Senate Bill No. 341–Committee on Government Affairs

March 10, 1999

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Referred to Committee on Government Affairs

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes to provisions governing purchasing by local governments. (BDR 27-722)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to local governmental purchasing; limiting the time certain local governments are required to maintain a record of requests for bids and bids received; authorizing the authorized representative of a local government to let contracts in an emergency and to assign awarded contracts; authorizing local governments to reaward contracts; prohibiting the sale of personal property of a local government unless the property is no longer required for public use; authorizing local governments to join or use the contracts of the State of Nevada; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 332.039 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 332.039 1. Except as otherwise provided by specific statute:

1-3 (a) A governing body or its authorized representative in a county whose

1-4 population is 100,000 or more shall advertise all contracts for which the

1-5 estimated amount required to perform the contract exceeds $25,000.

1-6 (b) Such a governing body or its authorized representative may enter

1-7 into a contract of any nature without advertising if the estimated amount

1-8 required to perform the contract is $25,000 or less.

1-9 (c) If the estimated amount required to perform the contract is more than

1-10 $10,000 but not more than $25,000, requests for bids must be submitted to

1-11 two or more persons capable of performing the contract, if available. The

1-12 governing body or its authorized representative shall maintain a

1-13 [permanent] record of all requests for bids and all bids received [.

1-14 2. Nothing in this section prohibits] for at least 7 years after the date

1-15 of execution of the contract.

2-1 2. This section does not prohibit a governing body or its authorized

2-2 representative from advertising for or requesting bids regardless of the

2-3 estimated amount to perform the contract.

2-4 Sec. 2. NRS 332.055 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-5 332.055 1. For the purposes of this section, an "emergency" is one

2-6 which:

2-7 (a) Results from the occurrence of a disaster [such as,] including, but

2-8 not limited to, fire, flood, hurricane, riot, power outage or disease; or

2-9 (b) May lead to impairment of the health, safety or welfare of the public

2-10 if not immediately attended to.

2-11 2. If the authorized representative, chief administrative officer or [the]

2-12 governing body of the local government determines that an emergency

2-13 exists affecting the public health, safety or welfare, a contract or contracts

2-14 necessary to contend with [such] the emergency may be let without

2-15 complying with the requirements of this chapter. If such emergency action

2-16 was taken by the authorized representative or chief administrative officer,

2-17 he shall report it to the governing body at its next regularly scheduled

2-18 meeting.

2-19 Sec. 3. NRS 332.065 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-20 332.065 1. [When] If a governing body or its authorized

2-21 representative has advertised for or requested bids in letting a contract, the

2-22 award must, except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, be made to the

2-23 lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The lowest responsive and

2-24 responsible bidder must be judged on the basis of price, conformance to

2-25 specifications, bidders’ qualifications , including the bidders’ past

2-26 performance in such matters, quality and utility of services, supplies,

2-27 materials or equipment offered and their adaptability to the required

2-28 purpose and in the best interest of the public, each of the factors being

2-29 considered.

2-30 2. The governing body:

2-31 (a) Shall give preference to recycled products if:

2-32 (1) The product meets the applicable standards;

2-33 (2) The product can be substituted for a comparable nonrecycled

2-34 product; and

2-35 (3) The product costs no more than a comparable nonrecycled

2-36 product.

2-37 (b) May give preference to recycled products if:

2-38 (1) The product meets the applicable standards;

2-39 (2) The product can be substituted for a comparable nonrecycled

2-40 product; and

2-41 (3) The product costs no more than 5 percent more than a comparable

2-42 nonrecycled product.

3-1 (c) May purchase recycled paper products if the specific recycled paper

3-2 product is:

3-3 (1) Available at a price which is not more than 10 percent higher than

3-4 that of paper products made from virgin material;

3-5 (2) Of adequate quality; and

3-6 (3) Available to the purchaser within a reasonable period.

3-7 3. If after the lowest responsive and responsible bidder has been

3-8 awarded the contract, during the term of the contract he does not supply

3-9 goods or services in accordance with the bid specifications, or if he

3-10 repudiates the contract, the governing body [of any hospital] may reaward

3-11 the contract to the next lowest responsive and responsible bidder without

3-12 requiring that new bids be submitted. Reawarding the contract to the next

3-13 lowest responsive and responsible bidder is not a waiver of any liability of

3-14 the initial bidder awarded the contract.

3-15 4. As used in this section:

3-16 (a) "Post-consumer waste" means a finished material which would

3-17 normally be disposed of as a solid waste having completed its life cycle as

3-18 a consumer item.

3-19 (b) "Recycled paper product" means all paper and wood-pulp products

3-20 containing in some combination at least 50 percent of its total weight:

3-21 (1) Post-consumer waste; and

3-22 (2) Secondary waste,

3-23 but does not include fibrous waste generated during the manufacturing

3-24 process such as fibers recovered from waste water or trimmings of paper

3-25 machine rolls, wood slabs, chips, sawdust or other wood residue from a

3-26 manufacturing process.

3-27 (c) "Secondary waste" means fragments of products or finished products

3-28 of a manufacturing process, which has converted a virgin resource into a

3-29 commodity of real economic value.

3-30 Sec. 4. NRS 332.095 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-31 332.095 1. No contract awarded may be assigned to any other person

3-32 without the consent of the governing body [.] or its authorized

3-33 representative.

3-34 2. No contract awarded or any portion thereof may be assigned to any

3-35 person who was declared by the governing body not to be a responsible

3-36 person to perform the particular contract.

3-37 Sec. 5. NRS 332.115 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-38 332.115 1. Contracts which by their nature are not adapted to award

3-39 by competitive bidding, including contracts for:

3-40 (a) Items which may only be contracted from a sole source;

3-41 (b) Professional services;

3-42 (c) Additions to and repairs and maintenance of equipment which may

3-43 be more efficiently added to, repaired or maintained by a certain person;

4-1 (d) Equipment which, by reason of the training of the personnel or of an

4-2 inventory of replacement parts maintained by the local government is

4-3 compatible with existing equipment;

4-4 (e) [Purchases of perishable goods by a county or district hospital;]

4-5 Perishable goods;

4-6 (f) Insurance;

4-7 (g) [Software] Computer hardware, associated peripherals and

4-8 software for computers;

4-9 (h) Books, library materials and subscriptions;

4-10 (i) Motor vehicle fuel purchased by a local law enforcement agency for

4-11 use in an undercover investigation;

4-12 (j) Motor vehicle fuel for use in a vehicle operated by a local law

4-13 enforcement agency or local fire department if such fuel is not available

4-14 within the vehicle’s assigned service area from a fueling station owned by

4-15 the State of Nevada or a local government;

4-16 (k) Purchases made with money in a store fund for prisoners in a jail or

4-17 local detention facility for the provision and maintenance of a canteen for

4-18 the prisoners; [and]

4-19 (l) Supplies, materials or equipment that are available from the General

4-20 Services Administration or another governmental agency in the regular

4-21 course of its business [,] ; and

4-22 (m) Items for resale through a retail outlet operated in this state by a

4-23 local government or the State of Nevada,

4-24 are not subject to the requirements of this chapter for competitive bidding

4-25 as determined by the governing body or its authorized representative.

4-26 2. The purchase of equipment for use by a local law enforcement

4-27 agency in the course of an undercover investigation is not subject to the

4-28 requirements of this chapter for competitive bidding if:

4-29 (a) The equipment is an electronic or mechanical device which by

4-30 design is intended to monitor and document in a clandestine manner

4-31 suspected criminal activity; and

4-32 (b) Purchasing the equipment pursuant to such requirements would limit

4-33 or compromise the use of such equipment by an agency authorized to

4-34 conduct such investigations.

4-35 3. The governing body of a hospital required to comply with the

4-36 provisions of this chapter, or its authorized representative, may purchase

4-37 goods commonly used by the hospital, under a contract properly awarded

4-38 pursuant to NRS 332.065, without additional competitive bidding even if at

4-39 the time the contract was awarded:

4-40 (a) The vendor supplying such goods to the person awarded the contract

4-41 was not identified as a supplier to be used by the person awarded the

4-42 contract; or

5-1 (b) The vendor was identified as a supplier but was not identified as the

5-2 supplier of such goods.

5-3 The governing body of the hospital shall make available for public

5-4 inspection each such contract and records related to those purchases.

5-5 4. Except in cases of emergency, at least 60 days before the expiration

5-6 of an existing contract for insurance in which the local government is the

5-7 insured, the governing body shall cause to be given, by advertising or in

5-8 another manner deemed adequate and desirable by the governing body,

5-9 notice of the date the contract for insurance expires.

5-10 5. [Nothing in this section prohibits] This section does not prohibit a

5-11 governing body or its authorized representative from advertising for or

5-12 requesting bids.

5-13 Sec. 6. NRS 332.148 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-14 332.148 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, when a

5-15 governing body or its authorized representative has advertised for or

5-16 requested bids in letting a contract and no responsible bids are received, the

5-17 governing body or its authorized representative may let the contract

5-18 without competitive bidding not less than 7 days after it publishes a notice

5-19 stating that no bids were received on the contract and that the contract may

5-20 be let without further bidding.

5-21 2. A governing body or its authorized representative shall entertain any

5-22 bid which is submitted after it publishes such notice and before the

5-23 expiration of the waiting period.

5-24 Sec. 7. NRS 332.175 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-25 332.175 When purchasing personal property, the governing body or its

5-26 authorized representative may solicit and accept advantageous trade-in

5-27 allowances for personal property of the public entity which has been

5-28 determined by the governing body or its authorized representative to be no

5-29 longer required for public use, and may award any bid to the bidder

5-30 submitting the lowest net bid after deduction of [such] the trade-in

5-31 allowance.

5-32 Sec. 8. NRS 332.185 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-33 332.185 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 334.070, all sales

5-34 or leases of personal property of the local government must be made, as

5-35 nearly as possible, under the same conditions and limitations as required by

5-36 this chapter in the purchase of personal property . [; but the] The governing

5-37 body or its authorized representative may sell any such personal property at

5-38 public auction if it determines that the property is no longer required for

5-39 public use and deems such a sale desirable and in the best interests of the

5-40 local government.

5-41 2. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the purchase, sale,

5-42 lease or transfer of real property by the governing body.

6-1 Sec. 9. NRS 332.195 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-2 332.195 1. Local governments and the State of Nevada may join or

6-3 use the contracts of other local governments within this state with the

6-4 authorization of the contracting vendor. The originally contracting local

6-5 government is not liable for the obligations of the local government which

6-6 joins or uses the contract.

6-7 2. Local governments may join or use the contracts of the State of

6-8 Nevada with the authorization of the contracting vendor. The State of

6-9 Nevada is not liable for the obligations of the local government which

6-10 joins or uses the contract.

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