SF 1792

2nd Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; requiring that state 
  1.3             agency contracts for services be performed by United 
  1.4             States citizens or by individuals authorized to work 
  1.5             in the United States; modifying the acquisition 
  1.6             authority of the commissioner of administration; 
  1.7             imposing sanctions on employers outsourcing jobs 
  1.8             outside the United States; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.9             2002, section 16C.03, subdivision 3; proposing coding 
  1.10            for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 16C; 268. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 16C.03, 
  1.13  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 3.  [ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.] The commissioner shall 
  1.15  acquire all goods, services, and utilities needed by agencies.  
  1.16  The commissioner shall acquire goods, services, and utilities by 
  1.17  requests for bids, requests for proposals, reverse auctions as 
  1.18  provided in section 16C.10, subdivision 7, or other methods 
  1.19  provided by law, unless a section of law requires a particular 
  1.20  method of acquisition to be used.  The commissioner shall make 
  1.21  all decisions regarding acquisition activities.  The 
  1.22  commissioner may not acquire goods, services, or otherwise 
  1.23  approve any contract with an employer while the employer is 
  1.24  subject to the sanctions provided in section 268.974, 
  1.25  subdivision 2.  The determination of the acquisition method and 
  1.26  all decisions involved in the acquisition process, unless 
  1.27  otherwise provided for by law, shall be based on best value 
  1.28  which includes an evaluation of price and may include other 
  2.1   considerations including, but not limited to, environmental 
  2.2   considerations, quality, and vendor performance.  A best value 
  2.3   determination must be based on the evaluation criteria detailed 
  2.4   in the solicitation document.  If criteria other than price are 
  2.5   used, the solicitation document must state the relative 
  2.6   importance of price and other factors.  Unless it is determined 
  2.7   by the commissioner that an alternative solicitation method 
  2.8   provided by law should be used to determine best value, a 
  2.9   request for bid must be used to solicit formal responses for all 
  2.10  building and construction contracts.  Any or all responses may 
  2.11  be rejected.  When using the request for bid process, the bid 
  2.12  must be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, 
  2.13  taking into consideration conformity with the specifications, 
  2.14  terms of delivery, the purpose for which the contract or 
  2.15  purchase is intended, the status and capability of the vendor, 
  2.16  and other considerations imposed in the request for bids.  The 
  2.17  commissioner may decide which is the lowest responsible bidder 
  2.18  for all purchases and may use the principles of life-cycle 
  2.19  costing, where appropriate, in determining the lowest overall 
  2.20  bid.  The duties set forth in this subdivision are subject to 
  2.21  delegation pursuant to this section. 
  2.22     Sec. 2.  [16C.075] [WORK PERFORMED UNDER SERVICE 
  2.23  CONTRACTS.] 
  2.24     (a) A contract for services entered into by an agency must 
  2.25  specify that services under the contract, or under any 
  2.26  subcontract awarded under the contract, may be performed only by:
  2.27     (1) a citizen of the United States; or 
  2.28     (2) an individual legally authorized to work in the United 
  2.29  States. 
  2.30     (b) This section applies both to a contract for 
  2.31  professional or technical services, as defined in section 
  2.32  16C.08, and to a contract for nonprofessional or nontechnical 
  2.33  services.  
  2.34     (c) For purposes of this section, "agency" includes the 
  2.35  Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and an entity in the 
  2.36  legislative branch, in addition to entities defined in section 
  3.1   16C.02, subdivision 2. 
  3.2      (d) This section does not apply to: 
  3.3      (1) a contract for legal services entered into by the 
  3.4   attorney general; 
  3.5      (2) a contract entered into by the State Board of 
  3.6   Investment; 
  3.7      (3) a contract relating to the importation of prescription 
  3.8   drugs from another country; 
  3.9      (4) a contract for a facility jointly owned or managed by 
  3.10  the state and a political subdivision of Canada, or a contract 
  3.11  for a bridge between the state and Canada; 
  3.12     (5) a contract with a business owned and operated in any 
  3.13  country that has signed the World Trade Organization Government 
  3.14  Procurement Agreement; or 
  3.15     (6) a contract determined by the commissioner to be 
  3.16  necessary to meet a compelling public interest. 
  3.17     "Compelling public interest" includes, but is not limited 
  3.18  to, the provision of essential services for public health and 
  3.19  safety and the provision of services that can only be performed 
  3.20  outside the United States.  The commissioner must report to the 
  3.21  chairs of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over 
  3.22  state government procurement policy and finance no later than 
  3.23  January 15 of each year regarding the specific uses of the 
  3.24  exemption to meet a compelling public interest. 
  3.25     Sec. 3.  [268.974] [JOB RELOCATION REPORTING.] 
  3.26     Subdivision 1.  [JOB LOSSES.] By January 31 of each year, 
  3.27  an employer that has reduced the number of its jobs in this 
  3.28  state by more than 100 employees during the previous calendar 
  3.29  year must report the reduction to the commissioner.  An employer 
  3.30  reporting job losses under this section must complete a survey 
  3.31  prepared by the commissioner.  In addition to any other 
  3.32  information required by the commissioner, the survey must 
  3.33  include: 
  3.34     (1) the name and principal place of business of the 
  3.35  employer; 
  3.36     (2) identification of any contracts the employer has with 
  4.1   the state or a local unit of government in the state; 
  4.2      (3) identification of any grants or loans the employer has 
  4.3   received from the state or a local unit of government within the 
  4.4   previous five years; 
  4.5      (4) the number of employees of the employer in jobs in this 
  4.6   state who lost those jobs in the previous year; 
  4.7      (5) the number of jobs in this state added by the employer 
  4.8   in the previous year; and 
  4.9      (6) the number of jobs of the employer lost in this state 
  4.10  during the previous year as a result of the employer outsourcing 
  4.11  the jobs to employees located outside of the United States. 
  4.12     The employer must complete and return the survey to the 
  4.13  commissioner within 30 days after receiving it.  An employer 
  4.14  failing to complete and return the survey within the 30-day 
  4.15  deadline is subject to the sanctions in subdivision 2 if the 
  4.16  commissioner notifies the employer of the failure and the 
  4.17  employer does not complete and return the survey within 30 days 
  4.18  after notice.  The commissioner must determine within 30 days 
  4.19  after receiving the survey whether the employer has outsourced 
  4.20  more than 100 jobs outside the United States within the previous 
  4.21  calendar year, and whether the outsourcing caused a net loss of 
  4.22  more than 100 jobs of the employer in this state. 
  4.23     A person who believes that an employer has outsourced jobs 
  4.24  from this state to outside the United States may report the 
  4.25  information to the commissioner. 
  4.26     Subd. 2.  [SANCTIONS.] If the commissioner determines that 
  4.27  an employer has a net loss of 100 or more jobs in this state 
  4.28  during the previous calendar year caused by outsourcing 100 or 
  4.29  more jobs outside the United States, the employer, for a period 
  4.30  of seven years commencing from the date the commissioner 
  4.31  complies with subdivision 3, may not: 
  4.32     (1) provide goods or services to the state under a contract 
  4.33  subject to chapter 16C; 
  4.34     (2) provide goods or services to a local unit of government 
  4.35  in this state under a contract with the local unit of 
  4.36  government; or 
  5.1      (3) receive any grants or loans from the state or a local 
  5.2   unit of government in this state. 
  5.3      Subd. 3.  [NOTICE.] After determining that an employer is 
  5.4   subject to the sanctions in subdivision 2, the commissioner must 
  5.5   notify the commissioner of administration and the commissioner 
  5.6   of finance and then publish the determination in the State 
  5.7   Register.  The commissioner of administration and the 
  5.8   commissioner of finance shall administer the sanctions provided 
  5.9   in subdivision 2, clauses (1) and (3), and the applicable local 
  5.10  units of government shall administer the sanction in clause (2). 
  5.11     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.12     This act is effective the day following final enactment.  
  5.13  Section 2 applies to a contract entered into on or after that 
  5.14  date.