Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 276
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 452482                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  02/09/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Fasano and Latvala) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. (1) The Chief Financial Officer shall review and
    6  conduct an analysis of the procurement process for the design,
    7  build, and maintenance of state buildings and facilities. The
    8  Chief Financial Officer shall review, at a minimum:
    9         (a) The contracting procedures for the construction,
   10  maintenance, and renovation of state-owned facilities;
   11         (b) The lines of authority and the areas of responsibility
   12  by all parties involved in the procurement process;
   13         (c) The methodology for the selection of internal fixtures,
   14  furnishings, artwork, and any relevant infrastructure systems;
   15  and
   16         (d) Any identified necessary signatories and approvals for
   17  such projects.
   18         (2) The Chief Financial Officer shall submit a written
   19  report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
   20  House of Representatives by October 1, 2011. The report must
   21  include any recommendations for revising the law or rules
   22  designed to promote transparency and accountability in the
   23  state’s design-build process.
   24         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
   25  
   26  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   27         And the title is amended as follows:
   28         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   29  and insert:
   30                        A bill to be entitled                      
   31         An act relating to the procurement process for the
   32         design, build, and maintenance of state buildings and
   33         facilities; requiring that the Chief Financial Officer
   34         review and conduct an analysis of the procurement
   35         process for the design, build, and maintenance of
   36         state buildings and facilities; requiring that the
   37         Chief Financial Officer submit a report to the
   38         Legislature by a specified date; providing an
   39         effective date.
   40  
   41         WHEREAS, the First District Court of Appeals Courthouse
   42  located in the Southwood area of Tallahassee, Florida will cost
   43  taxpayers over $70 million dollars when the bonds to finance the
   44  development of the courthouse are paid in full; and
   45         WHEREAS, the judges of the District Court of Appeals took
   46  complete control of the planning and building of the new
   47  courthouse without any oversight or transparency; and
   48         WHEREAS, the First District Court of Appeals Courthouse has
   49  approximately 100 employees in a taxpayer-funded facility that
   50  has roughly 100,000 square feet, which gives each employee
   51  approximately 1,000 square feet of space. This exceeds the
   52  normal limit of 180 square feet of office space that the
   53  Department of Management Service typically limits for state
   54  employees; and
   55         WHEREAS, the judges of the District Court of Appeals
   56  directed the architect and project manager of the new courthouse
   57  to spend tens of millions of dollars on interior-framed wall
   58  hangings, soundproof private bathrooms for the judges, an
   59  exercise room, two posh robbing rooms, dozens of large flat
   60  screen televisions, miles of South American Sepalia Mahogany,
   61  and granite counter tops; and
   62         WHEREAS, the Department of Management Services relinquished
   63  its usual building management protocols and gave complete
   64  decisionmaking and planning control to two judges of the
   65  District Court of Appeals to plan and build what is now known
   66  statewide as the “Taj Mahal” courthouse, NOW, THEREFORE,