| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to preference to Florida businesses in |
| 3 | procurement of personal property and services; |
| 4 | providing a short title; amending s. 283.35, F.S.; |
| 5 | requiring an agency, county, municipality, school |
| 6 | district, or other political subdivision of the state |
| 7 | to grant a specified preference to a vendor located |
| 8 | within the state when awarding a contract for |
| 9 | printing; specifying the percentage of preference to |
| 10 | be granted; amending s. 287.084, F.S.; requiring, |
| 11 | rather than authorizing, an agency, county, |
| 12 | municipality, school district, or other political |
| 13 | subdivision of the state in making purchases of |
| 14 | personal property through competitive solicitation to |
| 15 | award a preference to the lowest responsible and |
| 16 | responsive vendor having a principal place of business |
| 17 | within this state under specified circumstances; |
| 18 | specifying the percentage of preference to be granted; |
| 19 | providing nonapplicability; providing an effective |
| 20 | date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Buy Florida Act." |
| 25 | Section 2. Section 283.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 26 | read: |
| 27 | 283.35 Preference given printing within the state.-Every |
| 28 | agency shall give preference to vendors located within the state |
| 29 | When awarding a contract contracts to have materials printed, |
| 30 | the agency, county, municipality, school district, or other |
| 31 | political subdivision of this state awarding the contract shall |
| 32 | grant a preference to the lowest responsible and responsive |
| 33 | vendor having a principal place of business within this state. |
| 34 | The preference shall be 5 percent if the lowest bid is submitted |
| 35 | by a vendor whose principal place of business is located outside |
| 36 | the state and if the whenever such printing can be performed in |
| 37 | this state done at no greater expense than the expense of |
| 38 | awarding a contract to a vendor located outside the state and |
| 39 | can be done at a level of quality comparable to that obtainable |
| 40 | from the a vendor submitting the lowest bid located outside the |
| 41 | state. |
| 42 | Section 3. Section 287.084, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 43 | to read: |
| 44 | 287.084 Preference to Florida businesses.- |
| 45 | (1)(a) When an agency, county, municipality, school |
| 46 | district, or other political subdivision of the state is |
| 47 | required to make purchases of personal property through |
| 48 | competitive solicitation and the lowest responsible and |
| 49 | responsive bid, proposal, or reply is by a vendor whose |
| 50 | principal place of business is in a state or political |
| 51 | subdivision thereof which grants a preference for the purchase |
| 52 | of such personal property to a person whose principal place of |
| 53 | business is in such state, then the agency, county, |
| 54 | municipality, school district, or other political subdivision of |
| 55 | this state shall may award a preference to the lowest |
| 56 | responsible and responsive vendor having a principal place of |
| 57 | business within this state, which preference is equal to the |
| 58 | preference granted by the state or political subdivision thereof |
| 59 | in which the lowest responsible and responsive vendor has its |
| 60 | principal place of business. In a competitive solicitation in |
| 61 | which the lowest bid is submitted by a vendor whose principal |
| 62 | place of business is located outside the state and that state |
| 63 | does not grant a preference in competitive solicitation to |
| 64 | vendors having a principal place of business in that state, the |
| 65 | preference to the lowest responsible and responsive vendor |
| 66 | having a principal place of business in this state shall be 5 |
| 67 | percent. |
| 68 | (b) Paragraph (a) However, this section does not apply to |
| 69 | transportation projects for which federal aid funds are |
| 70 | available. |
| 71 | (2) If a solicitation provides for the granting of such |
| 72 | preference as is provided in this section, Any vendor whose |
| 73 | principal place of business is outside the State of Florida must |
| 74 | accompany any written bid, proposal, or reply documents with a |
| 75 | written opinion of an attorney at law licensed to practice law |
| 76 | in that foreign state, as to the preferences, if any or none, |
| 77 | granted by the law of that state to its own business entities |
| 78 | whose principal places of business are in that foreign state in |
| 79 | the letting of any or all public contracts. |
| 80 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |