Bill Text: CT SB00347 | 2010 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

Connecticut Senate Bill 347 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: An Act Concerning Contractual Bidding Preferences For Veteran-owned Businesses.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-04-21 - Referred by Senate to Committee on Transportation [SB00347 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2010-SB00347-Comm_Sub.html

General Assembly		*Substitute Bill No. 347*
*February Session, 2010*		_____SB00347VA_GAE031110____

AN ACT CONCERNING CONTRACTUAL BIDDING PREFERENCES FOR VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 4a-59 of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(c) All open market orders or contracts shall be awarded to (1) the lowest responsible qualified bidder, the qualities of the articles to be supplied, their conformity with the specifications, their suitability to the requirements of the state government and the delivery terms being taken into consideration and, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Administrative Services, life-cycle costs and trade-in or resale value of the articles may be considered where it appears to be in the best interest of the state, (2) the highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid, in accordance with the criteria set forth in the bid solicitation for the contract, or (3) the proposer whose proposal is deemed by the awarding authority to be the most advantageous to the state, in accordance with the criteria set forth in the request for proposals, including price and evaluation factors. Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, each state agency awarding a contract through competitive negotiation shall include price as an explicit factor in the criteria in the request for proposals and for the contract award. In considering past performance of a bidder for the purpose of determining the "lowest responsible qualified bidder" or the "highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid", the commissioner shall evaluate the skill, ability and integrity of the bidder in terms of the bidder's fulfillment of past contract obligations and the bidder's experience or lack of experience in delivering supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services of the size or amount for which bids have been solicited. In determining the lowest responsible qualified bidder for the purposes of this section, the commissioner may give a price preference of up to ten per cent for (A) the purchase of goods made with recycled materials or the purchase of recyclable or remanufactured products if the commissioner determines that such preference would promote recycling or remanufacturing. As used in this subsection, "recyclable" means able to be collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for reuse, or for use in the manufacture or assembly of another package or product, by means of a recycling program which is reasonably available to at least seventy-five per cent of the state's population, "remanufactured" means restored to its original function and thereby diverted from the solid waste stream by retaining the bulk of components that have been used at least once and by replacing consumable components and "remanufacturing" means any process by which a product is remanufactured; (B) the purchase of motor vehicles powered by a clean alternative fuel; (C) the purchase of motor vehicles powered by fuel other than a clean alternative fuel and conversion equipment to convert such motor vehicles allowing the vehicles to be powered by either the exclusive use of clean alternative fuel or dual use of a clean alternative fuel and a fuel other than a clean alternative fuel. As used in this subsection, "clean alternative fuel" shall mean natural gas or electricity when used as a motor vehicle fuel; [or] (D) the purchase of goods or services from micro businesses. As used in this subsection, "micro business" means a business with gross revenues not exceeding three million dollars in the most recently completed fiscal year; or (E) the purchase of goods or services from a veteran-owned business. As used in this subsection, "veteran-owned business" means any business of which at least fifty-one per cent of the ownership is held by a veteran or veterans, as defined in subsection (a) of section 27-103. All other factors being equal, preference shall be given to supplies, materials and equipment produced, assembled or manufactured in the state and services originating and provided in the state. If any such bidder refuses to accept, within ten days, a contract awarded to such bidder, such contract may be awarded to the next lowest responsible qualified bidder or the next highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid, whichever is applicable, and so on until such contract is awarded and accepted. If any such proposer refuses to accept, within ten days, a contract awarded to such proposer, such contract shall be awarded to the next most advantageous proposer, and so on until the contract is awarded and accepted. There shall be a written evaluation made of each bid. This evaluation shall identify the vendors and their respective costs and prices, document the reason why any vendor is deemed to be nonresponsive and recommend a vendor for award. A contract valued at one million dollars or more shall be awarded to a bidder other than the lowest responsible qualified bidder or the highest scoring bidder in a multiple criteria bid, whichever is applicable, only with written approval signed by the Commissioner of Administrative Services and by the Comptroller. The commissioner shall submit to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to government administration, the State Auditors and the Comptroller, an annual report of all awards made pursuant to the provisions of this section.

Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 4b-100 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(a) The Commissioner of Public Works shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of sections 4b-91 to 4b-100, inclusive, as amended by this act. Such regulations shall include (1) objective criteria for evaluating the qualifications of bidders, (2) objective criteria for evaluating proposals, [and] (3) the procedures for evaluating bids after the prequalification status of the bidder has been verified, and (4) a requirement in such bid evaluation procedures that, all other factors being equal, a preference shall be given to a veteran-owned business, as defined in subsection (c) of section 4a-59, as amended by this act.