§ 161 — State procurement council

§ 161. State procurement council. 1. a. The state procurement council\nshall continuously strive to improve the state's procurement process.\nSuch council shall consist of twenty-one members, including the\ncommissioner, the state comptroller, the director of the budget, the\nchief diversity officer and the commissioner of economic development, or\ntheir respective designees; seven members who shall be the heads of\nother large and small state agencies chosen by the governor, or their\nrespective designees; one member, appointed by the governor,\nrepresenting a not-for-profit New York-based organization engaged in the\nmarketing and/or promotion of New York grown farm and agricultural\nproducts or a not-for-profit New York-based organization engaged solely\nin the advocacy, marketing and/or promotion of organic New York grown\nfarm and agricultural products to be limited to a two year term; and\neight at large members appointed as follows: three appointed by the\ntemporary president of the senate, one of whom shall be a representative\nof local government and one of whom shall be a representative of private\nbusiness; three appointed by the speaker of the assembly, one of whom\nshall be a representative of local government and one of whom shall be a\nrepresentative of private business; one appointed by the minority leader\nof the senate; and, one appointed by the minority leader of the\nassembly; and two non-voting observers appointed as follows: one\nappointed by the temporary president of the senate and one appointed by\nthe speaker of the assembly. The non-voting observers shall be provided,\ncontemporaneously, all documentation and materials distributed to\nmembers. The council shall be chaired by the commissioner and shall meet\nat least quarterly.\n b. The at large members shall each serve a term of three years;\nprovided, however, that for their initial appointments, the temporary\npresident of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall each\ndesignate one member to serve a term of one year, one member to serve a\nterm of two years and one member to serve a term of three years. Any\nvacancy among the at large members shall be filled by appointment\npursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision for the unexpired balance of\nthe term. The non-voting observers shall each serve a term of three\nyears. All the initial appointments made pursuant to this section shall\nbe deemed to have been made and to have been effective for all purposes\non the fourth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-six.\n c. The members of the council shall serve without compensation, except\nthat each of them shall be allowed the necessary and actual expenses\nincurred in the performance of any of their duties hereunder.\n d. The council may conduct any business authorized herein when a\nquorum of the members are represented in session.\n 2. The council shall:\n a. Evaluate and make recommendations to the commissioner for the\ndevelopment of specifications for commodities and services to be\nacquired by or for state agencies through centralized contracts,\nincluding, but not limited to, evaluations and recommendations on\nminimum purchase quantities and standards for quality, function and\nutility;\n b. Establish and maintain guidelines which, in the manner provided by\nthis article, enable state agencies to acquire products directly from\nvendors or suppliers other than those participating in a centralized\ncontract when such products are not required by this article to be\nacquired from a preferred source and when such products are available in\nsubstantially similar function, form or utility and at prices or other\nterms more economically beneficial for the purposes of the acquiring\nstate agency;\n c. Identify to the commissioner any deficiencies in products or\nservices made available to state agencies through centralized contracts,\nincluding, at the discretion of the council, matters relating to\nspecifications developed and employed for procurement of products or\nservices through centralized contracts;\n d. Establish and, from time to time, amend guidelines concerning state\nprocurement and provide for the appropriate distribution and\ndissemination of such guidelines and other information concerning all\nmatters relating to procurement of products, construction items or\nservices for state agencies;\n e. Recommend to the commissioner necessary legislative changes or\nmodifications to existing or proposed rules, regulations and procedures\nwhich would simplify, accelerate or otherwise improve the state's\nprocurement process and make specific recommendations to the\ncommissioner by September thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-five for\nthe improvement of the New York state printing and public documents law;\n f. Act as a clearinghouse for the purpose of identification of\npotential cost reductions and other efficiencies through the combination\nof similar procurement requirements of state agencies;\n g. Consult with and advise the commissioner on strategic technology\ninvestments that will facilitate electronic access to the terms and\nconditions of existing procurement contracts, promote electronic\ncommerce including, but not limited to, payment to vendors, promote and\nenhance the efficiency of the procurement of products and services by or\nfor state agencies and produce useful information that supports state\nprocurement operations, management, analysis and decision making\nincluding, but not limited to, data concerning the status and use of\nprocurement contracts and the number and type of contracts and award\nrecipients;\n h. Establish and, from time to time, amend guidelines for purchases of\ncommodities, by the commissioner or state agencies. Such guidelines\nshall ensure the wise and prudent use of public money in the best\ninterest of the taxpayers of the state; and guard against favoritism,\nimprovidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption;\n i. Establish and, from time to time, amend guidelines for the\nprocurement of services and technology in accordance with the provisions\nof this article. Such guidelines shall ensure the wise and prudent use\nof public money in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state;\nguard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud and\ncorruption; and ensure that service contracts are awarded on the basis\nof best value, including, but not limited to, the following criteria:\nquality, cost, and efficiency;\n j. Consult with and advise the commissioner on new opportunities to\nacquire commodities and services including, but not limited to, regional\nor statewide equipment or facility maintenance services, professional\nservices, coordination and cooperation with other centralized purchasing\nentities, and coordination of reuse of surplus property;\n k. Report by December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-five and\nthereafter biennially to the governor, the legislature and the director\nof the budget, the significant findings of the council including, but\nnot limited to, substantial savings generated by council initiatives and\nthe recommendations of the council concerning the state's procurement\npractices; and\n l. Undertake other related activities as are necessary to effectuate\nthis article including the development of a strategic plan for the\nimprovement of state procurement.\n m. Establish and, from time to time, amend guidelines with respect to\npublishing by state agencies of quarterly listings of projected\nprocurements having a value greater than five thousand dollars but less\nthan fifty thousand dollars in the procurement opportunities newsletter\nestablished by article four-C of the economic development law.\n n. Recommend to the commissioner necessary legislative changes or\nmodifications to existing or proposed rules, regulations and procedures\nthat would increase access to the state's procurement process by\nminority-owned business enterprises and women-owned business enterprises\nand create model language to be used by agencies when issuing requests\nfor bids or proposals to other solicitations or offers that would\nincrease the ability of small businesses to participate in state\nprocurements.\n 3. The commissioner may, when he or she deems it necessary to\nimplement the provisions and intent of this article, adopt\nrecommendations made by the council and may, at the request of the state\nprocurement council, promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the\nstate administrative procedure act to give effect to such\nrecommendations. When the commissioner adopts recommendations made by\nthe council but does not promulgate rules and regulations implementing\nsuch recommendations, the commissioner shall publish said\nrecommendations or a summary thereof in the state register. If the\ncommissioner modifies or rejects any recommended rule or regulation, he\nor she shall notify the council providing a written explanation thereof.\n 4. The commissioner shall report to the governor, the legislature and\nthe director of the budget by December thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nninety-five and thereafter annually on any modifications to or\nrejections of the rules and regulations proposed by the council.\n 5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to alter, supersede, modify\nor amend any provision of this article which establishes preferential\nstatus for any producer or supplier of commodities or services.\n