Bill Text: MS SB2372 | 2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled

Mississippi Senate Bill 2372 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: State agency leases; DFA to approve request for proposals before advertisement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-04-05 - Approved by Governor [SB2372 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2016-SB2372-Enrolled.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2016 Regular Session

To: Public Property; Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

By: Senator(s) Blount, Dearing

Senate Bill 2372

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DIVISION OF REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO REVIEW AND APPROVE STATE AGENCY REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS TO LEASE OFFICE SPACE BEFORE THE REQUESTS ARE ADVERTISED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 27-104-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-104-7. (1) There is created within the Department of Finance and Administration the Public Procurement Review Board, which shall be composed of the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, the head of the Office of Budget and Policy Development and an employee of the Office of General Services who is familiar with the purchasing laws of this state. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall be chairman and shall preside over the meetings of the board. The board shall annually elect a vice chairman, who shall serve in the absence of the chairman. No business shall be transacted, including adoption of rules of procedure, without the presence of a quorum of the board. Two (2) members shall be a quorum. No action shall be valid unless approved by the chairman and one (1) other of those members present and voting, entered upon the minutes of the board and signed by the chairman. The board shall meet on a monthly basis and at any other time when notified by the chairman. Necessary clerical and administrative support for the board shall be provided by the Department of Finance and Administration. Minutes shall be kept of the proceedings of each meeting, copies of which shall be filed on a monthly basis with the Legislative Budget Office.

(2) The Public Procurement Review Board shall have the following powers and responsibilities:

(a) Approve all purchasing regulations governing the purchase or lease by any agency, as defined in Section 31-7-1, of commodities and equipment, except computer equipment acquired pursuant to Sections 25-53-1 through 25-53-29;

(b) Adopt regulations governing the approval of contracts let for the construction and maintenance of state buildings and other state facilities;

(c) Adopt regulations governing any lease or rental agreement by any state agency or department, including any state agency financed entirely by federal funds, for space outside the buildings under the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance and Administration. These regulations shall require each agency requesting to lease such space to provide the following information that shall be published by the Department of Finance and Administration on its website: the agency to lease the space; the terms of the lease; the approximate square feet to be leased; the use for the space; a description of a suitable space; the general location desired for the leased space; the contact information for a person from the agency; the desired deadline date for the agency to have received a lease proposal; any other specific terms or conditions of the agency; and any other information deemed appropriate by the Division of Real Property Management of the Department of Finance and Administration or the Public Procurement Review Board. This information shall be provided sufficiently in advance of the need for the space to facilitate review and preapproval by the Division of Real Property Management of the Department of Finance and Administration before advertisement;

(d) Adopt, in its discretion, regulations to set aside at least five percent (5%) of anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the department and shall be subject to all bid requirements. Set-aside purchases for which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest and best minority business bidder; however, if no minority bid is available or if the minority bid is more than two percent (2%) higher than the lowest bid, then bids shall be accepted and awarded to the lowest and best bidder. However, the provisions in this paragraph shall not be construed to prohibit the rejection of a bid when only one (1) bid is received. Such rejection shall be placed in the minutes. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is owned by a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is:

(i) Black: having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa;

(ii) Hispanic: of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin regardless of race;

(iii) Asian-American: having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands;

(iv) American Indian or Alaskan Native: having origins in any of the original peoples of North America; or

(v) Female;

(e) In consultation with and approval by the Chairmen of the Senate and House Public Property Committees, approve leases, for a term not to exceed eighteen (18) months, entered into by state agencies for the purpose of providing parking arrangements for state employees who work in the Woolfolk Building, the Carroll Gartin Justice Building or the Walter Sillers Office Building.

(3) No member of the Public Procurement Review Board shall use his official authority or influence to coerce, by threat of discharge from employment, or otherwise, the purchase of commodities or the contracting for public construction under this chapter.

(4) Notwithstanding any other laws or rules to the contrary, the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall not be applicable to the Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.