HB 1661 -- STATE PURCHASING

SPONSOR:  Pratt

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 10 to 1.

This bill changes the laws regarding state purchasing as it
relates to giving preference to any qualified agency for the
blind or the severely disabled.  In its main provisions, the
bill:

(1)  Requires the Commissioner of the Office of Administration to
determine a fair market price for all products and services
offered for sale to state agencies and political subdivisions by
any qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or the severely
disabled;

(2)  Requires the commissioner to develop rules regarding the
assignment of products and services to be supplied by nonprofit
agencies for the blind and severely disabled;

(3)  Authorizes the commissioner to purchase products and
services elsewhere when requisitions cannot be reasonably
complied with through the nonprofit agencies for the blind and
the severely disabled;

(4)  Requires the commissioner to publish a list of suitable
products and services provided by qualified nonprofit agencies
for the blind and severely disabled and to distribute the list to
all purchasing officers of the state and its political
subdivisions;

(5)  Requires all products and services provided by nonprofit
agencies for the blind and severely disabled to be procured at
the price established by the commissioner if the product or
service is available within a reasonable time;

(6)  Specifies the language that must be included in all
contracts entered into between legislative, executive, or
judicial agencies and private contract vendors;

(7)  Prohibits the purchase by any state agency of similar
products and services at comparable prices and quality from any
other source than a nonprofit agency for the blind or severely
disabled if the nonprofit agency certifies that its products meet
the comparable performance specifications, price, and quality
requirements established by the commissioner;

(8)  Authorizes the commissioner and any state agency to enter
into contractual agreements, cooperative working relationships,
or other arrangements with nonprofit agencies for the blind and
severely disabled and allows the commissioner to secure
information from any state agency in order to develop effective
and efficient delivery of products and services;

(9)  Requires the head of each state agency to annually submit a
report of its purchases to the commissioner who must publish a
report of the performance of the state use program to all
nonprofit agencies for the blind and the severely disabled, all
state agencies, the General Assembly, and the Governor; and

(10)  Allows the Governor to appoint a committee of at least
eight members to collaborate to further the policy objectives in
the bill.  The committee must consist of five members of the
General Assembly, at least one representative from a qualified
nonprofit agency for the blind, at least one representative from
a qualified nonprofit agency for the severely disabled, and at
least one private citizen.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $49,051
in FY 2011, $58,470 in FY 2012, and $60,225 in FY 2013.  No
impact on Other State Funds in FY 2011, FY 2012, and FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will increase
employment of the visually impaired and result in an overall cost
savings to the state because subsidies to the blind and visually
impaired will be reduced by more than any costs associated with
the preferential purchasing.  The bill applies to only state
purchasing.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Pratt; Steve
Rosenthal, Apple Point Association for the Blind; and Joseph
Hall, Lighthouse for the Blind.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:11 pm