Florida Senate - 2012               CS for CS for CS for SB 1626
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Budget; Governmental Oversight and
       Accountability; and Banking and Insurance; and Senator Gaetz
       
       
       
       576-04506-12                                          20121626c3
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to state contracting; amending s.
    3         11.45, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by
    4         the act; amending s. 215.985, F.S.; revising
    5         provisions relating to the Chief Financial Officer’s
    6         intergovernmental contract tracking system under the
    7         Transparency Florida Act; requiring state agencies to
    8         post certain information in the tracking system and to
    9         update that information; requiring that exempt and
   10         confidential information be redacted from contracts
   11         and procurement documents posted on the system;
   12         authorizing the Chief Financial Officer to make
   13         available the information posted on the system to the
   14         public through a secure website; authorizing the
   15         Department of Financial Services to adopt rules;
   16         repealing s. 216.0111, F.S., relating to a requirement
   17         that state agencies report certain contract
   18         information to the Department of Financial Services
   19         and transferring that requirement to s. 215.985, F.S.;
   20         authorizing a state agency, a special district, or a
   21         local government to competitively bid professional
   22         services; providing a procedure for considering
   23         proposals for the selection of competing firms or
   24         vendors; requiring that each agency adopt rules;
   25         providing an effective date.
   26  
   27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   28  
   29         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (i) of subsection (7) of
   30  section 11.45, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   31         11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules.—
   32         (7) AUDITOR GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
   33         (a) The Auditor General must shall notify the Legislative
   34  Auditing Committee of any local governmental entity, district
   35  school board, charter school, or charter technical career center
   36  that does not comply with the reporting requirements of s.
   37  215.985 or s. 218.39.
   38         (i) Beginning in 2012, the Auditor General shall annually
   39  transmit by July 15, to the President of the Senate, the Speaker
   40  of the House of Representatives, and the Department of Financial
   41  Services, a list of all school districts, charter schools,
   42  charter technical career centers, Florida College System
   43  institutions, state universities, and water management districts
   44  that have failed to comply with the transparency requirements of
   45  s. 215.985 as identified in the audit reports reviewed pursuant
   46  to paragraph (b) and those conducted pursuant to subsection (2).
   47         Section 2. Subsection (16) of section 215.985, Florida
   48  Statutes, is amended to read
   49         215.985 Transparency in government spending.—
   50         (16) The Chief Financial Officer shall provide public
   51  access to a state contract management system that provides
   52  information and documentation relating to contracts procured by
   53  governmental entities.
   54         (a) Within 30 calendar days after executing a contract,
   55  each state agency as defined in s. 216.011(1) must post the
   56  following information and documentation relating to that
   57  contract on the contract management system:
   58         1. The name of the contracting entities;
   59         2. The procurement method;
   60         3. The contract beginning and ending dates;
   61         4. The nature or type of the commodities or services
   62  purchased;
   63         5. Applicable contract unit prices and deliverables;
   64         6. Total compensation to be paid or received under the
   65  contract;
   66         7. All payments made to the contract vendor to date;
   67         8. All commodities or services received from the contract
   68  vendor to date;
   69         9. Applicable contract performance measures;
   70         10. Contract extensions or renewals, if any;
   71         11. The justification for not using competitive
   72  solicitation to procure the contract, including citation to any
   73  statutory exemption or exception from competitive solicitation,
   74  if applicable; and
   75         12. Electronic copies of the contract and procurement
   76  documents that have been redacted to conceal exempt or
   77  confidential information.
   78         (a) The data collected in the system must include, but need
   79  not be limited to, the contracting agency; the procurement
   80  method; the contract beginning and ending dates; the type of
   81  commodity or service; the purpose of the commodity or service;
   82  the compensation to be paid; compliance information, such as
   83  performance metrics for the service or commodity; contract
   84  violations; the number of extensions or renewals; and the
   85  statutory authority for providing the service.
   86         (b) Within 30 calendar days after a major modification or
   87  amendment change to an existing contract, or the execution of a
   88  new contract, agency procurement staff of the affected state
   89  governmental entity must shall update the necessary information
   90  described in paragraph (a) in the state contract management
   91  system. A major modification or amendment change to a contract
   92  includes, but is not limited to, a renewal, termination, or
   93  extension of the contract, or an amendment to the contract.
   94         (c) Each entity identified in paragraph (a) must redact, as
   95  defined in s. 119.011, any exempt or confidential information
   96  from the contract or procurement documents before posting an
   97  electronic copy of such documents on the contract tracking
   98  system.
   99         1. If an entity becomes aware that an electronic copy of a
  100  contract or procurement document that it posted has not been
  101  properly redacted, the entity must replace the electronic copy
  102  of the documents with a redacted copy.
  103         2. If a party to a contract, or an authorized
  104  representative thereof, discovers that an electronic copy of a
  105  contract or procurement document on the system has not been
  106  properly redacted, the party or representative may request the
  107  entity that posted the document to redact the exempt or
  108  confidential information. Upon receipt of a request in
  109  compliance with this subparagraph, the entity that posted the
  110  document shall redact the exempt or confidential information.
  111         a. Such request must be in writing and delivered by mail,
  112  facsimile, or electronic transmission, or in person to the
  113  entity that posted the information. The request must identify
  114  the specific document, the page numbers that include the exempt
  115  or confidential information, the information that is exempt or
  116  confidential, and the relevant statutory exemption. A fee may
  117  not be charged for a redaction made pursuant to such request.
  118         b. If necessary, a party to the contract may petition the
  119  circuit court for an order directing compliance with this
  120  paragraph.
  121         3. The Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Financial
  122  Services, or any officer, employee, or contractor thereof, is
  123  not responsible for redacting exempt or confidential information
  124  from an electronic copy of a contract or procurement document
  125  posted by another entity on the system, and is not liable for
  126  the failure of the entity to redact the exempt or confidential
  127  information. The Department of Financial Services may notify the
  128  posting entity if it discovers that a document posted on the
  129  tracking system contains exempt or confidential information.
  130         (d) Pursuant to ss. 119.01 and 119.07, the Chief Financial
  131  Officer may make information posted on the contract tracking
  132  system available for viewing and downloading by the public
  133  through a secure website. Unless otherwise provided by law,
  134  information retrieved electronically pursuant to this paragraph
  135  is not admissible in court as an authenticated document.
  136         1. The Chief Financial Officer may regulate and prohibit
  137  the posting of records that could facilitate identity theft or
  138  fraud, such as signatures; compromise or reveal an agency
  139  investigation; reveal the identity of undercover personnel;
  140  reveal proprietary confidential business information or trade
  141  secrets; reveal an individual’s medical information; or reveal
  142  any other record or information that the Chief Financial Officer
  143  believes may jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the
  144  public. However, such prohibition does not eliminate the duty of
  145  an entity to provide a copy of a public record upon request. The
  146  Chief Financial Officer shall use appropriate Internet security
  147  measures to ensure that no person has the ability to alter or
  148  modify records available on the website.
  149         2. Records made available on the website, including
  150  electronic copies of contracts or procurement documents, may not
  151  reveal information made exempt or confidential by law. Notice of
  152  the right of an affected party to request redaction of exempt or
  153  confidential information pursuant to paragraph (c) must be
  154  conspicuously and clearly displayed on the website.
  155         (e) The posting of information on the contract tracking
  156  system or the provision of contract information on a website for
  157  public viewing and downloading does not eliminate the duty of an
  158  entity to respond to a public record request for such
  159  information or to a subpoena for such information.
  160         1. A request for a copy of a contract or procurement
  161  document or a certified copy of a contract or procurement
  162  document shall be made to the entity that is party to the
  163  contract. Such request may not be made to the Chief Financial
  164  Officer or the Department of Financial Services or any officer,
  165  employee, or contractor thereof unless the Chief Financial
  166  Officer or the department is a party to the contract.
  167         2. A subpoena for a copy of a contract or procurement
  168  document or certified copy of a contract or procurement document
  169  must be served on the entity that is a party to the contract and
  170  that maintains the original documents. The Chief Financial
  171  Officer or the Department of Financial Services or any officer,
  172  employee, or contractor thereof may not be served a subpoena for
  173  those records unless the Chief Financial Officer or the
  174  department is a party to the contract.
  175         (f) The Department of Financial Services may adopt rules to
  176  administer this subsection.
  177         Section 3. Section 216.0111, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
  178         Section 4. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a state
  179  agency, a special district, or a local government may seek
  180  competitive bids for professional services. During the initial
  181  stage of this selection process, proposals shall be evaluated on
  182  the basis of the compensation proposed by the competing firms or
  183  vendors to provide professional services. A proposal shall then
  184  be evaluated on the basis of any other qualifications the
  185  agency, special district, or local government deems applicable
  186  to the selection of a qualified firm or vendor. Each agency that
  187  is subject to chapter 120, Florida Statutes, shall adopt rules
  188  for the competitive bidding of professional services.
  189         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.