§ 50-4-6 — Contract between state agency and private provider for operation of institution under control of agency; feasibility study

(a) As used in this Code section, the term "institution" means any physical facility operated by the executive branch of state government which is used in the delivery of any governmental services and which has an annual operating budget in excess of $1 million. (b) No contract between a state agency and a private provider or vendor for the operation of all or part of an institution under the control of the agency shall be entered into unless it is preceded by a feasibility study which makes the following findings: (1) That the state employees who are employed in the operation of the institution prior to the transfer of operation to the private provider or vendor will have a reasonable opportunity to apply for continued employment either with the state or with the private provider or vendor; or (2) That any state employees who are displaced or discharged from employment as a result of the transfer of operation to the private provider or vendor will be eligible for participation in an employment assistance program to be implemented by the state and coordinated by the Department of Labor and which shall be designed to assist such persons in securing other employment. The program shall include such educational programs, vocational skills programs, apprenticeship training programs, on-the-job training programs, job search and job development programs, and other occupational training or retraining programs as are determined by the Department of Labor to best promote the goals of employability and employment of such persons.