Sec. 4e-9. Vendor and Citizen Advisory Panel. Established. Duties.
Sec. 4e-1. Definitions. For the purposes of sections 4e-1 to 4e-47, inclusive:
(1) “Best value selection” means a contract selection process in which the award of a contract is based on a combination of quality, timeliness and cost factors;
(2) “Bid” means an offer, submitted in response to an invitation to bid, to furnish supplies, materials, equipment, construction or contractual services to a state contracting agency under prescribed conditions at a stated price;
(3) “Bidder” means a business submitting a bid in response to an invitation to bid by a state contracting agency;
(4) “Business” means any individual or sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, trust, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, joint stock company, joint venture, association or other legal entity through which business for profit or not-for-profit is conducted;
(5) “Competitive bidding” means the submission of prices by a business competing for a contract to provide supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services to a state contracting agency, under a procedure in which the contracting authority does not negotiate prices, as set forth in statutes and regulations concerning procurement;
(6) “Consultant” means (A) any architect, professional engineer, landscape architect, land surveyor, accountant, interior designer, environmental professional or construction administrator, who is registered or licensed to practice such person's profession in accordance with the applicable provisions of the general statutes, (B) any planner or any environmental, management or financial specialist, or (C) any person who performs professional work in areas including, but not limited to, educational services, medical services, information technology and real estate appraisal;
(7) “Consultant services” means those professional services rendered by a consultant and any incidental services that a consultant and those in the consultant's employ are authorized to perform;
(8) “Contract” or “state contract” means an agreement or a combination or series of agreements between a state contracting agency or quasi-public agency and a business for:
(A) A project for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, repair or demolition of any public building, public work, mass transit, rail station, parking garage, rail track or airport;
(B) Services, including, but not limited to, consultant and professional services;
(C) The acquisition or disposition of personal property;
(D) The provision of goods and services, including, but not limited to, the use of purchase of services contracts and personal service agreements;
(E) The provision of information technology, state agency information system or telecommunication system facilities, equipment or services;
(F) A lease; or
(G) A licensing agreement;
“Contract” or “state contract” does not include a contract between a state agency or a quasi-public agency and a political subdivision of the state;
(9) “Term contract” means the agreement reached when the state accepts a bid or proposal to furnish supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services at a stated price for a specific period of time in response to an invitation to bid;
(10) “Contract risk assessment” means (A) the identification and evaluation of loss exposures and risks, including, but not limited to, business and legal risks associated with the contracting process and the contracted goods and services, and (B) the identification, evaluation and implementation of measures available to minimize potential loss exposures and risks;
(11) “Contractor” means any business that is awarded, or is a subcontractor under, a contract or an amendment to a contract with a state contracting agency under statutes and regulations concerning procurement, including, but not limited to, a small contractor, minority business enterprise, an individual with a disability, as defined in section 4a-60, or an organization providing products and services by persons with disabilities;
(12) “Contractual services” means the furnishing of labor by a contractor, not involving the delivery of a specific end product other than reports, which are merely incidental to the required performance and includes any and all laundry and cleaning service, pest control service, janitorial service, security service, the rental and repair, or maintenance, of equipment, machinery and other state-owned personal property, advertising and photostating, mimeographing, human services and other service arrangements where the services are provided by persons other than state employees. “Contractual services” includes the design, development and implementation of technology, communications or telecommunications systems or the infrastructure pertaining thereto, including hardware and software and services for which a contractor is conferred a benefit by the state, whether or not compensated by the state. “Contractual services” does not include employment agreements or collective bargaining agreements;
(13) “Data” means recorded information, regardless of form or characteristic;
(14) “Vote of two-thirds of the members of the board present and voting” means a vote by the State Contracting Standards Board that is agreed upon by two-thirds of the members of the State Contracting Standards Board present and voting for a particular purpose and that includes the vote of one member of the board appointed by a legislative leader;
(15) “Electronic” means electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or any other similar technology;
(16) “Emergency procurement” means procurement by a state contracting agency, quasi-public agency, as defined in section 1-120, judicial department or constituent unit of higher education that is made necessary by a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear and imminent danger to public safety or requires immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property or essential public services or in response to a court order, settlement agreement or other similar legal judgment;
(17) “Equipment” means personal property of a durable nature that retains its identity throughout its useful life;
(18) “Materials” means items required to perform a function or used in a manufacturing process, particularly those incorporated into an end product or consumed in its manufacture;
(19) “Nonprofit agency” means any organization that is not a for-profit business under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, makes no distribution to its members, directors or officers and provides services contracted for by (A) the state, or (B) a nonstate entity;
(20) “Professional services” means any type of service to the public that requires that members of a profession rendering such service obtain a license or other legal authorization as a condition precedent to the rendition thereof, including, but not limited to, the professional services of architects, professional engineers, or jointly by architects and professional engineers, landscape architects, certified public accountants and public accountants, land surveyors, attorneys-at-law, psychologists, licensed marital and family therapists, licensed professional counselors and licensed clinical social workers as well as such other professional services described in section 33-182a;
(21) “Privatization contract” means an agreement or series of agreements between a state contracting agency and a person or entity in which such person or entity agrees to provide services that are substantially similar to and in lieu of services provided, in whole or in part, by state employees, other than contracts with a nonprofit agency, which are in effect as of January 1, 2009, and which through a renewal, modification, extension or rebidding of contracts continue to be provided by a nonprofit agency;
(22) “Procurement” means contracting for, buying, purchasing, renting, leasing or otherwise acquiring or disposing of, any supplies, services, including but not limited to, contracts for purchase of services and personal service agreements, interest in real property, or construction, and includes all government functions that relate to such activities, including best value selection and qualification based selection;
(23) “Proposer” means a business submitting a proposal to a state contracting agency in response to a request for proposals or other competitive sealed proposal;
(24) “Public record” means a public record, as defined in section 1-200;
(25) “Qualification based selection” means a contract selection process in which the award of a contract is primarily based on an assessment of contractor qualifications and on the negotiation of a fair and reasonable price;
(26) “Regulation” means regulation, as defined in section 4-166;
(27) “Request for proposals” means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting proposals;
(28) “State contracting agency” means any executive branch agency, board, commission, department, office, institution or council. “State contracting agency” does not include the judicial branch, the legislative branch, the offices of the Secretary of the State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, with respect to their constitutional functions, any state agency with respect to contracts specific to the constitutional and statutory functions of the office of the State Treasurer. For the purposes of every provision of this chapter other than section 4e-16, “state contracting agency” includes the Connecticut Port Authority, for the purposes of section 4e-16, “state contracting agency” includes any constituent unit of the state system of higher education and for the purposes of section 4e-19, “state contracting agency” includes the State Education Resource Center, established under section 10-4q;
(29) “Subcontractor” means a subcontractor of a contractor for work under a contract or an amendment to a contract;
(30) “Supplies” means any and all articles of personal property, including, but not limited to, equipment, materials, printing, insurance and leases of real property, excluding land or a permanent interest in land furnished to or used by any state agency;
(31) “Infrastructure facility” means a building, structure or network of buildings, structures, pipes, controls and equipment that provide transportation, utilities, public education or public safety services. Infrastructure facility includes government office buildings, public schools, jails, water treatment plants, distribution systems and pumping stations, wastewater treatment plants, collections systems and pumping stations, solid waste disposal plants, incinerators, landfills, and related facilities, public roads and streets, highways, public parking facilities, public transportation systems, terminals and rolling stock, rail, air and water port structures, terminals and equipment; and
(32) “State employee” means state employee, as defined in section 5-154 and, for purposes of section 4e-16, state employee includes an employee of any state contracting agency.
(Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-1, S. 1; P.A. 13-247, S. 190; 13-286, S. 1; P.A. 14-182, S. 9; P.A. 23-91, S. 5.)
History: Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-1 effective January 1, 2009; P.A. 13-247 amended Subdiv. (28) to redefine “state contracting agency” by deleting provision re regional educational service centers, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-286 amended Subdiv. (28) to redefine “state contracting agency” by adding provision re State Education Resource Center and regional educational service centers and making a technical change, effective July 12, 2013; P.A. 14-182 made a technical change in Subdiv. (19), effective June 12, 2014; P.A. 23-91 amended Subdiv. (28) to redefine “state contracting agency” by adding provision re Connecticut Port Authority.
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Sec. 4e-2. State Contracting Standards Board established; members; chairperson; executive director; Chief Procurement Officer. Duties. Prohibited activities of employees. Rules of the board. Quorum. (a) There is established a State Contracting Standards Board that shall consist of fourteen members appointed as follows: Eight members by the Governor, at least one of whom is certified in procurement, two members by the speaker of the House of Representatives, two members by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one member by the majority leader of the Senate and one member by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who is certified in procurement. In the event that the party of the Governor also controls both houses of the General Assembly, the board shall be appointed as follows: Eight members by the Governor, at least one of whom is certified in procurement, one member by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one member by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one member by the majority leader of the Senate, one member by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one member by the minority leader of the Senate and one member by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who is certified in procurement.
(b) Each member shall have demonstrated sufficient knowledge by education, training or experience in one or more of the following enumerated areas: (1) Procurement; (2) contract negotiation, selection and drafting; (3) contract risk assessment; (4) competitive bidding and proposal procedures; (5) real estate transactions, including the purchase, sale and lease of real estate and buildings; (6) building construction and architecture; (7) business insurance and bonding; (8) ethics in public contracting; (9) federal and state statutes, procurement policies and regulations; (10) outsourcing and privatization analysis; (11) small and minority business enterprise development; (12) engineering and information technologies; (13) human services; and (14) personnel and labor relations, provided such education, training or experience was acquired over not less than a continuous five-year period within the ten-year period preceding such appointment.
(c) The chairperson of the board shall be appointed by the Governor. The terms of the members shall be coterminous with the terms of the appointing authority for each member and subject to the provisions of section 4-1a. If any vacancy occurs on the board, the appointing authority having the power to make the appointment under the provisions of this section shall appoint a person in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(d) The State Contracting Standards Board shall be within the Office of Governmental Accountability established under section 1-300.
(e) The chairperson of the board and other members of the board shall be compensated two hundred dollars per diem. No person shall serve on the board who is a state or municipal employee. No board member or any spouse, child, stepchild, parent or sibling of such board member shall be directly involved in any enterprise that does business with the state.
(f) The Governor shall appoint an executive director of the board who shall serve as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the board. The executive director shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of section 4-7 and may be removed from office for reasonable cause, in accordance with chapter 67. The board shall, annually, conduct a performance evaluation of such executive director. The executive director shall report to the chairperson of the board and, in consultation with the Chief Procurement Officer, (1) conduct comprehensive planning with respect to the administrative functions of the board; (2) coordinate the budget and personnel activities of the board; (3) cause the administrative organization of the board to be examined with a view to promoting economy and efficiency; (4) act as the external liaison for the board; and (5) execute such other duties as may be assigned by the chairperson of the board or the board, as applicable. The executive director may enter into such contractual agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of the director's duties.
(g) The board shall appoint a Chief Procurement Officer for a term not to exceed six years, unless reappointed pursuant to the provisions of this subsection. The Chief Procurement Officer shall report to the board and annually be evaluated by, and serve at the pleasure of, the board. For administrative purposes only, the Chief Procurement Officer shall be supervised by the executive director.
(1) The Chief Procurement Officer shall be responsible for carrying out the policies of the board relating to procurement including, but not limited to, oversight, investigation, auditing, agency procurement certification and procurement and project management training and enforcement of said policies as well as the application of such policies to the screening and evaluation of current and prospective contractors. The Chief Procurement Officer may enter into such contractual agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of the duties as set forth in this subsection and by the board, including, but not limited to, recommending best practices and providing operational and administrative assistance to state agencies determined, by the board, to be in violation of sections 4e-16 to 4e-47, inclusive.
(2) In addition to the duties set forth by the board, the Chief Procurement Officer shall (A) oversee state contracting agency compliance with the provisions of statutes and regulations concerning procurement; (B) monitor and assess the performance of the procurement duties of each agency procurement officer; (C) administer the certification system and monitor the level of agency compliance with the requirements of statutes and regulations concerning procurement, including, but not limited to, the education and training, performance and qualifications of agency procurement officers; (D) review and monitor the procurement processes of each state contracting agency, quasi-public agencies and institutions of higher education; and (E) serve as chairperson of the Contracting Standards Advisory Council.
(h) The board may contract with consultants and professionals on a temporary or project by project basis and may employ, subject to the provisions of chapter 67, such employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
(i) The reasonable expenses of the State Contracting Standards Board and its employees shall be paid from the budget of the board, upon the approval of the board.
(j) No employee of the State Contracting Standards Board shall hold another state or municipal position. No nonclerical employee of the board or any spouse, child, stepchild, parent or sibling of such employee, shall be associated with an enterprise that does business with the state. For purposes of this subsection, “associated with” means “business with which he is associated”, as defined in section 1-79. Each member and employee of the State Contracting Standards Board shall file, with the board and with the Office of State Ethics, a statement of financial interests, as described in section 1-83. Except as provided in section 1-83, such statement shall be a public record. Such statements for the preceding calendar year shall be filed with the Office of State Ethics, as required by law, if such employee or member held such a position during the preceding calendar year.
(k) Any violation of the provisions of subsection (j) of this section shall constitute a violation of part I of chapter 10 and may be the subject of a complaint and investigation filed and conducted in accordance with the provisions of section 1-82.
(l) The board shall adopt such rules as it deems necessary for the conduct of its internal affairs, in accordance with section 4-167, including, but not limited to, rules of procedure for any audit undertaken pursuant to section 4e-6.
(m) A majority of the appointed members of the board, but not less than five members, shall constitute a quorum, which shall be required for the transaction of business by the board.
(Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-1, S. 2; P.A. 11-48, S. 67; P.A. 19-2, S. 2; 19-136, S. 2, 3; P.A. 23-204, S. 233.)
History: Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-1 effective January 1, 2009; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing language re independent body within Executive Department with language re Office of Governmental Accountability, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 19-2 amended Subsec. (j) to add “Except as provided in section 1-83”, effective April 29, 2019; P.A. 19-136 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provisions requiring certain appointed members be certified in procurement and making a technical change and amended Subsec. (m) by changing the quorum requirement from 8 with at least 1 legislative appointee to a majority of members but not less than 5 members, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (g)(2) to delete reference to Vendor and Citizen Advisory Panel, effective July 1, 2023.
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Sec. 4e-9. Vendor and Citizen Advisory Panel. Established. Duties. Section 4e-9 is repealed, effective July 1, 2023.
(Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-1, S. 9; P.A. 23-204, S. 444.)
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