| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to procurement of personal property and |
| 3 | services; creating s. 287.019, F.S.; defining |
| 4 | "privatization"; requiring the head of a state agency, |
| 5 | prior to the purchase, lease, or acquisition of |
| 6 | commodities or contractual services by privatization, to |
| 7 | conduct a business case evaluation of the proposed |
| 8 | privatization; providing elements and components of the |
| 9 | evaluation; requiring the head of a state agency, |
| 10 | subsequent to the purchase, lease, or acquisition of |
| 11 | commodities or contractual services by privatization, to |
| 12 | conduct an evaluation of the privatization; providing |
| 13 | evaluation criteria; requiring state agencies to establish |
| 14 | a system for monitoring the performance of a privatization |
| 15 | contractor and for monitoring the contractor's compliance |
| 16 | with the terms and conditions of the privatization |
| 17 | contract; requiring state agencies to conduct annual |
| 18 | evaluations of the performance of privatization |
| 19 | contractors and report their findings to the Legislature, |
| 20 | the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 21 | Accountability, and the Auditor General; requiring the |
| 22 | Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 23 | Accountability and the Auditor General to periodically |
| 24 | examine any privatization in order to assist the |
| 25 | Legislature in evaluating whether expected savings and |
| 26 | outcomes have been achieved through privatization; |
| 27 | creating s. 14.204, F.S.; creating the Center for |
| 28 | Efficient Government; providing purposes of the center; |
| 29 | providing for an oversight advisory board to oversee the |
| 30 | activities of the center; providing for membership of the |
| 31 | board; creating s. 110.1095, F.S.; requiring executive |
| 32 | agencies to address the transition of employees affected |
| 33 | by outsourcing initiatives; requiring agencies to develop |
| 34 | job placement policies for such employees; requiring |
| 35 | agencies to develop a reemployment and retraining |
| 36 | assistance plan for employees; authorizing agencies to |
| 37 | provide job skills retraining to any impacted employee who |
| 38 | is not offered comparable employment within 1 year of |
| 39 | separating from state employment; requiring agencies to |
| 40 | coordinate the impact and transition of affected employees |
| 41 | with the Agency for Workforce Innovation; requiring the |
| 42 | coordination of services for state employees with |
| 43 | Workforce Florida, Inc., and regional workforce boards |
| 44 | throughout the state; requiring agencies to offer critical |
| 45 | employee retention salary increases; authorizing agencies |
| 46 | to use a percentage of the savings realized from an |
| 47 | implemented outsourcing initiative as an employee |
| 48 | recognition allocation to reward the employee or group of |
| 49 | employees who proposed the initiative; requiring agencies |
| 50 | to consider incorporating severance compensation |
| 51 | provisions into outsourcing contracts; providing an |
| 52 | effective date. |
| 53 |
|
| 54 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 55 |
|
| 56 | Section 1. Section 287.019, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 57 | to read: |
| 58 | 287.019 Privatization evaluation and assessment.-- |
| 59 | (1) For the purposes of this section, "privatization" |
| 60 | means entering into a contract with one or more private entities |
| 61 | for the purchase, lease, or acquisition of any commodity or |
| 62 | contractual service required by an agency of the state under |
| 63 | this chapter when: |
| 64 | (a) It is maintained by the department that such commodity |
| 65 | or contractual service can be provided in a more efficient |
| 66 | manner by a private entity; and |
| 67 | (b) The expenditure by the contracting agency for the |
| 68 | purchase, lease, or acquisition of commodities or contractual |
| 69 | services exceeds $10 million annually. |
| 70 | (2) Prior to the purchase, lease, or acquisition of any |
| 71 | commodity or contractual service required by an agency of the |
| 72 | state under this chapter which meets the definition provided in |
| 73 | subsection (1), the head of the state agency shall conduct a |
| 74 | business case evaluation of the proposed privatization which |
| 75 | shall specifically address the potential for the privatization |
| 76 | to result in a verifiable cost savings. A business case |
| 77 | evaluation for a privatization proposal shall contain the |
| 78 | following elements: |
| 79 | (a) Description and rationale.--The description and |
| 80 | rationale element shall contain the following components: |
| 81 | 1. A description of the program or service to be |
| 82 | privatized. |
| 83 | 2. An analysis of the agency's current performance and |
| 84 | associated needs or problems with respect to the program or |
| 85 | service that is the subject of the privatization proposal and |
| 86 | proposed solutions. |
| 87 | 3. The benefits, such as cost savings or program |
| 88 | improvements, that are expected to result from privatization. |
| 89 | (b) Cost-benefit analysis.--The cost-benefit analysis |
| 90 | element shall contain the following components: |
| 91 | 1. An accounting of the current direct and indirect |
| 92 | expenditures for the program or services for which privatization |
| 93 | is proposed. Indirect costs, as determined by the agency, |
| 94 | include, but are not limited to, providing executive direction, |
| 95 | legal services, and administrative support services such as |
| 96 | personnel, finance, and budgeting; program direction, |
| 97 | monitoring, and other activities that are essential to operating |
| 98 | a program but are not directly associated with providing a |
| 99 | service; and the salaries, benefits, and expenses of the |
| 100 | individuals overseeing the contractor for the privatization. |
| 101 | Direct costs, as determined by the agency, include, but are not |
| 102 | limited to, salaries and benefits of employees formerly |
| 103 | providing the program or service. |
| 104 | 2. An analysis demonstrating the potential savings or |
| 105 | increased costs that are expected to occur as a result of |
| 106 | privatization. The analysis shall include the identification of |
| 107 | crucial factors that could affect the potential savings |
| 108 | realized, the effect of changes in these factors on costs and |
| 109 | benefits of the proposal, and a list of state assets that would |
| 110 | be transferred to the contractor if the privatization plan is |
| 111 | implemented. |
| 112 | 3. If the proposed privatization will occur under a share- |
| 113 | in-savings contract, a description of the methodology that will |
| 114 | be used to calculate savings and payments to a contractor under |
| 115 | such contract. For purposes of this section, a "share-in-savings |
| 116 | contract" is an agreement in which an agency pays a contractor |
| 117 | based on the financial benefits derived from the contractor's |
| 118 | performance and which contains quantifiable baseline data that |
| 119 | will be used to establish the basis upon which the percentage of |
| 120 | savings paid to a contractor will be determined. |
| 121 | (c) Contract monitoring and contingency plans.--The |
| 122 | contract monitoring and contingency plans element shall contain |
| 123 | the following components: |
| 124 | 1. The process the agency plans to use to monitor the |
| 125 | performance of the privatization contractor and the estimated |
| 126 | monitoring costs the agency will incur for this oversight |
| 127 | function. |
| 128 | 2. A contingency plan specifying actions that will be |
| 129 | taken to address potential problems such as vendor prices |
| 130 | exceeding anticipated levels, unexpected delays by the |
| 131 | contractor in performing services by required deadlines, failure |
| 132 | to meet performance expectations, or inability to meet |
| 133 | obligations or abandonment of the contract. |
| 134 | (d) Public records access.--The public records access |
| 135 | element shall contain the following components: |
| 136 | 1. A list of public records issues pertinent to the |
| 137 | proposed privatization, including whether any confidential or |
| 138 | exempt records would be maintained by the contractor and the |
| 139 | procedures that would be used to ensure that the contractor |
| 140 | maintains security and privacy of confidential or exempt |
| 141 | records. |
| 142 | 2. Agency plans to require the contractor to make |
| 143 | available for inspection and review any program-related records |
| 144 | that it produces or collects to the same extent and in the same |
| 145 | manner as such records would be available from a state agency. |
| 146 | (3) If the business case evaluation conducted pursuant to |
| 147 | subsection (2) indicates that the proposed privatization will |
| 148 | result in a verifiable cost savings, the evaluation must |
| 149 | ascertain whether the cost savings will be directly attributable |
| 150 | to any of the following: |
| 151 | (a) Lower labor costs than that of the state agency. |
| 152 | (b) Reduced regulatory requirements. |
| 153 | (c) Reduced overhead. |
| 154 | (d) Increased flexibility with respect to the motivation, |
| 155 | reward, and termination of employees. |
| 156 | (e) Access to better equipment than that available to the |
| 157 | state agency. |
| 158 | (f) The ability to react more quickly to changing |
| 159 | conditions than the state agency. If so, was this ability |
| 160 | attributable to: |
| 161 | 1. An ability to shift funds to pay unexpected expenses |
| 162 | without the encumbrance of budget transfer authority under which |
| 163 | the state agency must operate. |
| 164 | 2. An ability to expand operations more quickly than the |
| 165 | state agency. |
| 166 | (g) Staffing flexibility, including the ability to obtain |
| 167 | specialized expertise by contract or through the hiring of a |
| 168 | consultant for one-time occasional projects. |
| 169 | (h) The avoidance of political factors, which may include |
| 170 | the use of private-sector experts not aligned or associated with |
| 171 | partisan political groups. |
| 172 | (i) The avoidance of prohibitive or excessive start-up |
| 173 | costs needed to provide appropriate up-front funding for service |
| 174 | infrastructure. |
| 175 | (4) One year after entering into a contract for the |
| 176 | purchase, lease, or acquisition of any commodity or contractual |
| 177 | service required by an agency of the state under this chapter, |
| 178 | which meets the definition provided in subsection (1), the |
| 179 | Center for Efficient Government shall conduct an evaluation of |
| 180 | the results of the privatization to determine whether the |
| 181 | privatization yielded or failed to yield the projected cost |
| 182 | savings based on the evaluation conducted pursuant to |
| 183 | subsections (2) and (3) prior to entering into the contract and |
| 184 | an evaluation of the results of the privatization during its |
| 185 | first year which shall specifically address whether the |
| 186 | privatization resulted in a verifiable cost increase. If it is |
| 187 | determined that the privatization resulted in a verifiable cost |
| 188 | increase, the evaluation must ascertain whether the cost |
| 189 | increase was directly attributable to any of the following: |
| 190 | (a) Reduced public accountability. If so, did the lack of |
| 191 | public accountability or reduced public accountability manifest |
| 192 | itself in increased costs resulting from: |
| 193 | 1. Lack of public access to service and financial records |
| 194 | maintained by the provider. |
| 195 | 2. Variations in the quality of services being provided to |
| 196 | citizens. |
| 197 | 3. Entering into a contract the term of which was too |
| 198 | lengthy, thus precluding the ability to adjust to a changing |
| 199 | condition or circumstance. |
| 200 | 4. A resultant inability to gauge or monitor poor |
| 201 | performance. In an instance where such poor performance resulted |
| 202 | in termination of a contract, was increased cost and/or hardship |
| 203 | incurred because: |
| 204 | a. The contractor was a sole-source provider of a service; |
| 205 | or |
| 206 | b. The contractor was providing a service in which no |
| 207 | service disruptions could be tolerated. |
| 208 | (b) Service quality problems which include, but are not |
| 209 | limited to: |
| 210 | 1. Providing service to only those who do not have many |
| 211 | needs, commonly known as "creaming." |
| 212 | 2. Identifiable cost-cutting measures that result in cost |
| 213 | increases including, but not limited to, frequent replacement of |
| 214 | poorly maintained equipment. |
| 215 | 3. Service quality problems that arise from contract |
| 216 | deficiencies which include, but are not limited to: |
| 217 | a. Poorly defined responsibilities of the contractor. |
| 218 | b. Lack of service quality performance measures. |
| 219 | c. The absence of penalties for nonperformance. |
| 220 | d. The absence of contingency plans. |
| 221 | (c) Higher long-term costs. If so, did the higher long- |
| 222 | term costs result from: |
| 223 | 1. The submission by the contractor of a low initial bid |
| 224 | in order to obtain the contract followed by substantially |
| 225 | increasing costs in subsequent years when the agency previously |
| 226 | providing the service no longer has the staff or authority to |
| 227 | perform the service. |
| 228 | 2. The acceptance of a contract bid that appears low but |
| 229 | is in actuality higher than the in-house costs of the agency due |
| 230 | to the agency's inability to determine the actual cost of |
| 231 | providing services in-house because of agency accounting systems |
| 232 | which do not allocate all direct and indirect costs to services. |
| 233 | 3. Failure in the request for proposals that solicited the |
| 234 | bid for the service to mandate that the contractor achieve a |
| 235 | specified level of savings. |
| 236 | 4. Failure of the contract to limit future price |
| 237 | increases. |
| 238 | (d) Workforce issues including, but not limited to: |
| 239 | 1. Employee layoffs resulting in morale problems. |
| 240 | 2. Union challenges to privatization. |
| 241 | 3. Disruptions resulting from bumping rights when affected |
| 242 | employees assume jobs in other areas. |
| 243 | 4. Failure of an agency's ability to meet Equal Employment |
| 244 | Opportunity goals and subsequent discrimination challenges |
| 245 | resulting from inordinate numbers of minority groups being |
| 246 | removed from state payrolls. |
| 247 | 5. Failure in a contract to require the contractor to |
| 248 | guarantee jobs and wages for a limited time period. |
| 249 | Section 2. (1) No later than January 1, 2006, each state |
| 250 | agency shall establish a system for monitoring the performance |
| 251 | of a contractor with whom the state has entered into a contract |
| 252 | for the purchase, lease, or acquisition of commodities or |
| 253 | contractual services by privatization as defined in s. |
| 254 | 287.019(1), Florida Statutes, and for monitoring the |
| 255 | contractor's compliance with the terms and conditions of the |
| 256 | privatization contract. |
| 257 | (2) Beginning January 1, 2006, each state agency, in |
| 258 | coordination with the Center for Efficient Government, shall |
| 259 | conduct an annual evaluation of the performance of any |
| 260 | contractor with whom the state has entered into a contract for |
| 261 | the purchase, lease, or acquisition of commodities or |
| 262 | contractual services by privatization exceeding $10 million and |
| 263 | report its findings to the Legislature, the Office of Program |
| 264 | Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, and the Auditor |
| 265 | General. |
| 266 | (3) Beginning January 1, 2006, the Office of Program |
| 267 | Policy Analysis and Government Accountability and the Auditor |
| 268 | General shall be required to periodically examine any |
| 269 | privatization exceeding $10 million in order to assist the |
| 270 | Legislature in evaluating whether expected savings and outcomes |
| 271 | have been achieved through privatization. |
| 272 | Section 3. Section 14.204, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 273 | read: |
| 274 | 14.204 Center For Efficient Government; creation; purpose; |
| 275 | oversight advisory board.-- |
| 276 | (1) The Center for Efficient Government is created and |
| 277 | administratively housed in the Department of Management |
| 278 | Services. |
| 279 | (2) The purpose of the center is to improve the way state |
| 280 | agencies deliver services to Florida's citizens. In furtherance |
| 281 | of this purpose, the center shall: |
| 282 | (a) Review past outsourcing projects for best business |
| 283 | practices. |
| 284 | (b) Review existing outsourcing plans within the state |
| 285 | agencies to ensure compliance with center standards and business |
| 286 | case criteria, execution of effective contracts with vendors, |
| 287 | and implementation of successful change management. |
| 288 | (c) Provide to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of |
| 289 | the House of Representatives, and the Governor, by July 1, |
| 290 | annually, a written report containing a list of outsourcing |
| 291 | projects and initiatives that can be developed over the next 3- |
| 292 | year period. |
| 293 | (d) Maintain a database that contains information about |
| 294 | initiatives which are being performed by contractors to include, |
| 295 | but not be limited to, the lead agency name and description of |
| 296 | program or service being outsourced, names of contractors and |
| 297 | subcontractors on contract, projected and actual completion |
| 298 | dates by project phase, a description of performance measures |
| 299 | contained in the contract, and actual performance measures and |
| 300 | projected costs and revenues associated with the contract. |
| 301 | (e) Develop and implement a program to transition impacted |
| 302 | employees. This program should recognize their contributions to |
| 303 | the state and the state's commitment to minimize the personal |
| 304 | impact on such employees while implementing beneficial programs |
| 305 | that reduce the cost of government for all citizens of the |
| 306 | state. The center shall provide recommendations for this program |
| 307 | to the Governor on an ongoing basis. |
| 308 | (3)(a) The Center for Efficient Government Oversight |
| 309 | Advisory Board is established for the purpose of reviewing and |
| 310 | evaluating the performance of the center in carrying out its |
| 311 | duties under this section and investigating and evaluating any |
| 312 | issues relevant to the center's review of past outsourcing |
| 313 | projects and existing outsourcing plans or any other activities |
| 314 | of the center the board deems appropriate. The center shall make |
| 315 | reports as it deems necessary to the Governor, the President of |
| 316 | the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the |
| 317 | Legislative Budget Commission concerning its findings and |
| 318 | recommendations. The board is composed of the following members: |
| 319 | 1. The Chief Financial Officer, who shall serve as chair |
| 320 | of the board. |
| 321 | 2. A member of the Senate appointed by the President of |
| 322 | the Senate, who shall be a member of the majority party. |
| 323 | 3. A member of the Senate appointed by the President of |
| 324 | the Senate, who shall be a member of the minority party. |
| 325 | 4. A member of the House of Representatives appointed by |
| 326 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be a |
| 327 | member of the majority party. |
| 328 | 5. A member of the House of Representatives appointed by |
| 329 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be a |
| 330 | member of the minority party. |
| 331 | 6. The Secretary of the Department of Management Services. |
| 332 | 7. The Secretary of Health. |
| 333 | 8. The Executive Director of the Agency for Workforce |
| 334 | Innovation. |
| 335 | 9. The Executive Director of the Department of Revenue. |
| 336 | (b) Board members are entitled to receive per diem and |
| 337 | travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes, |
| 338 | while carrying out official business of the board and shall be |
| 339 | reimbursed by their respective agencies in accordance with |
| 340 | chapter 112. |
| 341 | (4) All agencies are directed to render assistance, |
| 342 | resources, and cooperation to the center. |
| 343 | Section 4. Section 110.1095, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 344 | to read: |
| 345 | 110.1095 Transition of employees affected by outsourcing |
| 346 | initiatives.-- |
| 347 | (1) Executive agencies shall address the transition of all |
| 348 | affected employees in the business case for any outsourcing |
| 349 | proposal submitted to the Center for Efficient Government under |
| 350 | s. 14.204 and through the procurement of such outsourced |
| 351 | services. |
| 352 | (2) Each agency shall develop job placement policies for |
| 353 | employees affected by an outsourcing initiative. Policies shall |
| 354 | include, but not be limited to, requiring that each impacted |
| 355 | state employee be interviewed by the contractor and considered |
| 356 | for job placement within the company. |
| 357 | (3) Each agency shall develop a reemployment and |
| 358 | retraining assistance plan for employees who are not retained by |
| 359 | the agency or employed by the contractor. Agencies may provide |
| 360 | job skills retraining to any impacted employee who is not |
| 361 | offered comparable employment within one year of separating from |
| 362 | state employment. Agencies shall coordinate the impact and |
| 363 | transition of affected employees with the Agency for Workforce |
| 364 | Innovation. The agency shall also coordinate services for state |
| 365 | employees with Workforce Florida, Inc., and regional workforce |
| 366 | boards throughout the state. |
| 367 | (4) In accordance with existing statutory authority, |
| 368 | agencies shall, within their approval budgets, offer critical |
| 369 | employee retention salary increases in order to retain those |
| 370 | individuals identified as critical to successful transition of |
| 371 | the outsourced service to the contractor. |
| 372 | (5) In accordance with existing statutory authority, |
| 373 | agencies may use a percentage of the savings realized from an |
| 374 | implemented outsourcing initiative as an employee recognition |
| 375 | allocation to reward the employee or group of employees who |
| 376 | proposed the initiative. |
| 377 | (6) Agencies shall consider incorporating severance |
| 378 | compensation provisions into outsourcing contracts requiring the |
| 379 | vendor to create an employee severance pay pool as part of the |
| 380 | contract. Employees who are not offered employment with the |
| 381 | state, the vendor, or another entity would be provided severance |
| 382 | pay. |
| 383 | (7) The Department of Management Services, Division of |
| 384 | Human Resource Management, and the Center for Efficient |
| 385 | Government shall provide technical assistance to the agencies, |
| 386 | as requested, to facilitate development of the measures set |
| 387 | forth herein. |
| 388 | (8) Agencies are directed to implement the policies and |
| 389 | programs set forth in this section. |
| 390 | Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |