BILL NUMBER: AB 963 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 20, 2013
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 amended, 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 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 pursuant to
subdivision (b) or (c). A proposal shall not be considered if it has
not been received at the place, and 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.
In the event that the bidders with the lowest and second lowest
bid price have a record of environmentally preferable purchasing, the
awarding agency shall select the lowest responsible bidder.
(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 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 12400 .
(3) The contract shall be awarded to the bidder whose proposal is
given the highest score by the evaluation committee.
(d) 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
12400 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.