H. B. 4255


(By Delegates Martin, Beane, Ennis, Argento,
Perdue, Tucker, Blair and Rowan)
[Introduced January 30, 2006; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]



 A BILL to amend and reenact §5A-3-5 and §5A-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to adding the expected life of product or commodity as factor in standard specifications for state purchasing contracts.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5A-3-5 and §5A-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-5. Purchasing section standard specifications: Promulgation and adoption by director; applicable to all purchases.

The director shall promulgate and adopt standard specifications based on scientific and technical data for appropriate commodities, which shall establish the quality to which such commodities to be purchased and services to be contracted for by the state must conform. Standard specifications shall apply to every future purchase of or contract for the commodities described in the specifications and shall include information relating to the expected life of the product or commodity. The No purchases of no by any spending unit may be exempt from compliance with the standard specifications so established, but the director whenever he deems it necessary and advisable, may exempt therefrom the purchase of particular items from the standard specifications if it is considered necessary and advisable. The director shall update the standard specifications, as necessary.
§5A-3-11. Purchasing in open market on competitive bids; debarment; bids to be based on standard specifications; period for alteration or withdrawal of bids; awards to lowest responsible bidder; uniform bids; record of bids; and exception.

(a) The director may make a purchase of commodities, printing, and services of ten thousand dollars or less in amount in the open market, but the purchase shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three competitive bids, and shall include the expected life of the product or commodity.
(b) The director may authorize spending units to purchase commodities, printing and services in the amount of one thousand dollars in the open market without competitive bids: Provided, That the expected life of the product or commodity must be taken into consideration.
(c) Bids shall be based on the standard specifications promulgated and adopted in accordance with the provisions of section five of this article, and may not be altered or withdrawn after the appointed hour for the opening of the bids.
(d) A vendor who has been debarred pursuant to the provisions of sections thirty-three-a through thirty-three-f, article three, chapter five-a of this code, may not bid on or be awarded a contract under this section.
(e) All open market orders, purchases based on advertised bid requests or contracts made by the director or by a state department shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, taking into consideration the qualities, cost of maintenance and expected useful life of the articles to be supplied, their conformity with specifications, their suitability to the requirements of the government and the delivery terms: Provided, That state bids on school buses shall be accepted from all bidders who shall then be awarded contracts if they meet the state board's "minimum standards for design and equipment of school buses." County boards of education may select from those bidders who have been awarded contracts and shall pay the difference between the state aid formula amount and the actual cost of bus replacement. Any or all bids may be rejected.
(f) If all bids received on a pending contract are for the same unit price or total amount, the director has the authority to reject all bids, and to purchase the required commodities, printing and services in the open market, if the price paid in the open market does not exceed the bid prices.
(g) All bidders submitting bid proposals to the purchasing division are required to submit an extra or duplicate copy to the State Auditor.
(h) Both copies must be received at the respective offices prior to the specified date and time of the bid openings. The failure to deliver or the nonreceipt of these bid forms at either of these offices prior to the appointed date and hour are grounds for rejection of the bids. In the event of any deviation between the copies submitted to the Purchasing Division and the State Auditor, the bids as to which there is a deviation shall be rejected, if the deviation relates to the quantity, quality or specifications of the commodities, printing or services to be furnished or to the price therefor or to the date of delivery or performance.
(i) After the award of the order or contract, the director, or someone appointed by him or her for that purpose, shall indicate upon the successful bid and its copy in the office of the State Auditor that it was the successful bid. Thereafter, the copy of each bid in the possession of the director and the State Auditor shall be maintained as a public record by both of them, shall be open to public inspection in the offices of both the director and the State Auditor and may not be destroyed by either of them without the written consent of the legislative auditor: Provided, That the governing board as defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code, may certify in writing to the director the need for a specific item essential to a particular usage either for instructional or research purposes at an institution of higher education and the director upon review of such certification may provide for the purchase of said specific items in the open market without competitive bids.
(j) If the director permits bids by facsimile transmission machine to be accepted in lieu of sealed bids pursuant to the provisions of section ten of this article, a duplicate facsimile transmission machine bid shall be transmitted to the State Auditor pursuant to this section: Provided, That an original bid is received by the State Auditor within two working days following the date specified for bid opening.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add the expected life of a product or commodity as a factor in standard specifications for state purchasing contracts.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.