Senate Bill No. 175–Senators Schneider, Neal, Mathews,
Wiener, Care, Titus and Shaffer

 

Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Giunchigliani, Parks, Beers,
Carpenter, Chowning, Humke, Manendo and Nolan

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to disabled persons; creating an exception for certain organizations to the competitive bidding process for purchasing by local governments; requiring the committee on employment of persons with disabilities, if created by the governor, to establish a program to encourage and facilitate the purchase of commodities and services from certain organizations by agencies of state and local government; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

   Section 1. Chapter 332 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

 new section to read as follows:

   1.  A governing body of a local government or its authorized

 representative may award, without complying with the requirements for

 competitive bidding set forth in this chapter, a contract for services or

 for the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment or labor to an

 organization or agency whose primary purpose is the training and

 employment of persons with a mental or physical disability, including,

 without limitation, a community-based training center for the care and

 training of mentally and functionally retarded persons described in

 chapter 435 of NRS.

   2.  An organization or agency that wishes to submit a bid for such a

 contract must establish a fair-market price for those services, supplies,

 materials, equipment or labor by conducting a market survey and must

 include the survey with the bid submitted to the local government.

   Sec. 2.  NRS 333.375 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   333.375  1. The provisions of NRS 331.100 notwithstanding, the

 [director] purchasing division may award without accepting competitive

 bids a contract for services or the purchase of commodities to

 organizations or agencies whose primary purpose is the training and

 employment of [handicapped persons. He shall establish by market

 survey] persons with a mental or physical disability, including, without

 limitation, a community-based training center for the care and training

 of mentally and functionally retarded persons described in chapter 435

 of NRS.

   2.  An organization or agency that wishes to submit a bid for such a

 contract must establish a fair-market price for those services or

 commodities [.] by conducting a market survey and must include the

 survey with the bid submitted to the purchasing division.

   Sec. 3.  Chapter 334 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

 new section to read as follows:

   1.  If the governor has created a committee on employment of persons

 with disabilities, the committee shall establish a program to encourage

 and facilitate purchases by agencies of commodities and services from

 organizations.

   2.  The program may include:

   (a) A method for assisting an agency that wishes to purchase

commodities or services from an organization to locate such commodities

 and services that meet the needs of the agency;

   (b) A method for assisting an organization to locate an agency that

 wishes to purchase commodities or services from organizations;

   (c) A method for encouraging agencies to purchase commodities and

 services from organizations;

   (d) A method to review objections to an award of a contract to an

 organization, which method must be limited to a review of the process

 used for awarding the contract to ensure that the appropriate procedures

 were followed in awarding the contract;

   (e) The establishment of a percentage, not to exceed 4 percent, of the

 full amount of payment to an organization which is awarded a contract

 for all commodities and services to be provided to the agency pursuant to

 the contract that is sufficient to pay the cost to the committee of

 establishing and administering the program; and

   (f) A method for collecting information from an agency in a report to

 the committee, which report may include, without limitation:

     (1) The number of persons currently employed at the agency who

 are mentally or physically disabled; and

     (2) The number of contracts the agency has entered into pursuant

 to the program which are currently in effect and a list of the

 organizations with which the agency has entered such contracts.

   3.  In administering the program, the committee on employment of

 persons with disabilities shall, upon request of an agency or

 organization, assist the agency or organization in establishing a contract

 for the purchase of commodities or services.

   4.  A contract entered into pursuant to the program must provide for

 a payment to the committee in an amount equal to the full amount of

 payment to the organization for all commodities and services to be

 provided to the agency pursuant to the contract multiplied by the

 percentage established pursuant to paragraph (e) of subsection 2.

   5.  As used in this section:

   (a) “Agency” means a local government as defined in NRS 332.015

 and using agencies as defined in NRS 333.020.

   (b) “Organization” means an organization whose primary purpose is

 the training and employment of mentally or physically disabled persons,

 including, without limitation, community-based training centers for the

 care and training of mentally and functionally retarded persons

 described in chapter 435 of NRS.

   Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

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