| 1 | Representative Bogdanoff offered the following: |
| 2 |
|
| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove lines 65-77 and insert: |
| 5 | (9) "Lead agency" means an agency designated at least once |
| 6 | every 6 3 years by an area agency on aging as the result of a |
| 7 | competitive procurement conducted through a request for proposal |
| 8 | process to be in place no later than the state fiscal year 1996- |
| 9 | 1997. Any area agency on aging that is in litigation over a |
| 10 | prior designation of a lead agency on the effective date of this |
| 11 | act shall conduct this competitive procurement no later than |
| 12 | December 31, 2009, to ensure that all lead agencies have been |
| 13 | fairly selected before the maximum 6-year procurement cycle |
| 14 | begins. |
| 15 | (a) The guidelines for the request for proposal must be |
| 16 | developed by the department in consultation with the area agency |
| 17 | agencies on aging and. Such guidelines must include requirements |
| 18 | for the assurance of quality and cost-efficiency of services, |
| 19 | minimum personnel standards, and employee benefits. The |
| 20 | department shall adopt a rule creating a dispute resolution |
| 21 | mechanism. The rule, which shall be adopted no later than August |
| 22 | 1, 2009, and which all area agencies on aging shall be required |
| 23 | to follow, shall create standards for a bid protest and a |
| 24 | procedure for resolution. The dispute resolution mechanism |
| 25 | established in the rule shall include a provision for a |
| 26 | qualified, impartial decisionmaker who shall conduct a hearing |
| 27 | to determine whether the area agency's proposed action is |
| 28 | contrary to the area agency's governing statutes or rules or to |
| 29 | the solicitation specifications. The standard of proof for the |
| 30 | protestor shall be whether the area agency's action was clearly |
| 31 | erroneous, contrary to competition, arbitrary, or capricious. |
| 32 | The dispute resolution mechanism shall also provide a mechanism |
| 33 | for review of the decisionmaker's determination by a qualified |
| 34 | and impartial reviewer, if review is requested. The standards |
| 35 | for the bid protest shall include: |
| 36 | 1. A provision requiring notice of an area agency's |
| 37 | proposed contract award and a clear point of entry for any |
| 38 | substantially affected entity to challenge the proposed award. |
| 39 | 2. A provision for an automatic stay of the contract award |
| 40 | process upon the filing of a bid protest that shall not be |
| 41 | lifted until the protest is resolved. |
| 42 | 3. Provisions permitting all substantially affected |
| 43 | entities to have an opportunity to participate in the hearing, |
| 44 | to conduct discovery, to obtain subpoenas compelling the |
| 45 | appearance of witnesses, to present evidence and argument on all |
| 46 | issues involved, to conduct cross-examination, to submit |
| 47 | rebuttal evidence, and to submit proposed findings of fact and |
| 48 | conclusions of law. |
| 49 | 4. Provisions for expeditious resolution of the bid |
| 50 | protest, including a requirement that once the area agency on |
| 51 | aging refers a bid protest petition to the decisionmaker, a |
| 52 | hearing shall be conducted within 30 days, unless that timeframe |
| 53 | is waived by all parties. |
| 54 |
|
| 55 |
|
| 56 |
|
| 57 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 58 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 59 | Remove lines 12-13 and insert: |
| 60 | care for the elderly; providing competitive procurement |
| 61 | procedure with respect to specified contested designation of a |
| 62 | lead agency; requiring the Department of Elderly Affairs to |
| 63 | create a dispute resolution mechanism by rule; providing |
| 64 | requirements with respect to the dispute resolution mechanism; |
| 65 | specifying required standards for a bid protest; |