| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to efficiency in procurement and |
| 3 | contracting; creating s. 287.0575, F.S.; establishing the |
| 4 | Advisory Committee on State Procurement for the purpose of |
| 5 | evaluating the state procurement process and carrying out |
| 6 | the legislative policy created under the act; providing |
| 7 | policy of the Legislature with respect to the procurement |
| 8 | of goods, services, and facilities by the state; providing |
| 9 | for membership, organization, and staffing of the |
| 10 | committee; providing duties of the committee; providing |
| 11 | powers of the committee; requiring state agency |
| 12 | cooperation with the committee; requiring reports of the |
| 13 | committee; providing for termination of the committee; |
| 14 | providing an appropriation; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 287.0575, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 287.0575 Advisory Committee on State Procurement; policy; |
| 21 | duties; termination of advisory committee.-- |
| 22 | (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STATE PROCUREMENT; |
| 23 | ESTABLISHMENT.--The Advisory Committee on State Procurement is |
| 24 | established for the purpose of evaluating the entire state |
| 25 | procurement process of the executive branch of government, |
| 26 | including the Department of Financial Services and the |
| 27 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This evaluation |
| 28 | shall include the organization, staffing, leadership, planning, |
| 29 | and controls involved in the procurement and contracting |
| 30 | process, for the purpose of carrying out the policy set forth in |
| 31 | subsection (2). |
| 32 | (2) LEGISLATIVE POLICY.--It is the policy of the |
| 33 | Legislature to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in |
| 34 | the procurement of goods, services, and facilities by and for |
| 35 | the executive branch of state government through the following |
| 36 | means: |
| 37 | (a) The establishment of policies, procedures, and |
| 38 | practices which require the state to procure goods, services, |
| 39 | and facilities of requisite quality, in a timely manner, and at |
| 40 | the lowest reasonable cost, using competitive bidding to the |
| 41 | maximum extent possible. |
| 42 | (b) Improvement of the quality, efficiency, economy, and |
| 43 | performance of organizations and personnel involved in the |
| 44 | procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state. |
| 45 | (c) Elimination of unnecessary overlapping or duplication |
| 46 | of procurement activities and related activities such as |
| 47 | contract administration. |
| 48 | (d) Elimination of unnecessary or redundant requirements |
| 49 | placed on contractors or on officials in charge of the |
| 50 | procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state. |
| 51 | (e) Identification of gaps, omissions, or inconsistencies |
| 52 | in state laws, rules, and directives relating to the procurement |
| 53 | of goods, services, and facilities by the state which should be |
| 54 | brought to the attention of the Legislature. |
| 55 | (f) Attainment of greater uniformity in and simplification |
| 56 | of procurement procedures, whenever appropriate. |
| 57 | (g) Coordination of the procurement policies and programs |
| 58 | of the various departments and agencies of the state, whenever |
| 59 | possible. |
| 60 | (h) The conforming of procurement policies and programs to |
| 61 | other successful established state policies and programs, |
| 62 | whenever appropriate. |
| 63 | (i) Minimization of possible disruptive effects of state |
| 64 | procurement on particular industries, areas, or occupations. |
| 65 | (j) Improvement of training with respect to, and the |
| 66 | understanding of, the laws and policies of the state relating to |
| 67 | the procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state, |
| 68 | not only within state government but on the part of |
| 69 | organizations and individuals doing business with the state. |
| 70 | (k) Promotion of fair dealing and equitable relationships |
| 71 | among the parties in state contracting. |
| 72 | (l) Promotion of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in |
| 73 | state procurement organizations, operations, and uniform |
| 74 | reporting by any means the committee deems beneficial and |
| 75 | appropriate. |
| 76 | (m) Giving special consideration to procurement laws, |
| 77 | policies, procedures, practices, organization, staffing, |
| 78 | leadership, and controls of the procurement processes of the |
| 79 | Federal Government and other states. |
| 80 | (n) Promotion of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in |
| 81 | procurement, contract management, and project management |
| 82 | operations. |
| 83 | |
| 84 | Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the |
| 85 | committee's means of facilitating the legislative policy |
| 86 | expressed herein, the inquiries of the committee, or the |
| 87 | committee's authority to investigate additional areas the |
| 88 | committee deems significant, relevant, or important. |
| 89 | (3) MEMBERSHIP; ORGANIZATION.-- |
| 90 | (a) The committee shall be composed of 11 members. Three |
| 91 | members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, three |
| 92 | members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of |
| 93 | Representatives, three members shall be appointed by the |
| 94 | Governor, one member shall be appointed by the Chief Financial |
| 95 | Officer, and one member shall be the director of the Office of |
| 96 | Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability or the |
| 97 | director's designee. Of the three appointments made by the |
| 98 | President of the Senate, two appointees shall be Senators who |
| 99 | are not of the same political party, and one appointee shall be |
| 100 | from outside state government. Of the three appointments made by |
| 101 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives, two appointees |
| 102 | shall be members of the House of Representatives who are not of |
| 103 | the same political party, and one appointee shall be from |
| 104 | outside state government. Of the three appointments made by the |
| 105 | Governor, two appointees shall be from the executive branch of |
| 106 | state government and one appointee shall be from outside state |
| 107 | government. All committee appointments shall be made within 60 |
| 108 | days of the date on which this act becomes law. |
| 109 | (b) The committee shall select a chair and a vice chair |
| 110 | from among its members. |
| 111 | (c) Six members of the committee shall constitute a |
| 112 | quorum. |
| 113 | (d) Any vacancies in the committee shall be filled for the |
| 114 | unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. |
| 115 | (e) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 116 | Accountability shall staff the advisory committee and provide |
| 117 | administrative support, administer contracts with outside |
| 118 | consultants, and provide evaluative research support to the |
| 119 | committee. |
| 120 | (4) DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.--The advisory committee |
| 121 | shall study and investigate: |
| 122 | (a) The current laws of the state which govern the |
| 123 | procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state; |
| 124 | (b) The procurement policies, rules, procedures, and |
| 125 | practices followed by the departments, bureaus, agencies, |
| 126 | boards, commissions, offices, and instrumentalities of the |
| 127 | executive branch of state government; and |
| 128 | (c) The organizations and management processes involved in |
| 129 | a state procurement of goods, services, and facilities prior to |
| 130 | the award of a state procurement contract, during the |
| 131 | solicitation of bids, evaluation, and negotiation of a contract, |
| 132 | and subsequent to the award of the contract to determine the |
| 133 | extent to which these organizations and management processes |
| 134 | facilitate the policy set forth in subsection (2). |
| 135 | (5) POWERS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.-- |
| 136 | (a) The advisory committee may hold hearings and take |
| 137 | testimony. Any member of the committee may, on behalf of the |
| 138 | committee as a whole, administer oaths or affirmations to |
| 139 | witnesses at a hearing of the advisory committee. |
| 140 | (b) The committee may acquire information directly from |
| 141 | the head of any state department or agency for the purpose of |
| 142 | its studies and investigations. All departments and agencies |
| 143 | shall cooperate with the committee and furnish all information |
| 144 | requested by the committee to the extent permitted by law. |
| 145 | Requests for information are required to be made in the name of |
| 146 | the chair or vice chair of the committee. |
| 147 | (c) The committee may procure the services of experts and |
| 148 | consultants. |
| 149 | (d) The committee may enter into contracts with private |
| 150 | organizations and nonprofit institutions to carry out studies |
| 151 | and prepare reports to facilitate the committee's work. |
| 152 | (6) AGENCY COOPERATION.--All departments or agencies of |
| 153 | the state are required to provide services to the committee upon |
| 154 | request, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, pursuant to |
| 155 | agreements between the contributing agency and the chair or vice |
| 156 | chair of the committee. |
| 157 | (7) REPORTS.-- |
| 158 | (a) The advisory committee may make such interim reports |
| 159 | as it deems advisable. |
| 160 | (b) By December 31, 2011, the advisory committee shall |
| 161 | submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the |
| 162 | President of the Senate, the Governor, and the Chief Financial |
| 163 | Officer the final report of its findings and recommendations for |
| 164 | changes in statutes, rules, policies, procedures, and |
| 165 | organization necessary to carry out the policy set forth in |
| 166 | subsection (2). |
| 167 | (8) TERMINATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.--The Advisory |
| 168 | Committee on State Procurement shall cease to exist 120 days |
| 169 | after the submission of its final report. The committee and its |
| 170 | staff shall utilize the 120-day period between the submission of |
| 171 | the final report and the termination of the committee to draft |
| 172 | or assist in final preparation of legislative or administrative |
| 173 | proposals that will carry out the recommendations of the |
| 174 | committee contained in its final report. |
| 175 | Section 2. For the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the sum of $3.5 |
| 176 | million is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the |
| 177 | Advisory Committee on State Procurement for the purposes of |
| 178 | carrying out the provisions of this act. |
| 179 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |