1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; authorizing agency heads 
  1.3             to contract with national purchasing organizations for 
  1.4             the purchase of goods; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2002, section 16C.03, subdivision 3, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 16C.03, 
  1.9   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 3.  [ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.] The commissioner shall 
  1.11  acquire all goods, services, and utilities needed by agencies.  
  1.12  The commissioner shall acquire goods, services, and utilities by 
  1.13  requests for bids, requests for proposals, reverse auctions as 
  1.14  provided in section 16C.10, subdivision 7, or other methods 
  1.15  provided by law, unless a section of law requires a particular 
  1.16  method of acquisition to be used.  The commissioner shall make 
  1.17  all decisions regarding acquisition activities, except that 
  1.18  agency heads may contract for the purchase of goods as provided 
  1.19  in subdivision 18.  The determination of the acquisition method 
  1.20  and all decisions involved in the acquisition process, unless 
  1.21  otherwise provided for by law, shall be based on best value 
  1.22  which includes an evaluation of price and may include other 
  1.23  considerations including, but not limited to, environmental 
  1.24  considerations, quality, and vendor performance.  A best value 
  1.25  determination must be based on the evaluation criteria detailed 
  1.26  in the solicitation document.  If criteria other than price are 
  2.1   used, the solicitation document must state the relative 
  2.2   importance of price and other factors.  Unless it is determined 
  2.3   by the commissioner that an alternative solicitation method 
  2.4   provided by law should be used to determine best value, a 
  2.5   request for bid must be used to solicit formal responses for all 
  2.6   building and construction contracts.  Any or all responses may 
  2.7   be rejected.  When using the request for bid process, the bid 
  2.8   must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, 
  2.9   taking into consideration conformity with the specifications, 
  2.10  terms of delivery, the purpose for which the contract or 
  2.11  purchase is intended, the status and capability of the vendor, 
  2.12  and other considerations imposed in the request for bids.  The 
  2.13  commissioner may decide which is the lowest responsible bidder 
  2.14  for all purchases and may use the principles of life-cycle 
  2.15  costing, where appropriate, in determining the lowest overall 
  2.16  bid.  The duties set forth in this subdivision are subject to 
  2.17  delegation pursuant to this section. 
  2.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 16C.03, is 
  2.19  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 18.  [COOPERATIVE PURCHASE OF GOODS.] (a) Agency 
  2.21  heads may contract with a purchasing alliance or cooperative 
  2.22  established by a national association of states or 
  2.23  municipalities for the acquisition of goods.  When consistent 
  2.24  with section 16C.06, subdivision 4, the commissioner shall 
  2.25  expand the choices available to agencies by recognizing 
  2.26  contracts bid by a national purchasing alliance domiciled in 
  2.27  Minnesota at the time the contract is bid by other vendors to 
  2.28  whom the contract is awarded.  The acquisition of goods under 
  2.29  this subdivision must comply with the same requirements imposed 
  2.30  on the commissioner under this chapter, sections 16B.121 to 
  2.31  16B.126, and section 363A.36.  Agency heads using this authority 
  2.32  must report annual expenditures for goods acquired under this 
  2.33  subdivision to the commissioner. 
  2.34     (b) Contracts under this section may not include any items, 
  2.35  as defined under section 16B.181, subdivision 1, clause (2), 
  2.36  included within the lists of items available for purchase from 
  3.1   the Department of Corrections industries prepared by the 
  3.2   commissioner of corrections under section 16B.181, subdivision 
  3.3   2, paragraph (a).