Florida Senate - 2024                              CS for SB 870
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senator Boyd
       
       
       
       
       585-02355-24                                           2024870c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to unsolicited proposals for public
    3         private partnerships; amending s. 255.065, F.S.;
    4         authorizing, rather than requiring, a responsible
    5         public entity to publish notice of an unsolicited
    6         proposal for a qualifying project in a specified
    7         manner and that other proposals for the same project
    8         will be accepted; authorizing a responsible public
    9         entity to proceed with an unsolicited proposal for a
   10         qualifying project without a public bidding process if
   11         the responsible public entity holds a public meeting
   12         that meets certain requirements and holds a subsequent
   13         public meeting at which it makes a certain
   14         determination; requiring the responsible public entity
   15         to consider certain factors; requiring the responsible
   16         public entity to publish a certain report in the
   17         Florida Administrative Register for a certain period
   18         of time in certain circumstances; revising certain
   19         determinations that a responsible public entity must
   20         make before approving a comprehensive agreement;
   21         conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
   22         providing an effective date.
   23          
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. Present paragraphs (c) through (f) of subsection
   27  (3) of section 255.065, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
   28  paragraphs (e) through (h), respectively, new paragraphs (c) and
   29  (d) are added to that subsection, and paragraph (b) and present
   30  paragraph (d) of that subsection and paragraph (c) of subsection
   31  (5) of that section are amended, to read:
   32         255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
   33         (3) PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES.—A responsible public entity may
   34  receive unsolicited proposals or may solicit proposals for a
   35  qualifying project and may thereafter enter into a comprehensive
   36  agreement with a private entity, or a consortium of private
   37  entities, for the building, upgrading, operating, ownership, or
   38  financing of facilities.
   39         (b)1. The responsible public entity may request a proposal
   40  from private entities for a qualifying project or, if the
   41  responsible public entity receives an unsolicited proposal for a
   42  qualifying project and the responsible public entity intends to
   43  enter into a comprehensive agreement for the project described
   44  in the unsolicited proposal, the responsible public entity may
   45  shall publish notice in the Florida Administrative Register and
   46  a newspaper of general circulation at least once a week for 2
   47  weeks stating that the responsible public entity has received a
   48  proposal and will accept other proposals for the same project.
   49         2. The timeframe within which the responsible public entity
   50  may accept other proposals shall be determined by the
   51  responsible public entity on a project-by-project basis based
   52  upon the complexity of the qualifying project and the public
   53  benefit to be gained by allowing a longer or shorter period of
   54  time within which other proposals may be received; however, the
   55  timeframe for allowing other proposals must be at least 21 days,
   56  but no more than 120 days, after the initial date of
   57  publication. If approved by a majority vote of the responsible
   58  public entity’s governing body, the responsible public entity
   59  may alter the timeframe for accepting proposals to more
   60  adequately suit the needs of the qualifying project. A copy of
   61  the notice must be mailed to each local government in the
   62  affected area.
   63         (c)The responsible public entity may proceed with an
   64  unsolicited proposal for a qualifying project without engaging
   65  in a public bidding process if the responsible public entity
   66  holds a duly noticed public meeting at which the proposal is
   67  presented and affected public entities and members of the public
   68  are able to provide comment and at a second duly noticed public
   69  meeting determines that the proposal is in the public’s
   70  interest. In making the public interest determination, the
   71  responsible public entity must consider all of the following
   72  factors:
   73         1.The benefits to the public.
   74         2.The financial structure of and the economic efficiencies
   75  achieved by the proposal.
   76         3.The qualifications and experience of the private entity
   77  that submitted the proposal and such entity’s ability to perform
   78  the project.
   79         4.The project’s compatibility with regional infrastructure
   80  plans.
   81         5.Public comments submitted at the meeting. The
   82  responsible public entity must provide a statement that explains
   83  why the proposal should proceed and addresses such comments.
   84         (d)If the responsible public entity decides to proceed
   85  with an unsolicited proposal without engaging in a public
   86  bidding process, the responsible public entity must publish in
   87  the Florida Administrative Register for at least 7 days a report
   88  that includes all of the following:
   89         1.The public interest determination required under
   90  paragraph (c).
   91         2.The factors considered in making such public interest
   92  determination.
   93         3.The responsible public entity’s findings based on each
   94  considered factor.
   95         (f)(d) Before approving a comprehensive agreement, the
   96  responsible public entity must determine that the proposed
   97  project:
   98         1. Is in the public’s best interest, if the proposal was
   99  solicited. If the proposal was unsolicited, the responsible
  100  public entity must determine that the proposed project has been
  101  determined to be in the public’s interest in accordance with
  102  paragraph (c).
  103         2. Is for a facility that is owned by the responsible
  104  public entity or for a facility for which ownership will be
  105  conveyed to the responsible public entity. For a proposed
  106  project that was unsolicited, if ownership will not be conveyed
  107  to the responsible public entity within 10 years after initial
  108  public operation begins, the public benefits apart from
  109  ownership must be identified and stated by the responsible
  110  public entity in the public interest determination required
  111  under paragraph (c).
  112         3. Has adequate safeguards in place to ensure that
  113  additional costs or service disruptions are not imposed on the
  114  public in the event of material default or cancellation of the
  115  comprehensive agreement by the responsible public entity.
  116         4. Has adequate safeguards in place to ensure that the
  117  responsible public entity or private entity has the opportunity
  118  to add capacity to the proposed project or other facilities
  119  serving similar predominantly public purposes.
  120         5. If the proposal was solicited, will be owned by the
  121  responsible public entity upon completion, expiration, or
  122  termination of the comprehensive agreement and upon payment of
  123  the amounts financed.
  124         (5) PROJECT QUALIFICATION AND PROCESS.—
  125         (c) After the public notification period has expired in the
  126  case of an unsolicited proposal that is submitted and noticed
  127  for public bidding, the responsible public entity shall rank the
  128  proposals received in order of preference. In ranking the
  129  proposals, the responsible public entity may consider factors
  130  that include, but are not limited to, professional
  131  qualifications, general business terms, innovative design
  132  techniques or cost-reduction terms, and finance plans. The
  133  responsible public entity may then begin negotiations for a
  134  comprehensive agreement with the highest-ranked firm. If the
  135  responsible public entity is not satisfied with the results of
  136  the negotiations, the responsible public entity may terminate
  137  negotiations with the proposer and negotiate with the second
  138  ranked or subsequent-ranked firms, in the order consistent with
  139  this procedure. If only one proposal is received, the
  140  responsible public entity may negotiate in good faith, and if
  141  the responsible public entity is not satisfied with the results
  142  of the negotiations, the responsible public entity may terminate
  143  negotiations with the proposer. Notwithstanding this paragraph,
  144  the responsible public entity may reject all proposals at any
  145  point in the process until a contract with the proposer is
  146  executed.
  147         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.