BILL NUMBER: SB 954 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 7, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senators Figueroa and Dutton
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to add Sections 12103.5, 12104, and 12104.5 to the Public
Contract Code, relating to public contracts, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 954, Figueroa Information technology goods and services:
procurement.
Existing law sets forth the requirements for the acquisition of
information technology goods and services by the state, and requires
all contracts for the acquisition of those goods and services to be
made by or under the supervision of the Department of General
Services, with expenditures in this regard subject to the review and
approval of the Department of Finance.
This bill makes certain findings regarding the manner in which
state agencies procure information technology goods and services.
This bill would require the Department of General Services, on or
before January 1, 2007, to develop policies and guidelines for the
procurement of information technology goods and services, including
identifying and documenting information for requests for proposals,
publishing policies regarding obtaining bids for and acquiring
information technology, establishing a centralized entity responsible
for information technology procurement methods within the Department
of General Services, developing uniform standards, with at least 2
public hearings, for information technology procurement, and
communicating rules and requirements to vendors and the general
public.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The State of California depends on information technology
goods and services to accomplish its legally mandated core business
functions and public services and it is in the best interest of the
state to procure these services according to best practices, thereby
rationalizing the process and providing a consistent basis for
communication and decisionmaking.
(b) Information technology improves the functioning of government
by providing increased public access and enhanced customer service.
(c) Conducting business with technology industry vendors in a
professional manner with an attitude of cooperative, direct, and
straightforward communication serves the best interests of the State
of California and its citizens for the following reasons:
(1) Vendors can better respond to the state if published business
and technical requirements are clear.
(2) An efficient and effective procurement process saves the state
valuable dollars and time, mitigating overall project risk long
term.
(d) Information technology goods and services are complex and
multidimensional. The implementation of new technology invariably
impacts existing technology, dependent and independent information
technology systems, governmental business processes, operational
expectations and outcomes, and future technical and operations
choices for the functions of a governmental entity. Purchases,
therefore, should be considered in the appropriate context with a
total cost of ownership for the state.
(e) New information systems that require information technology
goods and services for their implementation should be conceived in
terms of a "solution." Thinking and planning according to an
information technology "solution" mindset appropriately considers the
complete set of information technology goods and services required
to complete an objective or set of objectives in the context of the
actual business needs of the purchasing state agency. This also
provides a means with which to consider the overall purchasing
decision and weigh the benefits of different information technology
options according to the total cost of ownership for the state.
SEC. 2. Section 12103.5 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
12103.5. Beginning January 1, 2007, for those information
technology purchases for which the department determines that a
request for proposal (RFP) is appropriate, the department shall
identify and document the following, with respect to information
technology procurements, prior to releasing the RFP:
(a) Identify the legislative mandate, state business, or
operational reason for the information technology procurement.
(b) Identify the existing business processes currently used to
accomplish the legislative mandate, state business, or operational
reason.
(c) Identify the most important priorities for the information
technology project to accomplish.
(d) Identify what current technology is being used and how it is
being used.
(e) If the data used in a proposed information technology system
comes from multiple sources, identify the existing business processes
or technical systems that produce and maintain the source data to
ensure interoperability.
(f) Identify how the new information technology project leverages
existing technology investments while accomplishing its business
objectives.
SEC. 3. Section 12104 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
12104. (a) (1) Commencing on or before January 1, 2007, the State
Contracting Manual shall set forth all policies, procedures, and
methods that shall be used by the department when seeking to obtain
bids for the acquisition of information technology, including any
policies contained in the State Administrative Manual.
(2) Revisions to the manual must be publicly announced, including,
but not limited to, postings on the department's Internet homepage.
(b) On or before January 1, 2007, the department shall designate a
single entity within the department that shall be solely responsible
for the development, implementation, and maintenance of standardized
methods for the development of information technology requests for
proposals.
(c) Commencing on or before January 1, 2007, all information
technology requests for proposals shall be reviewed by the Office of
Legal Services prior to release to the public.
(d) (1) On or before January 1, 2007, the department, in
consultation with a representative from the Department of Technology
Services, the Department of Finance, the Senate, and the Assembly,
along with representatives from the information technology industry,
shall issue a management memorandum setting forth uniform standards
for information technology procurement. The management memorandum
shall prioritize how the technology will advance the public policy
purpose of the state program that the information technology will
serve over the department's or client's preference for a particular
information product design. Prior to issuing the management
memorandum, the department shall hold at least two public hearings on
the standards that are proposed to be included in the management
memorandum.(2) The management memorandum issued pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall not apply to procurements necessary to meet the
requirements of the Department of Justice Hawkins Data Center.
SEC. 4. Section 12104.5 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
12104.5. (a) All rules and requirements governing an information
technology acquisition, for which the department determines that a
request for proposal (RFP) is appropriate, shall be communicated in
writing to all vendors that have expressed an intent to bid and shall
be posted in a public location. Any changes to the rules and
requirements governing that RFP shall be communicated in writing to
all vendors that have expressed an intent to bid and shall be posted
in a public location. No requirements other than those provided by
law or outside of the published RFP and posted addendums shall be
used by the department to score bids.
(b) The requirements of this section shall be in addition to any
other requirement provided by law.
SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to protect the integrity of California's information
technology procurement practices, and to ensure that the state is not
wasting resources on poorly designed technology investments that may
fail to perform in critical state health and safety programs, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.