| 1 | The State Administration Appropriations Committee recommends the |
| 2 | following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to professional services acquisition; |
| 8 | amending s. 287.055, F.S.; revising certain definitions; |
| 9 | defining the term "negotiate"; providing additional |
| 10 | criteria for processing bids to purchase professional |
| 11 | services that exceed certain threshold amounts; revising |
| 12 | the criteria for the competitive selection of bids to |
| 13 | purchase professional services; requiring the agency to |
| 14 | reject proposals and reinitiate procurement pursuant to |
| 15 | competitive selection under certain circumstances; |
| 16 | providing an effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (g) of subsection (2), |
| 21 | paragraph (a) of subsection (3), and paragraphs (b) and (c) of |
| 22 | subsection (4) of section 287.055, Florida Statutes, are |
| 23 | amended, and paragraph (l) is added to subsection (2) of said |
| 24 | section, to read: |
| 25 | 287.055 Acquisition of professional architectural, |
| 26 | engineering, landscape architectural, or surveying and mapping |
| 27 | services; definitions; procedures; contingent fees prohibited; |
| 28 | penalties.-- |
| 29 | (2) DEFINITIONS.--For purposes of this section: |
| 30 | (d) "Compensation" means the total amount paid by the |
| 31 | agency for professional services regardless of whether stated as |
| 32 | compensation or stated as hourly rates, overhead rates, or other |
| 33 | figures or formulas from which compensation can be calculated. |
| 34 | (g) A "continuing contract" is a contract for professional |
| 35 | services entered into in accordance with all the procedures of |
| 36 | this act between an agency and a firm whereby the firm provides |
| 37 | professional services to the agency for projects in which |
| 38 | construction costs do not exceed $1 million, for study activity |
| 39 | when the fee for such professional service does not exceed |
| 40 | $50,000, or for work of a specified nature as outlined in the |
| 41 | contract required by the agency, with no time limitation except |
| 42 | that the contract must provide a termination clause. Firms |
| 43 | providing professional services under continuing contracts shall |
| 44 | not be required to bid against one another. |
| 45 | (l) "Negotiate" or any form of that word means to conduct |
| 46 | legitimate, arm's length discussions and conferences to reach an |
| 47 | agreement on a term or price. For purposes of this section, the |
| 48 | term does not include presentation of flat-fee schedules with no |
| 49 | alternatives or discussion. |
| 50 | (3) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT AND QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES.-- |
| 51 | (a)1. Each agency shall publicly announce, in a uniform |
| 52 | and consistent manner, each occasion when professional services |
| 53 | must be purchased for a project the basic construction cost of |
| 54 | which is estimated by the agency to exceed the threshold amount |
| 55 | provided in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY FIVE or for a planning or |
| 56 | study activity when the fee for professional services exceeds |
| 57 | the threshold amount provided in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY TWO, |
| 58 | except in cases of valid public emergencies certified by the |
| 59 | agency head. The public notice must include a general |
| 60 | description of the project and must indicate how interested |
| 61 | consultants may apply for consideration. |
| 62 | 2. Each agency shall provide a good faith estimate in |
| 63 | determining whether the proposed activity meets the threshold |
| 64 | amounts referred to in this paragraph. |
| 65 | (4) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.-- |
| 66 | (b) The agency shall select in order of preference no |
| 67 | fewer than three firms deemed to be the most highly qualified to |
| 68 | perform the required services. In determining whether a firm is |
| 69 | qualified, the agency shall consider such factors as the ability |
| 70 | of professional personnel; whether a firm is a certified |
| 71 | minority business enterprise; past performance; proven |
| 72 | capability willingness to meet time and budget requirements; |
| 73 | location, if the agency has adopted a local-preference program; |
| 74 | recent, current, and projected workloads of the firms; and the |
| 75 | volume of work previously awarded to each firm by the agency, |
| 76 | with the object of effecting an equitable distribution of |
| 77 | contracts among qualified firms, provided such distribution does |
| 78 | not violate the principle of selection of the most highly |
| 79 | qualified firms. The agency may request, accept, and consider |
| 80 | proposals for the compensation to be paid under the contract |
| 81 | only during competitive negotiations under subsection (5). |
| 82 | (c) This subsection does not apply to a professional |
| 83 | service contract for a project the basic construction cost of |
| 84 | which is estimated by the agency to be not in excess of the |
| 85 | threshold amount provided in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY FIVE or for |
| 86 | a planning or study activity when the fee for professional |
| 87 | services is not in excess of the threshold amount provided in s. |
| 88 | 287.017 for CATEGORY TWO. However, if, in using another |
| 89 | procurement process, the majority of the compensation proposed |
| 90 | by firms is in excess of the appropriate threshold amount, the |
| 91 | agency shall reject all proposals and reinitiate the procurement |
| 92 | pursuant to this subsection. |
| 93 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |