Bill Text: NY A02029 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires state agencies to provide unsuccessful bidders with reasons why the winning bid was selected and provide advice or guidance on methods for improving future bids during the debriefing process.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-06-18 - substituted by s3450c [A02029 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A02029-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        2029--D
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 15, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, McDONALD -- read once and referred to the
         Committee  on  Governmental  Operations  -- committee discharged, bill
         amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
         tee  --  again  reported  from said committee with amendments, ordered
         reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said  committee  --  again
         reported  from  said  committee  with amendments, ordered reprinted as
         amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from  said
         committee  with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
         ted to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation  to  requiring  state
         agencies to provide certain information to unsuccessful bidders during
         the debriefing process
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Paragraph c of subdivision 9 of section 163  of  the  state
    2  finance  law,  as amended by chapter 137 of the laws of 2008, is amended
    3  to read as follows:
    4    c. (I) Where provided in the solicitation, state agencies may  require
    5  clarification  from offerers for purposes of assuring a full understand-
    6  ing of responsiveness to the solicitation requirements.  Where  provided
    7  for  in  the  solicitation, revisions may be permitted from all offerers
    8  determined to be susceptible of being selected for contract award, prior
    9  to award. Offerers shall be  accorded  fair  and  equal  treatment  with
   10  respect to their opportunity for discussion and revision of offers. [A]
   11    (II)  WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS OF THE SELECTION OF A WINNING BID BY A STATE
   12  AGENCY AND PRIOR TO THE SUBMISSION FOR APPROVAL OF  A  CONTRACT  TO  THE
   13  OFFICE  OF  THE  STATE  COMPTROLLER, ALL BIDDERS SHALL BE ADVISED OF THE
   14  COMPLETION OF THE SELECTION PROCESS.
   15    (III) FOR ANY CONTRACT ESTABLISHED AS A CENTRALIZED  CONTRACT  BY  THE
   16  OFFICE  OF  GENERAL  SERVICES,  WITHIN  FIFTEEN DAYS OF SELECTION OF THE
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03939-05-5
       A. 2029--D                          2
    1  WINNING BID BY THE OFFICE OF GENERAL  SERVICES,  ALL  BIDDERS  SHALL  BE
    2  ADVISED OF THE COMPLETION OF THE SELECTION PROCESS.
    3    (IV)  THE  OPPORTUNITY FOR AN UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDER TO SEEK A DEBRIEFING
    4  SHALL BE STATED IN THE SOLICITATION, WHICH SHALL  PROVIDE  A  REASONABLE
    5  TIME FOR REQUESTING A DEBRIEFING.
    6    (V)  IN  RELATION  TO  THE AWARD OF ANY CONTRACT WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF
    7  LESS THAN FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS,  A  state  agency  shall,  upon
    8  request,  provide [a] AN IN-PERSON OR, IF NECESSARY, A VIDEO-CONFERENCED
    9  debriefing to any unsuccessful offerer that responded to a  request  for
   10  proposal  or  an  invitation  for  bids,  regarding the reasons that the
   11  proposal or bid submitted by the unsuccessful offerer was  not  selected
   12  for  an  award.  [The  opportunity for an unsuccessful offerer to seek a
   13  debriefing shall be stated in the solicitation, which  shall  provide  a
   14  reasonable time for requesting a debriefing.]
   15    (VI) IN RELATION TO THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF FIVE
   16  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  OR  MORE DOLLARS, A STATE AGENCY SHALL, UPON REQUEST,
   17  PROVIDE AN IN-PERSON OR, IF NECESSARY, A VIDEO-CONFERENCED DEBRIEFING TO
   18  ANY UNSUCCESSFUL OFFERER THAT RESPONDED TO A  REQUEST  FOR  PROPOSAL  OR
   19  INVITATION  FOR  BIDS.  SUCH  DEBRIEFING, SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE
   20  LIMITED TO, THOROUGH WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS OF: (A) THE REASONS  THAT  THE
   21  PROPOSAL  OR  BID SUBMITTED BY THE UNSUCCESSFUL OFFERER WAS NOT SELECTED
   22  FOR AWARD; (B) THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS EMPLOYED BY THE
   23  AGENCY IN ASSESSING THE RELATIVE MERITS OF EACH BID; (C) THE APPLICATION
   24  OF EACH OF THE SELECTION CRITERIA TO EACH BID; AND (D) WHY  THE  WINNING
   25  BID WAS SELECTED.
   26    (VII) AFTER THE WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS DESCRIBED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (VI) OF
   27  THIS  PARAGRAPH  HAVE  BEEN PROVIDED, THE STATE AGENCY, UPON THE WRITTEN
   28  REQUEST OF AN UNSUCCESSFUL OFFERER, AND WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS OF THE WRIT-
   29  TEN EXPLANATION, SHALL PROVIDE A REASONABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUCH  UNSUC-
   30  CESSFUL BIDDER TO DISCUSS WITH AGENCY PERSONNEL WHO WERE INVOLVED IN AND
   31  ARE  KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE BID EVALUATION PROCESS CONCERNING THE WRIT-
   32  TEN EXPLANATIONS. SUCH PERSONNEL SHALL ALSO PROVIDE, TO THE EXTENT PRAC-
   33  TICABLE, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE  TO  THE  UNSUCCESSFUL  OFFERER  CONCERNING
   34  METHODS OF IMPROVING BIDS BY SUCH OFFERER.
   35    S  2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
   36  ments to section 163 of the state finance law made  by  section  one  of
   37  this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed
   38  repealed therewith.