BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 558 Hearing Date: 6/29/2015
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|Author: |Low |
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|Version: |3/26/2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Public contracts: state contracts: information
technology goods and services
DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Technology
(Caltech) to develop procedures to make large-scale information
technology (IT) procurements more efficient by requiring
electronic submission of bids and other documents whenever
possible.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS) and
Caltech to adopt rules and regulations as are necessary to
govern the acquisition and disposal of IT goods and services.
2)Requires contract awards for all large-scale systems
integration projects to be based on the proposal that provides
the most value-effective solutions to the state's
requirements, as specified, and requires evaluation criteria
for the acquisition of IT goods and services, including
systems integration, to provide for the selection of a
contractor on an objective basis not limited to cost alone.
3)Requires Caltech to invite active participation, review,
advice, comment, and assistance from their private sector and
state agencies in developing procedures to streamline and make
AB 558 (Low) Page 2 of ?
the acquisition process more efficient, and requires
solicitations for acquisitions based on evaluation criteria
other than cost alone to provide that sealed cost proposals be
submitted.
4)Requires DGS and Caltech to develop, implement, and maintain
standardized methods for the development of all IT requests
for proposals.
5)Requires all rules and requirements and any changes to the
rules and requirements governing an IT acquisition, for which
DGS or Caltech determines that a request for proposal is
appropriate, to be communicated in writing to all vendors that
have expressed an intent to bid and to be posted in a public
location.
This bill:
1)Requires Caltech, in developing procedures to streamline and
make the acquisition process more efficient, to require the
acquisition methodology to use electronic means, whenever
possible, to reduce paper submissions and allow for electronic
submission of bids and proposals.
2)Requires solicitations for acquisitions based on evaluation
criteria other than cost alone to provide that electronic cost
proposals be submitted whenever possible.
3)Requires that standardized methods currently developed by DGS
and Caltech include, whenever possible, electronic formats for
electronic bid solicitation and electronic receipt of bid
proposals.
4)Requires all rules and requirements and any changes to the
rules and requirements to be communicated electronically and
to be posted on the Internet Web site of DGS and Caltech.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "in the late
1970s the Legislature passed the most innovative and
groundbreaking IT procurement policies in the nation. However,
the original statute was not written in a way to accommodate
future technological advancements and the capabilities of modern
IT systems. For example, state projects like the California
AB 558 (Low) Page 3 of ?
Medicaid Management Information System (CA-MMIS), required
vendors to submit Bid Proposal Responses containing so much
paper it had to be delivered on pallets, which the state then
had to store and destroy at a later date. However, had the
procurement been structured to allow for the submission of
electronic proposals, the state and company would have saved
paper, staff time, and money."
The author further argues that this bill updates current law to
allow state departments to use electronic means whenever
possible for the posting of documents and allows for electronic
bid submission for IT procurement projects.
Electronic Submissions in California. In 1993, the Legislature
authorized state and local agencies to enter into contracts
electronically, and in 2002 the Legislature first authorized
state and local agencies to accept bids for public works and
other projects via the Internet. Around the same time,
then-Governor Gray Davis issued Executive Order D-17-00
establishing a Director of E-Government within the Governor's
office responsible for working with the then-Department of
Information Technology (DOIT) and state agencies to develop
plans to move many state services from paper-based systems to
electronic systems using the Internet to transmit documents.
Since that time the State of California has encouraged state
agencies and departments to use electronic submissions and
posting of information whenever possible.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 410 (Obernolte, 2015) requires a state agency to post on its
Internet Web site any report it is required by law to submit to
a committee of the Legislature. (Pending in Senate Governmental
Organization Committee)
AB 1365 (John A. Perez, Chapter 192, Statutes of 2013) required
state and local agencies to file mandated reports with the
Legislative Counsel electronically instead of as a printed copy.
AB 722 (Matthews, Chapter 266, Statutes of 2003) authorized DGS
to use a competitive online-bidding procedure for the
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acquisition of goods, services and IT.
AB 1585 (Accountability and Administrative Review, Chapter 7,
Statutes of 2010), eliminated hundreds of obsolete reports and
revised the procedure for mandatory reporting requirements by
state agencies with the goal of reducing paperwork and expanding
electronic reporting.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
TechAmerica (Source)
Natoma Technologies
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to TechAmerica, the State of
California is in the process of launching the Fi$cal System, one
of California's most significant administrative technology
upgrades in decades. The Fi$cal System will implement the
State's first ever electronic procurement system in December
2015, which will automate the current paper-based process
currently in use by state agencies and departments. TechAmerica
further argues that without AB 558 the State of California may
not be able to fully implement these capabilities in the
procurement of IT goods and services