Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 5002 (2020S5)

Sponsor

Sen. Buxton, D. G.

Final action

Governor Signed 6/25/2020

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• modifies a provision relating to an evaluation committee's authority to change scores after having been submitted to the procurement unit.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

CHANGES TO PROCUREMENT CODE
FIFTH SPECIAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: David G. Buxton
House Sponsor: 
Val L. Peterson
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies the Utah Procurement Code.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ modifies a provision relating to an evaluation committee's authority to change
scores after having been submitted to the procurement unit.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63G-6a-707
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 365
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
63G-6a-707
 is amended to read:
63G-6a-707.
Evaluation committee -- Evaluation of proposals.
(1) A procurement unit shall appoint an evaluation committee of at least three members
to evaluate proposals received in response to a request for proposals issued by the procurement
unit.
(2) The evaluation committee shall evaluate proposals in accordance with the process
described in the request for proposals.
(3) To determine which proposal provides the best value to the procurement unit, the
evaluation committee shall evaluate each responsible offeror's responsive proposal that has not
been disqualified from consideration under the provisions of this chapter, using the evaluation
criteria described in the request for proposals.
(4) Criteria not described in the request for proposals may not be used to evaluate a
proposal.
(5) A procurement unit shall:
(a) appoint evaluation committee members who have at least a general familiarity with
or basic understanding of:
(i) the technical requirements relating to the type of procurement item that is the
subject of the procurement; or
(ii) the need that the procurement item is intended to address; and
(b) ensure that the evaluation committee and each individual participating in the
evaluation committee process:
(i) does not have a conflict of interest with any of the offerors;
(ii) can fairly evaluate each proposal;
(iii) does not contact or communicate with an offeror concerning the procurement
outside the official evaluation committee process; and
(iv) conducts or participates in the evaluation in a manner that ensures a fair and
competitive process and avoids the appearance of impropriety.
(6) A procurement unit may authorize an evaluation committee to receive assistance
from an expert or consultant to better understand a technical issue involved in the procurement.
(7) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (7)(b), an evaluation committee member is
prohibited from knowing or having access to information relating to the cost of a proposal until
after the evaluation committee submits its recommendation to the procurement unit based on
the scores of all criteria other than cost.
(b) A procurement official may waive the prohibition of Subsection (7)(a) by signing a
written statement indicating why waiving the prohibition is in the best interests of the
procurement unit.
(8) An evaluation committee may 
not
 change its final recommended scores after the
evaluation committee has submitted those scores to the procurement unit.
(9) (a) The deliberations and other proceedings of an evaluation committee may be
held in private.
(b) If the evaluation committee is a public body, as defined in Section 
52-4-103
, the
evaluation committee shall comply with Section 
52-4-205
 in closing a meeting for its
deliberations and other proceedings.
(10) (a) At the conclusion of the evaluation process, an evaluation committee shall
prepare and submit to the procurement unit a written statement that:
(i) recommends a proposal for an award of a contract, if the evaluation committee
decides to recommend a proposal;
(ii) contains the score awarded to the recommended proposal based on the criteria
stated in the request for proposals; and
(iii) explains how the recommended proposal provides the best value to the
procurement unit.
(b) A procurement unit is not required to comply with Subsection (10)(a) for a contract
with a construction manager/general contractor if the contract is awarded based solely on:
(i) the qualifications of the construction manager/general contractor; and
(ii) the management fee to be paid to the construction manager/general contractor.
Section 2. 
Effective date.
If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
Constitution, Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
the date of veto override.