House Bill hb1605

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1605

        By Representatives Jennings, Richardson, McGriff,
    Peterman, Greenstein, Ausley and Kendrick





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to state government; creating

  3         s. 14.204, F.S.; creating the State Council on

  4         Competitive Government; providing for

  5         appointment of members, powers, and duties;

  6         providing for review of government services and

  7         functions in relation to the performance of

  8         those services and functions by nongovernment

  9         providers; providing criteria for review;

10         providing for contract recommendations;

11         providing limitations on contracts for services

12         under certain circumstances; repealing s.

13         14.203, F.S., which provides for a State

14         Council on Competitive Government; providing an

15         effective date.

16

17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Section 14.204, Florida Statutes, is

20  created to read:

21         14.204  State Council on Competitive Government.--

22         (1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

23         (a)  "Commercial activity" means an activity that

24  provides a product or service that is commonly available from

25  a private source.

26         (b)  "Council" means the State Council on Competitive

27  Government.

28         (c)  "Identified state service" means a service

29  provided by the state which the council has identified as a

30  commercially available service and which the council has

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  1  brought under study to determine whether the service may be

  2  provided by private sources through competition.

  3         (d)  "Privatization" means the transfer of government

  4  functions, assets, agencies, management, products or

  5  productive capacity, financing, or service delivery from the

  6  government sector to the nongovernment sector.

  7         (2)  STATE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVE GOVERNMENT.--The

  8  State Council on Competitive Government is established within

  9  the legislative branch of government. Staff shall be provided

10  by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government

11  Accountability which shall also provide direction to the

12  council. It is the policy of this state that all state

13  services be performed in the most effective and efficient

14  manner in order to provide the best value to the public. The

15  state recognizes that competition among service providers may

16  improve the quality of services provided. The council shall

17  encourage competition, innovation, and creativity among

18  service providers and within the public sector.

19         (3)  MEMBERSHIP.--The council shall consist of nine

20  members appointed as follows: two members appointed by the

21  Governor, one of whom must be from the government sector; two

22  appointees of the Governor and Cabinet, one of whom must be

23  from the government sector; the director of the Legislature's

24  Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government

25  Accountability; two members appointed by the President of the

26  Senate; and two members appointed by the Speaker of the House

27  of Representatives. The council shall select its presiding

28  officer from its membership. The council shall meet as often

29  as necessary to perform its duties.

30         (4)  DUTIES.--

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  1         (a)  The council shall identify commercially available

  2  services currently being performed by state agencies and, if

  3  the council finds that any services of an agency can be better

  4  provided through competition with private sources or other

  5  state agency service providers, the council may recommend that

  6  the state agency engage in any process, including competitive

  7  bidding, which is recommended by the council to provide the

  8  service through competition among private sources or with

  9  other state agency service providers.

10         (b)  The council shall review and comment on all

11  requests for proposals, invitations to bid, invitations to

12  negotiate, or contracts issued by state agencies which propose

13  privatization of funded government services. Each state agency

14  shall submit all of its privatization proposals costing

15  $100,000 or more to the council for its review before any

16  action is taken by the agency.

17         (c)  The council shall review all existing instances in

18  which state government funded services have been privatized in

19  order to comment on whether the services are being performed

20  in the most effective and efficient manner to provide the best

21  value to the public.

22         (5)  POWERS.--In performing its duties under this

23  section, the council may:

24         (a)  Adopt rules governing any aspect of the council's

25  duties or responsibilities.

26         (b)  Hold public hearings or conduct studies.

27         (c)  Consult with private sources or state agencies

28  that provide services.

29         (d)  Recommend that a state agency conduct an in-house

30  cost estimate, a management study, or any other hearing,

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  1  study, review, or cost estimate concerning any aspect of an

  2  identified state service.

  3         (e)  Develop for use by state agencies methods to

  4  accurately and fairly estimate and account for the cost of

  5  providing an identified state service.

  6         (f)  Recommend that an identified state service be

  7  submitted to competitive bidding or another process that

  8  creates competition among private sources.

  9         (g)  Suggest, in consultation with affected state

10  agencies, the specifications and conditions of purchase

11  procedures that should be followed by a state agency or a

12  private source engaged in competitive bidding to provide an

13  identified state service.

14         (h)  Recommend the award of a contract to a state

15  agency currently providing the service, another state agency,

16  a private source, or any combination of those entities if the

17  bidder presents the best and most reasonable bid, which is not

18  necessarily the lowest bid.

19         (i)  Suggest the terms and conditions of a contract for

20  service or an interagency contract to provide an identified

21  state service or other commercially available service.

22         (j)  Recommend a minimum level of contractor health

23  insurance coverage for employees, including optional family

24  coverage, whether employer paid or employee paid or a

25  combination thereof.

26         (k)  Encourage state employees to organize and submit a

27  bid for the identified service.

28         (6)  COST COMPARISON AND CONTRACT CONSIDERATIONS.--In

29  comparing the cost of providing a service, the council must

30  consider the cost of supervising the work of any private

31  contractor, including an analysis of whether health-care

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  1  benefits, retirement, and workers' compensation insurance for

  2  employees of the contractor are reasonably comparable to

  3  benefits provided by the state. The council must also consider

  4  the total cost to the agency of that agency's performance of a

  5  service, such total cost to include all indirect costs related

  6  to that agency and the costs of agencies such as the

  7  Comptroller, the Treasurer, the Attorney General, and other

  8  support agencies. In reviewing proposals submitted by state

  9  agencies or in making recommendations for actions to be

10  undertaken by state agencies in privatization or in making

11  recommendations for investments in productive improvements to

12  public-sector agencies, the council shall consider the

13  following:

14         (a)  Whether two or more state agencies provide an

15  essentially similar service to a like population with little

16  or no value added by multiple jurisdictions.

17         (b)  Whether the public-sector service has been created

18  in response to a short-term need or abuse, and any subsequent

19  actions that have satisfactorily addressed the need or

20  remedied the abuse with sufficient protection to the affected

21  public.

22         (c)  Whether the program, service, or deployment of

23  resources exists because of a commitment to job-based tasks

24  that prove unnecessary in light of alternative

25  technology-based processes.

26         (d)  Whether market forces can address the program or

27  service for its satisfactory operation in a nongovernment

28  context.

29         (e)  Whether the program or service is peripheral to

30  the core mission of state government regardless of the

31  efficiency of the state agency operation.

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  1         (f)  Whether the service or program provides a subsidy

  2  that the general population can obtain from a nongovernment

  3  provider without loss of integrity or unreasonable cost.

  4         (g)  Whether the selected program or service unduly

  5  affects economically or geographically disadvantaged segments

  6  of the workforce from receiving subsequent employment.

  7         (h)  Whether the nongovernment provider has made

  8  satisfactory provisions to avoid service interruption,

  9  provisions for employment by displaced public-sector

10  employees, and provisions for maintenance of the quality and

11  accessibility of the contracted service.

12         (i)  Whether privatization of the program or service

13  would impair the integrity of the regulatory powers of state

14  government or its sworn enforcement of functions conferred on

15  it by law.

16         (j)  Whether the alternative method of providing

17  government services adds value. For the purposes of this

18  section, an alternative method adds value if it achieves one

19  or more government-sector objectives with improvement outcomes

20  irrespective of cost; achieves more outcomes within a fixed

21  amount of appropriation; improves accuracy, timeliness, or

22  responsiveness by employees on behalf of customers, clients,

23  or the public; reduces unit costs; or reduces the cost of

24  sales and general administrative expenses.

25         (7)  DUTIES OF AFFECTED STATE AGENCIES.--A state agency

26  shall cooperate with the council in the performance of its

27  duties under this section.

28         (8)  EXEMPTION.--Any contract entered into pursuant to

29  council recommendations and decisions regarding whether an

30  agency will engage in competitive bidding with respect to such

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  1  a contract is exempt from all laws of the state regulating or

  2  limiting state purchasing and purchasing decisions.

  3         (9)  CONTRACT RECOMMENDATIONS; APPROPRIATIONS.--A

  4  contract entered into under this section constitutes an

  5  executive branch recommendation only and does not take effect

  6  until a specific appropriation to fund the contract is

  7  provided by law. In addition, any contract entered into by an

  8  executive-branch agency under this section must state in its

  9  text that its effect is contingent upon a specific

10  appropriation by law. However, a contract entered into

11  pursuant to this section may not impair the actions of any

12  executive branch agency whose powers are derived directly from

13  the State Constitution or impair any contractual or statutory

14  obligations imposed by state or federal law or a grant-in-aid

15  program.

16         (10)  OPEN MEETINGS AND OPEN RECORDS LAWS.--The

17  meetings and records of the council are subject to the

18  provisions of ss. 119.07 and 286.011.

19         (11)  REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES.--Members of the

20  council are not entitled to receive a salary but may be

21  reimbursed for expenses under s. 112.061.

22         Section 2.  Any other provision of law to the contrary

23  notwithstanding, no contract for services, request for

24  proposals, or invitation to bid between an agency of the State

25  of Florida and a contract vendor succeeding to the operation

26  of a program or function of a State of Florida agency shall be

27  executed unless the vendor shall be a domiciled Florida

28  corporation or shall have a significant business presence in

29  the state for the duration of the contract. For the purposes

30  of this provision, the term "significant business presence"

31  shall mean a retention of substantially all of the filled

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  1  positions previously assigned the state agency at

  2  substantially the same total cash equivalent of salaries and

  3  benefits.

  4         Section 3.  Section 14.203, Florida Statutes, is

  5  repealed.

  6         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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  8            *****************************************

  9                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Creates a new State Council on Competitive Government
11    within the legislative branch and under the direction of
      the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
12    Accountability and provides for its membership, powers,
      and duties. Provides for review of government services
13    and functions in relation to the performance of those
      services and functions by nongovernment providers.
14    Repeals the existing Council on Competitive Government.

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      Provides limitations on contracts for services, requests
16    for proposals, or invitations to bid between an agency of
      the state and a contract vendor succeeding to the
17    operation of a program or function of a state agency. See
      bill for details.
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