BILL NUMBER: AB 963 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
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 the provisions of
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 in
accordance with the provisions of pursuant to
subdivision (b) or (c). No proposals A
proposal shall not be considered that have
if it has not been received at the place, and
prior to before 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.
(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.
(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.
(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
utilized used 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. The agency evaluation committee shall consider
a bidder's environmentally preferable purchasing as defined in
Section 12404.
(3) The contract shall be awarded to the bidder whose proposal is
given the highest score by the evaluation committee.
(d) Nothing in this This section
shall not 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.
(f) A bidder shall be subject to Section 12404 if the bidder
includes environmentally preferable purchasing as part of his or her
proposal.
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, among other things,
raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging,
distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, disposal, energy
efficiency, product performance, durability, safety, the needs of the
purchaser, and cost.