HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 7        FILED ON: 1/6/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 7

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act updating Chapter 30B.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 30B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(b) A governmental body is not required to apply this chapter to:

SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after clause (7), the following paragraph:-

Although not required to apply this chapter to the following, for accountability, transparency and the fair and open expenditure of public funds, governmental bodies are encouraged to follow this chapter for:

SECTION 3. Clause (8) of subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the words “special education”, in line 24, the following word:- only.

SECTION 4. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (13) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(13) contracts for the services of expert witnesses for use in an active adjudicatory proceeding or litigation;

SECTION 5. Clause (14) of said subsection (b), of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “members;” in line 49, the following words:- further, this provision only applies to contracts for the generation or acquisition of power, not to other supplies or services acquired by or disposed of by the municipal gas or electric department;

SECTION 6. Clause (15) of said subsection (b), of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended, by inserting after the word “accountants”, in line 51, the following words:- for work customarily performed by licensed members of these professions;.

SECTION 7. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (17).

SECTION 8. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (18).

SECTION 9. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (20) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(20) a contract which is funded exclusively by the proceeds derived from a gift to a governmental body or a trust established for the benefit of a governmental body with the proceeds of a gift or bequest for the defined acquisition of a specific supply, service or real property;

SECTION 10. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (21).

SECTION 11. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (31).

SECTION 12. Said subsection (b) of said section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (32A) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(32A) contracts with licensed architects, engineers and related professionals to provide services customarily performed by members of these professions including, but not limited to, report preparation, and conducting surveys;

SECTION 13. Subsection (d) of section 1 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “apply”, in line 124, the following word:- only.

SECTION 14. Section 2 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words “architect and engineer” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- architect, engineer and related professionals.

SECTION 15. Said section 2 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “purchase description”, the following definition:-

“Reasonable investigation”, shall mean an investigation, which has a scope that is appropriate for the particular procurement or disposition of supplies, services or real property, and that is conducted by a procurement officer, with due diligence and in good faith. 

SECTION 16. Said section 2 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Responsive bidder or offeror”, the following definition:-

“Rule for Award”, the method used to determine the outcome of a competitive procurement based on one or more of the following criteria: price; acceptability as to quality, workmanship, results of inspections and tests; suitability for a particular purpose; and compliance with the requirements and criteria established in the solicitation.

SECTION 17. Said section 2 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Services”, the following definition:-

“Special Education”, for services directly related to student programs and services under chapter seventy-one B.

SECTION 18. Section 3 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the words “$10,000 or more”, in line 2, the following words: - for supplies or services.

SECTION 19. Section 4 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(a) Except as permitted pursuant to this section and section 7, for the procurement of a supply or service in the amount of $10,000 or greater, but not more than $50,000, a procurement officer shall prepare a written purchase description and then seek written quotations from no fewer than 3 persons customarily providing the supply or service. Quotations received by the procurement office shall remain sealed until after the deadline for the receipt of the quotations. The procurement officer shall record: (1) the names and addresses of all person from whom quotations are sought, (2) the purchase description used for the procurement, (3) the names of the persons submitting quotations, (4) the quotation due date, (5) the date and dollar amount of each quotation, and (6) the quotation submissions.  The procurement officer shall retain all documents referenced in the preceding two sentences in a manner that is consistent with section 7 of chapter 4(26)(h) and section 3 of this chapter. A governmental body may require that any procurement in an amount of not more than $50,000 be subject to section 5 or 6.

SECTION 20. Said section 4 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(b) Quotations shall not be modified after submission; however, the procurement officer shall waive minor informalities or allow the person submitting quotations to correct the minor informality.

The procurement officer shall award the contract to the lowest responsible and responsive person submitting a quotation. A contract requiring payment to the governmental body of a net monetary amount shall be awarded to the highest responsible and responsive person submitting a quotation.

SECTION 21. Subsection (a) of section 7 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended, by striking out in line 2, the words “or any contract”, and inserting in place thereof the following words:-, or a contract in any amount.

SECTION 22. Subsection (c) of said section 7 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “exists”, in line 21, the following words:- , after conducting a reasonable investigation.

SECTION 23. Section 8 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in lines 13 through 14, “at the earliest possible time” and inserting in place thereof:- within 30 days of executing each contract, unless the emergency prohibits timely submission within that time, in which case the copy shall be submitted as soon as possible,.

SECTION 24. Said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 9, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 9. Before the deadline for submitting a bid, proposal, quotation or other offers, the procurement officer may cancel an invitation for bids, a request for proposals, or other solicitation when the procurement officer determines that cancellation serves the best interests of the governmental body. After the deadline for submitting a bid, proposal, quotation or other offers, the procurement officer may reject all bids, proposals, quotations or other offers when the procurement determines that such rejection is in the best interest of the governmental body. The procurement officer shall state in writing the reason for said action.

SECTION 25. Section 10 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:-

A person submitting a bid or a proposal for the procurement, acquisition or disposal of supplies or services or real property to any governmental body shall certify in writing, on the bid or proposal, as follows:

SECTION 26. Section 12 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence in subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

Unless otherwise provided by law and subject to paragraph (b), a governmental body may enter into a contract for any period of time if the period of time serves the best interests of the governmental body and does not conflict with any other statute; provided, however, that the procurement officer shall include in the solicitation the term of the contract and conditions of renewal, extension or purchase, if any.

SECTION 27. Subsection (b) of section 15 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the words “established markets” in line 6, the following words:- , or auctions in an in-person or electronic format.

SECTION 28. Subsection (f) section 15 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 23, after the first sentence, the following sentence:-  If no written procedures exist, the governmental body shall use sound business practices to dispose of such supply.

SECTION 29. Subsection (b) of section 16 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “valid” in line 9, the following words:- before the anticipated disposition, and these records shall not be considered public records until the transaction is complete. This valuation shall be conducted annually until the conclusion of the disposition of the property.

SECTION 30. Clause (1) of subsection (e) of said section 16 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in lines 36 through 37, the words “at the earliest opportunity; or” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- within 30 days of executing each contract, unless the emergency prohibits timely submission within that time, in which case the copy shall be submitted as soon as possible, to the state secretary for placement in the central register; or.

SECTION 31. Subsection (g) of said section 16 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end, the following sentence:- Within 30 days of executing each contract, the governmental body shall submit this notice to the state secretary for publication in the central register.

SECTION 32. Subsection (c) of section 17 of chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “action,” in line 15, the following words:- including any investigatory costs.

SECTION 33. Chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 23 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

Section 23.

The inspector general may, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 30A, adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules and regulations for the interpretation, administration and enforcement of this chapter.