HB 482 - STATE PROCUREMENT PRACTICES & PROCEDURES Number 0119 CHAIRMAN KOTT announced that the next order of business to come before the House Labor and Commerce Committee was HOUSE BILL NO. 482 "An Act relating to state procurement practices and procedures; and providing for an effective date." He asked if anyone from the Department of Administration was present to testify. The Chairman then announced that Dugan Petty would testify with regard to the proposed amendment to HB 482. DUGAN PETTY, Director, Division of General Services, Department of Administration, stated that the proposed amendment to HB 482 attempts to address the committee's previous questions regarding bidders who wished to bring a protest. He noted that the underlined section in the committee members' packets would replace the underlined section in the previous version of the bill. It allows the procurement officer to establish a shorter period of time in the bid, so that a protestor could bring a bid protest forward in less than 10 days. It also, in the second sentence, allows a protestor of a solicitation to bring a protest forward just prior to bid opening, if the bid solicitation period has been shortened from the full notice period. Finally, the proposed amendment states that if a pre-bid conference is held within 12 days of bid opening, then a protest of a solicitation could be brought right up to the time of bid opening or proposal submission. Mr. Petty noted that the intent was to allow sufficient time for a bidder to respond to any issues found at the bid opening. Number 0253 REPRESENTATIVE ELTON asked for clarification that the proposed amendment would replace only the underlined language. MR. PETTY responded in the affirmative. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON moved that the committee adopt the proposed Amendment 1. There being no objections, Amendment 1 to HB 482 was adopted. Number 0404 REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG offered an amendment to delete Sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 in their entirety. These are related to leasing procedures, which exempt lease purchase agreements up to $2 million five hundred thousand or 5,000 square feet of office space, and allow lease extensions of up to ten years or 10 percent. He stated that these items need further review. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT objected. MR. PETTY stated the department believes that Sections 4 and 5 allow it to be more effective, and to save the state money through a more streamlined process. He asserted that the department would exercise judgment, and make good business decisions. Number 0311 REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG asserted that Section 5 would grant the state an automatic renewal option on any expiring lease, which creates an unfair situation in the real estate market. He stated that such leases should be put out for competitive bid. He requested that the Chairman hold the bill, so that the committee could look at it more closely. He also objected to Section 36, which is related to adjustments to leases being made within 30 days. MR. PETTY suggested that perhaps extending the period to 90 days would alleviate the problem. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG responded that on certain contracts, 90 days might be too long. MR. PETTY noted that there is currently no statute of limitations on when claims can be brought against the state on expired contracts. This language attempts to address that problem. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG stated that he agrees a time frame is necessary, but that a provision relating to utility charges for leasehold property should also be included. He noted that in some cases, an adjustment clause allows a landlord to back-bill a tenant for increased utility rates. This could take several months, sometimes as long as six to eight months. CHAIRMAN KOTT asked Mr. Petty to confer with Representative Rokeberg, and stated that HB 482 would be held over until the next meeting. He further noted that, since the committee no longer had a quorum, all other bills scheduled would also be held over until the next meeting.