1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; authorizing open bidding 
  1.3             for state purchases; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.4             sections 16C.03, subdivision 3; and 16C.10, by adding 
  1.5             a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 16C.03, 
  1.8   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3.  [ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.] The commissioner shall 
  1.10  acquire all goods, services, and utilities needed by agencies.  
  1.11  The commissioner shall acquire goods, services, and utilities by 
  1.12  requests for bids, requests for proposals, reverse auctions as 
  1.13  provided in section 16C.10, subdivision 7, or other methods 
  1.14  provided by law, unless a section of law requires a particular 
  1.15  method of acquisition to be used.  The commissioner shall make 
  1.16  all decisions regarding acquisition activities.  The 
  1.17  determination of the acquisition method and all decisions 
  1.18  involved in the acquisition process, unless otherwise provided 
  1.19  for by law, shall be based on best value which includes an 
  1.20  evaluation of price and may include other considerations 
  1.21  including, but not limited to, environmental considerations, 
  1.22  quality, and vendor performance.  A best value determination 
  1.23  must be based on the evaluation criteria detailed in the 
  1.24  solicitation document.  If criteria other than price are used, 
  1.25  the solicitation document must state the relative importance of 
  2.1   price and other factors.  Unless it is determined by the 
  2.2   commissioner that an alternative solicitation method provided by 
  2.3   law should be used to determine best value, a request for bid 
  2.4   must be used to solicit formal responses for all building and 
  2.5   construction contracts.  Any or all responses may be rejected.  
  2.6   When using the request for bid process, the bid must be awarded 
  2.7   to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, taking into 
  2.8   consideration conformity with the specifications, terms of 
  2.9   delivery, the purpose for which the contract or purchase is 
  2.10  intended, the status and capability of the vendor, and other 
  2.11  considerations imposed in the request for bids.  The 
  2.12  commissioner may decide which is the lowest responsible bidder 
  2.13  for all purchases and may use the principles of life-cycle 
  2.14  costing, where appropriate, in determining the lowest overall 
  2.15  bid.  The duties set forth in this subdivision are subject to 
  2.16  delegation pursuant to this section. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 16C.10, is 
  2.18  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.19     Subd. 7.  [REVERSE AUCTION.] (a) For the purpose of this 
  2.20  subdivision, "reverse auction" means a purchasing process in 
  2.21  which vendors compete to provide the lowest selling price in an 
  2.22  open and interactive environment. 
  2.23     (b) The provisions of section 16C.06, subdivisions 2 and 3, 
  2.24  do not apply when the commissioner determines that a reverse 
  2.25  auction is the appropriate purchasing process.