California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 963

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections 10344 and 12400 of the Public Contract Code, relating to state contracts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 963, as introduced, Levine. State contracts: request for proposal: procedures.

Existing law governs contracting between state agencies and private contractors, and sets forth requirements for the procurement of materials, supplies, equipment, and services, and the acquisition of information technology goods and services by state agencies.

This bill would require a bidder’s record of environmentally preferable purchasing, as defined, to be a factor in awarding a contract under a request for proposal, as specified.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 10344 of the Public Contract Code is
amended to read:

10344.  

(a) Contracts subject to begin delete the provisions of end delete this article
may be awarded under a procedure that makes use of a request for
proposal. State agencies that use this procedure shall include in
the request for proposal a clear, precise description of the work to
be performed or services to be provided, a description of the format
that proposals shall follow and the elements they shall contain, the
standards the agency will use in evaluating proposals, the date on
which proposals are due and the timetable the agency will follow
in reviewing and evaluating them.

State agencies that use a procedure that makes use of a request
for proposal shall evaluate proposals and award contracts begin delete in
accordance with the provisions of end delete begin insert pursuant to end insert subdivision (b) or
(c). begin delete No proposals end delete begin insert A proposal end insert shall begin insert not end insert be considered begin delete that have end delete begin insert if
it has end insert not been received at the place, and begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert the closing
time, stated in the request for proposal.

(b) State agencies that use the evaluation and selection procedure
in this subdivision shall include in the request for proposal, in
addition to the information required by subdivision (a), a
requirement that bidders submit their proposals with the bid price
and all cost information in a separate, sealed envelope.

Proposals shall be evaluated and the contract awarded in the
following manner:

(1) All proposals received shall be reviewed to determine those
that meet the format requirements and the standards specified in
the request for proposal.

(2) The sealed envelopes containing the bid price and cost
information for those proposals that meet the format requirements
and standards shall then be publicly opened and read.

(3) The contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder meeting the standards.

begin insert

(4) (A) If there is a tie for the lowest responsible bidder, the
awarding agency shall select the bidder with a superior record of
environmentally preferable purchasing as defined in Section 12400.

end insert begin insert

(B) If the bid price of the lowest responsible bidder is not more
than 3% lower than the second lowest bid price, the awarding
agency shall select, among the bidders with the lowest and second
lowest bid price, the bidder with a superior record of
environmentally prefeable purchasing as defined in Section 12400.

end insert

(c) State agencies that use the evaluation and selection procedure
in this subdivision shall include in the request for proposal, in
addition to the information required by subdivision (a), a
description of the methods that will be used in evaluating and
scoring the proposals. Any evaluation and scoring method shall
ensure that substantial weight in relationship to all other criteria
begin delete utilized end delete begin insert used end insert shall be given to the contract price proposed by the
bidder.

Proposals shall be evaluated and the contract awarded in the
following manner:

(1) All proposals shall be reviewed to determine which meet
the format requirements specified in the request for proposal.

(2) All proposals meeting the formal requirements shall then
be submitted to an agency evaluation committee which shall
evaluate and score the proposals using the methods specified in
the request for proposal. All proposals and all evaluation and
scoring sheets shall be available for public inspection at the
conclusion of the committee scoring process. begin insert The agency
evaluation committee shall consider a bidder’s environmentally
preferable purchasing as defined in Section 12404. end insert

(3) The contract shall be awarded to the bidder whose proposal
is given the highest score by the evaluation committee.

(d)  begin delete Nothing in this end delete begin insert This end insert section shall begin insert not end insert require the awarding
of the contract if no proposals are received containing bids offering
a contract price that in the opinion of the state agency is a
reasonable price.

(e) (1) In addition to the information required by subdivision
(a), a request for proposal for a contract that involves the furnishing
of equipment, materials, or supplies shall contain the following
statement:

“It is unlawful for any person engaged in business within this
state to sell or use any article or product as a “loss leader” as
defined in Section 17030 of the Business and Professions Code.”

(2) On and after March 31, 2010, and until December 31, 2011,
if a request for proposal does not contain the statement required
by paragraph (1), the awarding agency shall report this error to the
department within 30 days of the date the awarding agency
discovers this error.

(3) The department shall post in the State Contracting Manual
instructions for including the statement required by paragraph (1)
in all affected contracts.

(4) The statement required by paragraph (1) shall be deemed to
be part of a request for proposal even if the statement is
inadvertently omitted from the request for proposal.

begin insert

(f) A bidder shall be subject to Section 12404 if the bidder
includes environmentally preferable purchasing as part of his or
her proposal.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 12400 of the Public Contract Code is amended
to read:

12400.  

For purposes of this chapter, “environmentally
preferable purchasing” means the procurement or acquisition of
goods and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human
health and the environment when compared with competing goods
or services that serve the same purpose. This comparison shall
take into consideration, to the extent feasible, begin insert among other things, end insert
raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging,
distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, disposal, energy
efficiency, product performance, durability, safety, the needs of
the purchaser, and cost.