La. Admin. Code tit. 34 § I-5513

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section I-5513 - Procurement Support Team Operations

A. Procurement Support Team Composition

1. A procurement support team (PST) shall be formed in accordance with the procedures defined herein for every information technology contract in an amount $100,000 or greater for the procurement of information technology hardware, hardware maintenance, software, software maintenance, and software support services. All contracts shall be subject to the review and approval of other agencies as required by statute or regulations. Purchase release orders issued pursuant to a direct order contract or a brand name contract shall not constitute a contract for purposes of these procedures. The formation of a procurement support team shall be accomplished by the Office of State Purchasing and shall include one or more representatives from each of the following: the Office of State Purchasing; the Legislative Legal Staff; the using agency initiating the procurement action; and the Legislative Fiscal Office. The Office of Information Technology will provide technical staff to assist the Office of State Purchasing and the procurement support team.

2. At least two members of each procurement support team shall have formal training in contract negotiations. The Legislative Fiscal Officer, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate (jointly), and the head of the Purchasing Agency (or his designee), shall each designate in writing to the Office of State Purchasing the names of a primary and an alternate team member. It shall be the responsibility of each named agency to keep the Office of State Purchasing advised of any changes in designated individuals.

3. The individual agencies represented on procurement support teams will have the following primary responsibilities. These responsibilities may be enlarged or modified as appropriate to each given situation by the procurement support team leader with the concurrence of the Office of State Purchasing.

a. Legislative Fiscal Office. The Legislative Fiscal Office shall have the primary responsibility for the analysis of solicitations and review of funding procedures and certification of specific appropriation for the purpose prior to the final contract award.

b. Legislative Legal Staff. The Legislative Legal Staff shall have the primary responsibility for developing the legal terms and conditions of draft contracts, evaluating the legal impact of substantive terms and conditions, review to ensure compliance with statutes and regulations, and legal negotiations.

c. Office of State Purchasing. The Office of State Purchasing shall have primary responsibility for insuring compliance with procurement procedures and regulations, the drafting of solicitations, and the evaluation of bids and proposals.

d. The Procuring Agency. The procuring agency shall have primary responsibility for the determination of compliance of bids or proposals with the functional requirements, and for all management decisions at each phase of the procurement process.

4. The Office of Information Technology shall provide technical staff to assist the Office of State Purchasing and the procurement support team. They shall provide advice and support in the area of information technology techniques, negotiation techniques, developing the structure and content of solicitations, and evaluation of bids or proposals, as requested by the Office of State Purchasing.

B. Procurement Support Team Involvement. The procurement support team participation may include assistance in finalizing the solicitation. Procurement support team participation must include, as a minimum, assistance in evaluation of bids and proposals, and negotiations of contract terms (if applicable). Assistance shall consist of reviewing the evaluation process and recommendation of award. Procurements requiring this level of support will involve the active participation of all of the members of the procurement support team as a unit.

1. The Office of State Purchasing, pursuant to the guidelines established therein, shall be responsible for convening a procurement support team if the procurement is $100,000 or greater. The Office of State Purchasing will designate the team leader.

2. At least four members, one from each office designated, must be present to constitute a quorum.

3. There will be at least one meeting during the procurement process. Each member of the procurement support team must assist in the evaluation of bids or proposals, and negotiation of contracts (if applicable). The procurement support team will make written evaluations and recommendations as a group; these will not supplant written individual agency approvals as required by statute or regulations. This review must be indicated by the signature of each team member on the procurement support team review form, which is maintained by the Office of State Purchasing. In the event a team member indicates acceptance or concurrence of any activity, and the team member's agency subsequently refuses to approve the process pursuant to its statutorily required review, the reviewing agency and the individual team member must submit to the team leader written reasons for their actions. The team leader shall file these documents in the final activity file.

4. In situations where formal negotiations with prospective vendors or a successful bidder or proposer are appropriate, such negotiations will be conducted by a negotiation team appointed by the procurement support team leader. One member of the negotiating team will be designated as lead negotiator. The results of such negotiations will, of course, be subject to all statutorily required reviews. The lead negotiator and at least one other member of the negotiating team should have formal training in contract negotiations.

5. After the procurement process has been completed, one copy of the documentation related to the procurement will be retained on file by the Office of State Purchasing.

6. The Office of State Purchasing shall have final statutory approval.

La. Admin. Code tit. 34, § I-5513

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, LR 10:77 (February 1984), amended by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of State Purchasing, LR 21:566 (June 1995), LR 29:2380 (November 2003).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 39:199.C and D.