small procurements), each Commonwealth agency and State-
30 affiliated entity, including the General Assembly, shall
20080S1417B2068 - 6 -
1 maintain a public registry for all individuals or businesses who
2 have applied and meet the qualifications and criteria to provide
3 professional or other services pursuant to this chapter.
4 Contracts which will not exceed $100,000 in value shall be
5 assigned on an equal, rotating basis to the persons or
6 businesses on that registry.
7 § 1106. Contracts for services over $100,000 in value.
8 Consulting contracts for which the value may exceed $100,000
9 shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding under section 512
10 (relating to competitive sealed bidding).
11 § 1107. Prior disclosure.
12 With regard to all service contracts as defined by this
13 chapter, the following disclosures must be made before any
14 contract is executed or awarded:
15 (1) Prior to bid, or upon application to be placed on
16 the registry under section 1104 (relating to qualifications,
17 criteria and procedure), a business or individual shall
18 disclose any familial, personal or business relationship
19 between such business or individual and any employee of the
20 Commonwealth agency or State-affiliated entity.
21 (2) Prior to award, the Commonwealth agency or State-
22 affiliated entity shall disclose any familial, personal or
23 business relationship between any of its employees and the
24 individual or business with which the agency intends to enter
25 into a contract.
26 (3) A finding by the Commonwealth agency or State-
27 affiliated entity with regard to the applicability or
28 nonapplicability of the provisions of section 514 (relating
29 to small procurements), section 515 (relating to sole source
30 procurement) or section 516 (relating to emergency
20080S1417B2068 - 7 -
1 procurement) to the contract.
2 § 1108. Public inspection.
3 All information as to criteria, disclosures and contracts
4 awarded under this chapter shall be made available for public
5 inspection on the Internet.
6 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
D30L62JS/20080S1417B2068 - 8 -