| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Advisory Committee on State |
| 3 | Procurement; creating s. 287.0575, F.S.; establishing the |
| 4 | Advisory Committee on State Procurement for the purpose of |
| 5 | evaluating the state procurement process and carrying out |
| 6 | the legislative policy created under the act; providing |
| 7 | policy of the Legislature with respect to the procurement |
| 8 | of goods, services, and facilities by the state; providing |
| 9 | for membership and organization of the committee; |
| 10 | providing duties of the committee; providing powers of the |
| 11 | committee; requiring state agency cooperation with the |
| 12 | committee; requiring reports of the committee; providing |
| 13 | for termination of the committee; providing an |
| 14 | appropriation; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
|
| 18 | Section 1. Section 287.0575, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 287.0575 Advisory Committee on State Procurement; policy; |
| 21 | duties; termination of advisory committee.-- |
| 22 | (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STATE PROCUREMENT; |
| 23 | ESTABLISHMENT.--The Advisory Committee on State Procurement is |
| 24 | established for the purpose of evaluating the entire state |
| 25 | procurement process, including the organization, staffing, |
| 26 | leadership, planning, and controls involved in the procurement |
| 27 | process, and for the purpose of carrying out the policy set |
| 28 | forth in subsection (2). |
| 29 | (2) LEGISLATIVE POLICY.--It is the policy of the |
| 30 | Legislature to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in |
| 31 | the procurement of goods, services, and facilities by and for |
| 32 | the executive branch of state government through the following |
| 33 | means: |
| 34 | (a) The establishment of policies, procedures, and |
| 35 | practices which require the state to procure goods, services, |
| 36 | and facilities of requisite quality, in a timely manner, and at |
| 37 | the lowest reasonable cost, using competitive bidding to the |
| 38 | maximum extent possible. |
| 39 | (b) Improvement of the quality, efficiency, economy, and |
| 40 | performance of organizations and personnel involved in the |
| 41 | procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state. |
| 42 | (c) Elimination of unnecessary overlapping or duplication |
| 43 | of procurement activities and related activities such as |
| 44 | contract administration and inspections. |
| 45 | (d) Elimination of unnecessary or redundant requirements |
| 46 | placed on contractors or on officials in charge of the |
| 47 | procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state. |
| 48 | (e) Identification of gaps, omissions, or inconsistencies |
| 49 | in state laws, rules, and directives relating to the procurement |
| 50 | of goods, services, and facilities by the state which should be |
| 51 | brought to the attention of the Legislature. |
| 52 | (f) Attainment of greater uniformity in and simplification |
| 53 | of procurement procedures, whenever appropriate. |
| 54 | (g) Coordination of the procurement policies and programs |
| 55 | of the various departments and agencies of the state, whenever |
| 56 | possible. |
| 57 | (h) The conforming of procurement policies and programs to |
| 58 | other successful established state policies and programs, |
| 59 | whenever appropriate. |
| 60 | (i) Minimization of possible disruptive effects of state |
| 61 | procurement on particular industries, areas, or occupations. |
| 62 | (j) Improvement of the understanding of the laws and |
| 63 | policies of the state relating to the procurement of goods, |
| 64 | services, and facilities by the state, not only within state |
| 65 | government but on the part of organizations and individuals |
| 66 | doing business with the state. |
| 67 | (k) Promotion of fair dealing and equitable relationships |
| 68 | among the parties in state contracting. |
| 69 | (l) Promotion of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in |
| 70 | state procurement organizations and operations by any means the |
| 71 | committee deems beneficial and appropriate. |
| 72 | (m) Giving special consideration to procurement laws, |
| 73 | policies, procedures, practices, organization, staffing, |
| 74 | leadership, and controls of the Federal Government's procurement |
| 75 | process. |
| 76 |
|
| 77 | Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the |
| 78 | committee's means of facilitating the legislative policy |
| 79 | expressed herein, the inquiries of the committee, or the |
| 80 | committee's authority to investigate additional areas the |
| 81 | committee deems significant, relevant, or important. |
| 82 | (3) MEMBERSHIP; ORGANIZATION.-- |
| 83 | (a) The committee shall be composed of 13 members. Three |
| 84 | members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, three |
| 85 | members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of |
| 86 | Representatives, four members shall be appointed by the |
| 87 | Governor, one member shall be appointed by the Attorney General, |
| 88 | one member shall be appointed by the Commissioner of |
| 89 | Agriculture, and one member shall be appointed by the Chief |
| 90 | Financial Officer. Of the three appointments made by the |
| 91 | President of the Senate, two appointees shall be Senators who |
| 92 | are not of the same political party, and one appointee shall be |
| 93 | from outside state government. Of the three appointments made by |
| 94 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives, two appointees |
| 95 | shall be members of the House of Representatives who are not of |
| 96 | the same political party, and one appointee shall be from |
| 97 | outside state government. Of the four appointments made by the |
| 98 | Governor, two appointees shall be from the executive branch of |
| 99 | state government and two appointees shall be from outside state |
| 100 | government. The Attorney General, the Commissioner of |
| 101 | Agriculture, and the Chief Financial Officer shall each appoint |
| 102 | the official in charge of procurement within his or her |
| 103 | respective agency. |
| 104 | (b) The Auditor General or the Auditor General's |
| 105 | designated representative shall attend the meetings of the |
| 106 | committee and provide technical assistance to the committee. |
| 107 | (c) The committee shall select a chair and a vice chair |
| 108 | from among its members. |
| 109 | (d) Eight members of the committee shall constitute a |
| 110 | quorum. |
| 111 | (e) Any vacancies in the committee shall be filled for the |
| 112 | unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. |
| 113 | (f) Members of the committee who are members of the |
| 114 | Legislature or who are officers or employees in the executive |
| 115 | branch of state government shall serve without compensation but |
| 116 | shall be reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses in |
| 117 | accordance with s. 112.061. |
| 118 | (4) DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.--The advisory committee |
| 119 | shall study and investigate: |
| 120 | (a) The current laws of the state which govern the |
| 121 | procurement of goods, services, and facilities by the state; |
| 122 | (b) The procurement policies, rules, procedures, and |
| 123 | practices followed by the departments, bureaus, agencies, |
| 124 | boards, commissions, offices, and instrumentalities of the |
| 125 | executive branch of state government; and |
| 126 | (c) The organizations and management processes involved in |
| 127 | a state procurement of goods, services, and facilities prior to |
| 128 | the award of a state procurement contract, during the |
| 129 | solicitation of bids, evaluation, and negotiation of a contract, |
| 130 | and subsequent to the award of the contract to determine the |
| 131 | extent to which these organizations and management processes |
| 132 | facilitate the policy set forth in subsection (2). |
| 133 | (5) POWERS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.-- |
| 134 | (a) The advisory committee, or any subcommittee or |
| 135 | individual member thereof, may hold hearings and take testimony. |
| 136 | Any member of the committee may administer oaths or affirmations |
| 137 | to witnesses. |
| 138 | (b) The committee may acquire information directly from |
| 139 | the head of any state department or agency for the purpose of |
| 140 | its studies and investigations. All departments and agencies |
| 141 | shall cooperate with the committee and furnish all information |
| 142 | requested by the committee to the extent permitted by law. |
| 143 | Requests for information are required to be made in the name of |
| 144 | the chair or vice chair of the committee. |
| 145 | (c) The committee shall have power to appoint and fix the |
| 146 | compensation of committee personnel without regard to state laws |
| 147 | or rules governing state employment. |
| 148 | (d) The committee may procure the services of experts and |
| 149 | consultants at rates not to exceed $400 per day. |
| 150 | (e) The committee may enter into contracts with private |
| 151 | organizations and nonprofit institutions to carry out studies |
| 152 | and prepare reports to facilitate the committee's work. |
| 153 | (6) AGENCY COOPERATION.--All departments or agencies of |
| 154 | the state are required to provide services to the committee upon |
| 155 | request, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, pursuant to |
| 156 | agreements between the contributing agency and the chair or vice |
| 157 | chair of the committee. |
| 158 | (7) REPORTS.-- |
| 159 | (a) The advisory committee may make such interim reports |
| 160 | as it deems advisable. |
| 161 | (b) By July 1, 2010, the advisory committee shall submit |
| 162 | to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary |
| 163 | of the Senate the final report of its findings and |
| 164 | recommendations for changes in statutes, rules, policies, |
| 165 | procedures, and organization necessary to carry out the policy |
| 166 | set forth in subsection (2). |
| 167 | (8) TERMINATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.--The Advisory |
| 168 | Committee on State Procurement shall cease to exist 120 days |
| 169 | after the submission of its final report. The committee and its |
| 170 | staff shall utilize the 120-day period between the submission of |
| 171 | the final report and the termination of the committee to draft |
| 172 | or assist in final preparation of legislative or administrative |
| 173 | proposals that will carry out the recommendations of the |
| 174 | committee contained in its final report. |
| 175 | Section 2. For the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the sum of $4 |
| 176 | million is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the |
| 177 | Advisory Committee on State Procurement for the purposes of |
| 178 | carrying out the provisions of this act. |
| 179 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |