07 LC 35
0440
Senate
Bill 175
By:
Senators Grant of the 25th and Mullis of the 53rd
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 45-9-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions relative to insuring and indemnification of state officers
and employees, so as to clarify the meaning of criminal action; to amend Part 12
of Article 4 of Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to dissolution of electric membership corporations, so as to replace
"Department of Administrative Services" with "Office of Treasury and Fiscal
Services" where such term appears in certain Code sections; to amend Part 1 of
Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general authority, duties, and procedures for state purchasing, so
as to modify certain duties and provisions relating to state purchasing; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 45-9-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions relative to insuring and indemnification of state officers and
employees, is amended by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)
In addition to any other compensation which may be paid to an officer, official,
or employee of any agency, board, bureau, commission, department, or authority
of the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of government of this state,
each such agency, board, bureau, commission, department, or authority is
authorized, in its discretion, to purchase policies of liability insurance or
contracts of indemnity or to formulate sound programs of self-insurance
utilizing funds available to such agency, board, bureau, commission, department,
or authority, insuring or indemnifying such officers, officials, or employees to
the extent that they are not immune from liability against personal liability
for damages arising out of the performance of their duties or in any way
connected therewith. Such policies of liability insurance, contracts of
indemnity, or programs of self-insurance may also provide for reimbursement to
an officer, official, or employee of any agency, board, bureau, commission,
department, or authority of the state for reasonable legal fees and other
expenses incurred in the successful defense of
a criminal
action arising
any criminal
proceeding, including, but not limited to, any criminal cause of action, suit,
investigation, subpoena, warrant, request for documentation or property, or
threat of such action whether formal or informal where such action
arises out of the performance of his
or
her official duties. In addition, in the
case of an officer, official, or employee who is required to maintain a
professional license, such reimbursement may also be provided for legal fees and
other expenses so incurred in the successful defense of a charge arising out of
the performance of his
or
her official duties in proceedings before
a professional licensing board, disciplinary board or commission, or other
similar body. Legal fees and other expenses shall be subject to adjustment by
and the approval of the Attorney General."
SECTION
2.
Part
12 of Article 4 of Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to dissolution of electric membership corporations, is
amended by replacing "Department of Administrative Services" with "Office of
Treasury and Fiscal Services" wherever the former word occurs in:
(1)
Code Section 46-3-427, relating to the execution and contents of the articles of
dissolution;
(2)
Code Section 46-3-436, relating to the entry of a decree of involuntary
dissolution; and
(3)
Code Section 46-3-438, relating to a deposit with the Department of
Administrative Services of an amount due to unknown, disabled, or unlocatable
creditors or members.
SECTION
3.
Part
1 of Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general authority, duties, and procedures for state
purchasing, is amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 50-5-67,
relating to competitive bidding procedure, as follows:
"(b)(1)
Except as otherwise provided for in this part, all contracts for the purchases
of supplies, materials, equipment, or services other than professional and
personal employment services made under this part shall, wherever possible, be
based upon competitive bids and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder, taking into consideration the quality of the articles to be supplied and
conformity with the
standard
specifications which have been established and prescribed, the purposes for
which the articles are required, the discount allowed for prompt payment, the
transportation charges, and the date or dates of delivery specified in the bid
and any other cost affecting the total cost of ownership during the life cycle
of the supplies, materials,
or
equipment, or
services as specified in the solicitation
document. Competitive bids on such contracts shall be received in accordance
with rules and regulations to be adopted by the commissioner of administrative
services, which rules and regulations shall prescribe, among other things, the
manner, time, and places for proper advertisement for the bids, indicating the
time and place when the bids will be received; the article for which the bid
shall be submitted and the
standard
specification prescribed for the article; the amount or number of the articles
desired and for which the bids are to be made; and the amount, if any, of bonds
or certified checks to accompany the bids. Any and all bids so received may be
rejected.
(2)
As provided in the request for bids pursuant to the competitive sealed bidding
process and Department of Administrative Services regulations, discussions may
be conducted with qualified bidders who submit bids determined to be reasonably
susceptible to being selected for award, for the purpose of clarification to
assure full understanding of and responsiveness to the solicitation
requirements. Bidders shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect
to any opportunity for discussion and clarification of bids. After such
clarifications, revisions may be permitted to the bids prior to award for the
purpose of obtaining best and final offers. The Department of Administrative
Services is authorized to solicit multiple revisions to bids for the purpose of
obtaining the most advantageous bid to this state. In conducting discussions or
soliciting any revisions, there shall be no disclosure of any information
contained in the bids submitted by competing offerors. However, this
prohibition on disclosure of information shall not prohibit the Department of
Administrative Services from disclosing to competing bidders any preliminary
rankings of competing bidders´ bids during the course of any negotiations
or revisions of bids other than with respect to the procurement of construction
contracts. The award shall be made to the lowest responsive and responsible
bidder whose bid is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to this
state, taking into consideration the quality of the articles to be supplied and
conformity with the standard specifications which have been established and
prescribed, the discount allowed for prompt payment, the transportation charges,
the date or dates of delivery specified in the bid, and any other cost affecting
the total cost of ownership during the life cycle of the supplies, materials, or
equipment as specified in the solicitation document. No other factors or
criteria shall be used in the evaluation. The contract file shall contain the
basis on which the award is
made."
SECTION
4.
Said
Code section is further amended by revising subsection (d) as
follows:
"(d)(1)
Except as otherwise provided for in this part, the Department of Administrative
Services shall publish, prior to award or letting of the contracts, notice of
its intent to award a contract to the successful bidder or offeror on public
display in a conspicuous place in the department´s office, on the Georgia
Procurement Registry, or both so that it may be easily seen by the public. The
public notice on public display shall also state the price or the amount for
which the contract may be awarded, the commodities or services to be covered by
the contract which may be awarded, and the names of all persons whose bids,
offers, or proposals were rejected by the department, together with a statement
giving the reasons for the rejection.
(2)
Every bid or proposal conforming to the terms of the advertisement provided for
in this Code section, together with the name of the bidder, shall be recorded,
and all such records with the name of the successful bidder or offeror indicated
thereon shall,
within one
day after
award or
letting of the contract
the issuance
of the department´s public notice of intent to award to the successful
bidder or offeror, be subject to public
inspection upon request.
(3)
The Department of Administrative Services shall also, within one day after the
award or letting of the contract, publish the name of the successful bidder or
offeror on public display in a conspicuous place in the department´s office
or on the Georgia Procurement Registry so that it may be easily seen by the
public. The public notice on public display shall also show the price or the
amount for which the contract was let and the commodities covered by the
contract. The Department of Administrative Services shall also, within one day
after the award or letting of the contract, publish on public display the names
of all persons whose bids, offers, or proposals were rejected by it, together
with a statement giving the reasons for such rejection.
(4)
Bids,
offers, or proposals shall be opened in public by
the
The
Department of Administrative
Services,
which shall canvass the bids, offers, or
proposals and award the contract according to the terms of this part.
The Department
of Administrative Services shall prepare a register of bids, offers, or
proposals which will become available for public inspection upon request within
one day after the issuance of the department´s public notice of intent to
award to the successful bidder or offeror. The bids, offers, or proposals shall
not be subject to public disclosure until after the issuance of the public
notice of intent to award a contract to the successful bidder or offeror except
that audited financial statements not otherwise publicly available but required
to be submitted in the bid, offer, or proposal shall not be subject to public
disclosure.
(5)
Records related to the competitive bidding and proposal process which, if
disclosed prior to the issuance of the public notice of intent to award would
undermine the public purpose of obtaining the best value for this state, shall
not be subject to public disclosure until after the department´s issuance
of its public notice of intent to award a contract to the successful bidder or
offeror. Such records include but are not limited to cost estimates, bids,
proposals, evaluation criteria, vendor evaluations, negotiation documents,
offers and counter-offers, and records revealing preparation for the
procurement.
(6)
A proper bond for the faithful performance of any contract shall be required of
the successful bidder or offeror in the discretion of the Department of
Administrative Services. After the contracts have been awarded, the Department
of Administrative Services shall certify to the offices, agencies, departments,
boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions, or other entities of the state the
sources of the supplies and the contract price of the various supplies,
materials, services, and equipment so contracted for.
SECTION
5.
Said
Code section is further amended by revising subsection (f) as
follows:
"(f)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the commissioner of
administrative services is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to
govern auctions conducted by state agencies in which vendors´ prices are
made public during the bidding process to enable the state agency or agencies to
seek a lower price. This auction bidding process will continue until the lowest
price is obtained within the auction´s time limit.
As provided in
the written terms of the auction and Department of Administrative Services
regulations, discussions may be conducted with qualified bidders who submit bids
determined to be reasonably susceptible to being selected for award, for the
purpose of clarification to assure full understanding of and responsiveness to
the solicitation requirements. Bidders shall be accorded fair and equal
treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and clarification of
bids. After such clarifications, revisions may be permitted to the bids prior
to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers. The Department of
Administrative Services is authorized to solicit multiple revisions to bids for
the purpose of obtaining the most advantageous bid to this state. In conducting
discussions or soliciting any revisions, there shall be no disclosure of any
information contained in bids submitted by competing offerors. However, this
prohibition on disclosure of information shall not prohibit the Department of
Administrative Services from disclosing to competing bidders pricing or any
preliminary rankings of competing bidders´ bids during the course of any
negotiations or revisions of bids. This
auction bidding process shall not be used to procure construction services or
for any contract for goods or services valued at less than
$100,000.00. "
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.