GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 1355
Senate Committee Substitute
Senate Commerce Committee Substitute Adopted 7/15/98

Short Title:  Reform of State Procurement Process.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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May 20, 1998

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPROVE THE STATE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 143-53.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-53.1.  Setting of benchmarks; increase by Secretary.
On and after July 1, 1997, the procedures prescribed by G.S. 143-52 with respect to competitive bids and the bid value benchmark authorized by G.S. 143-53(a)(2) with respect to rule making by the Secretary of Administration for competitive bidding shall be twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); provided, the Secretary of Administration may, in his or her discretion, increase the benchmarks effective as of the beginning of any fiscal biennium of the State commencing after June 30, 1999, in an amount whose increase, expressed as a percentage, does not exceed the rise in the Consumer Price Index during the fiscal biennium next preceding the effective date of the benchmark increase. For a special responsibility constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, the benchmark prescribed in this section shall be as provided in G.S. 116-31.10."
Section 2.  The Department of Administration shall continue its practice of soliciting bids through electronic means, whenever practicable.  The Department shall also continue work on developing a process for receiving competitive bids by electronic means.  This process shall be implemented as soon as practicable, after procedures are developed to ensure the security of bids submitted electronically and after standards for electronic signatures are established.
Section 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.