Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 276
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 652340                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/09/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Fasano) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 13 and 14
    4  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  
   25  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   26         And the title is amended as follows:
   27         Delete lines 2 - 4
   28  and insert:
   29         An act relating to procurement; requiring that the
   30         Chief Financial Officer review and conduct an analysis
   31         of the procurement process for the design, build, and
   32         maintenance of state buildings and facilities;
   33         requiring that the Chief Financial Officer submit a
   34         report to the Legislature by a specified date;
   35         amending s.
   36  
   37         WHEREAS, the First District Court of Appeals Courthouse
   38  located in the Southwood area of Tallahassee, Florida will cost
   39  taxpayers over $70 million dollars when the bonds to finance the
   40  development of the courthouse are paid in full; and
   41         WHEREAS, the judges of the District Court of Appeals took
   42  complete control of the planning and building of the new
   43  courthouse without any oversight or transparency; and
   44         WHEREAS, the First District Court of Appeals Courthouse has
   45  approximately 100 employees in a taxpayer-funded facility that
   46  has roughly 100,000 square feet, which gives each employee
   47  approximately 1,000 square feet of space. This exceeds the
   48  normal limit of 180 square feet of office space that the
   49  Department of Management Service typically limits for state
   50  employees; and
   51         WHEREAS, the judges of the District Court of Appeals
   52  directed the architect and project manager of the new courthouse
   53  to spend tens of millions of dollars on interior-framed wall
   54  hangings, soundproof private bathrooms for the judges, an
   55  exercise room, two posh robbing rooms, dozens of large flat
   56  screen televisions, miles of South American Sepalia Mahogany,
   57  and granite counter tops; and
   58         WHEREAS, the Department of Management Services relinquished
   59  its usual building management protocols and gave complete
   60  decisionmaking and planning control to two judges of the
   61  District Court of Appeals to plan and build what is now known
   62  statewide as the “Taj Mahal” courthouse, NOW, THEREFORE,