Florida Senate - 2010 SB 588 By Senator Fasano 11-00602-10 2010588__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to efficiency in procurement and 3 contracting; creating s. 287.0575, F.S.; establishing 4 the Advisory Committee on State Procurement for the 5 purpose of evaluating the state procurement process 6 and carrying out the legislative policy created under 7 the act; providing policy of the Legislature with 8 respect to the procurement of goods, services, and 9 facilities by the state; providing for membership, 10 organization, and staffing of the committee; providing 11 duties of the committee; providing powers of the 12 committee; requiring state agency cooperation with the 13 committee; requiring reports of the committee; 14 providing for termination of the committee; providing 15 an appropriation; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1. Section 287.0575, Florida Statutes, is created 20 to read: 21 287.0575 Advisory Committee on State Procurement; policy; 22 duties; termination of advisory committee.— 23 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STATE PROCUREMENT; 24 ESTABLISHMENT.—The Advisory Committee on State Procurement is 25 established for the purpose of evaluating the entire state 26 procurement process of the executive branch of government, 27 including the Department of Financial Services and the 28 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This evaluation 29 shall include the organization, staffing, leadership, planning, 30 and controls involved in the procurement and contracting 31 process, for the purpose of carrying out the policy set forth in 32 subsection (2). 33 (2) LEGISLATIVE POLICY.—It is the policy of the Legislature 34 to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the 35 procurement of goods, services, and facilities by and for the 36 executive branch of state government through the following 37 means: 38 (a) The establishment of policies, procedures, and 39 practices which require the state to procure goods, services, 40 and facilities of requisite quality, in a timely manner, and at 41 the lowest reasonable cost, using competitive bidding to the 42 maximum extent possible. 43 (b) Improvement of the quality, efficiency, economy, and 44 performance of organizations and personnel involved in the 45 procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state. 46 (c) Elimination of unnecessary overlapping or duplication 47 of procurement activities and related activities such as 48 contract administration. 49 (d) Elimination of unnecessary or redundant requirements 50 placed on contractors or on officials in charge of the 51 procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state. 52 (e) Identification of gaps, omissions, or inconsistencies 53 in state laws, rules, and directives relating to the procurement 54 of goods, services, and facilities by the state which should be 55 brought to the attention of the Legislature. 56 (f) Attainment of greater uniformity in and simplification 57 of procurement procedures, whenever appropriate. 58 (g) Coordination of the procurement policies and programs 59 of the various departments and agencies of the state, whenever 60 possible. 61 (h) The conforming of procurement policies and programs to 62 other successful established state policies and programs, 63 whenever appropriate. 64 (i) Minimization of possible disruptive effects of state 65 procurement on particular industries, areas, or occupations. 66 (j) Improvement of training with respect to, and the 67 understanding of, the laws and policies of the state relating to 68 the procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state, 69 not only within state government but on the part of 70 organizations and individuals doing business with the state. 71 (k) Promotion of fair dealing and equitable relationships 72 among the parties in state contracting. 73 (l) Promotion of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in 74 state procurement organizations, operations, and uniform 75 reporting by any means the committee deems beneficial and 76 appropriate. 77 (m) Giving special consideration to procurement laws, 78 policies, procedures, practices, organization, staffing, 79 leadership, and controls of the procurement processes of the 80 Federal Government and other states. 81 (n) Promotion of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in 82 procurement, contract management, and project management 83 operations. 84 85 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the 86 committee’s means of facilitating the legislative policy 87 expressed herein, the inquiries of the committee, or the 88 committee’s authority to investigate additional areas the 89 committee deems significant, relevant, or important. 90 (3) MEMBERSHIP; ORGANIZATION.— 91 (a) The committee shall be composed of 11 members. Three 92 members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, three 93 members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 94 Representatives, three members shall be appointed by the 95 Governor, one member shall be appointed by the Chief Financial 96 Officer, and one member shall be the director of the Office of 97 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability or the 98 director’s designee. Of the three appointments made by the 99 President of the Senate, two appointees shall be Senators who 100 are not of the same political party, and one appointee shall be 101 from outside state government. Of the three appointments made by 102 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, two appointees 103 shall be members of the House of Representatives who are not of 104 the same political party, and one appointee shall be from 105 outside state government. Of the three appointments made by the 106 Governor, two appointees shall be from the executive branch of 107 state government and one appointee shall be from outside state 108 government. All committee appointments shall be made within 60 109 days of the date on which this act becomes law. 110 (b) The committee shall select a chair and a vice chair 111 from among its members. 112 (c) Six members of the committee shall constitute a 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 the 141 head of any state department or agency for the purpose of its 142 studies and investigations. All departments and agencies shall 143 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 the 153 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 as 159 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.