Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1520
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-01607-22                                           20221520__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to acquisition of professional
    3         services; amending s. 287.055, F.S.; removing language
    4         requiring that an agency, when determining whether a
    5         firm is qualified to perform certain services, operate
    6         with the object of effecting an equitable distribution
    7         of contracts among qualified firms; providing an
    8         effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
   13  287.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         287.055 Acquisition of professional architectural,
   15  engineering, landscape architectural, or surveying and mapping
   16  services; definitions; procedures; contingent fees prohibited;
   17  penalties.—
   18         (4) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—
   19         (b) The agency shall select in order of preference no fewer
   20  than three firms deemed to be the most highly qualified to
   21  perform the required services. In determining whether a firm is
   22  qualified, the agency shall consider such factors as the ability
   23  of professional personnel; whether a firm is a certified
   24  minority business enterprise; past performance; willingness to
   25  meet time and budget requirements; location; recent, current,
   26  and projected workloads of the firms; and the volume of work
   27  previously awarded to each firm by the agency, with the object
   28  of effecting an equitable distribution of contracts among
   29  qualified firms, provided such distribution does not violate the
   30  principle of selection of the most highly qualified firms. The
   31  agency may request, accept, and consider proposals for the
   32  compensation to be paid under the contract only during
   33  competitive negotiations under subsection (5).
   34         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.