A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to modify the purchasing and contracting authority by the department of environment and natural resources on behalf of the north carolina zoological park; to expand the umstead exemption for the park; to improve the administration of park operations; to require a reporting of the progress and implementation of the mandates of this act; and to establish the North Carolina Zoological Park Funding and Organization Study Committee.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Part I:  Purchasing and Contracting authority on behalf of the North Carolina Zoological Park
SECTION 1.1.  Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143‑129.8A.  Purchase of certain goods and services for the North Carolina Zoological Park.
(a)	Exemption. – The North Carolina Zoological Park is a State entity whose primary purpose is the attraction of, interaction with, and education of the public regarding issues of global conservation, ecological preservation, and scientific exploration, and that purpose presents unique challenges requiring greater flexibility and faster responsiveness in meeting the needs of and creating the attractions for the Park. Accordingly, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources may use the procedure set forth in this section, in addition to or instead of any other procedure available under North Carolina law, to contract with a non‑State entity on behalf of the Park for the acquisition of goods and services where: (i) the contract directly results in the generation of revenue for the State of North Carolina; or (ii) the use of the acquired goods and services by the Park results in increased revenue or decreased expenditures for the State of North Carolina.
(b)	Limitation. – Contracts executed pursuant to the exemption of subsection (a) of this section may be entered into under a request for proposals procedure that satisfies the following minimum requirements:
(1)	Notice of the request for proposals shall be given in accordance with G.S. 143‑129(b).
(2)	Contracts shall be awarded to the person or entity that submits the best overall proposal as determined by the awarding authority. Factors to be considered in awarding contracts shall be identified in the request for proposals.
(c)	Procurement Methods. –  The Department may use procurement methods set forth in G.S. 143‑135.9 in developing and evaluating requests for proposals under this section. The Department may negotiate with any proposer in order to obtain a final contract that best meets the needs of the awarding authority. Negotiations allowed under this section shall not alter the contract beyond the scope of the original request for proposals in a manner that: (i) deprives the proposers or potential proposers of a fair opportunity to compete for the contract; and (ii) would have resulted in the award of the contract to a different person or entity if the alterations had been included in the request for proposals.
(d)	Promotional Rights. –  Subject to the approval of the Department, a non‑State entity awarded a contract that results in increased revenue or decreased expenditures for the Park may advertise, announce, or otherwise publicize the provision of services pursuant to award of the contract."
SECTION 1.2.  G.S. 143‑135.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑135.9.  Best Value procurements.
(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	Best Value procurement. – The selection of a contractor based on a determination of which proposal offers the best trade‑off between price and performance, where quality is considered an integral performance factor. The award decision is made based on multiple factors, including: total cost of ownership, meaning the cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and supporting a product or service over its projected lifetime; the evaluated technical merit of the vendor's proposal; the vendor's past performance; and the evaluated probability of performing the requirements stated in the solicitation on time, with high quality, and in a manner that accomplishes the stated business objectives and maintains industry standards compliance.
(2)	Government‑Vendor partnership. – A mutually beneficial contractual relationship between State government and a contractor, wherein the two share risk and reward, and value is added to the procurement of needed goods or services.
(3)	Information technology. – Electronic data processing and telecommunications goods and services, microelectronics, software, information processing, office systems, any services related to the foregoing, and consulting or other services for design and/or redesign of business processes.
(4)	Solution‑Based solicitation. –  A solicitation in which the requirements are stated in terms of how the product or service being purchased should accomplish the business objectives, rather than in terms of the technical design of the product or service.
(b)	Intent. – The intent of Best Value procurement is to enable contractors to offer and the agency to select the most appropriate solution to meet the business objectives defined in the solicitation and to keep all parties focused on the desired outcome of a procurement. (c)	Information Technology. – The acquisition of information technology by the State of North Carolina shall be conducted using the Best Value procurement method. For purposes of this section, business process reengineering, system design, and technology implementation may be combined into a single solicitation. For acquisitions which the procuring agency and the Division of Purchase and Contracts or the Office of Information Technology Services, as applicable, deem to be highly complex or determine that the optimal solution to the business problem at hand is not known, the use of Solution‑Based Solicitation and Government‑Vendor Partnership is authorized and encouraged. Any county, city, town, or subdivision of the State may acquire information technology pursuant to this section.
	
(e)	North Carolina Zoological Park. – The acquisition of goods and services under a contract entered pursuant to the exemption of G.S. 143‑129.8A(a)  by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on behalf of the North Carolina Zoological Park may be conducted using the Best Value procurement method. For acquisitions which the procuring agency deems to be highly complex, the use of Government‑Vendor partnership is authorized."
part ii:  expansion of umstead act exemption for the north carolina zoological park
SECTION 2.1.  G.S. 66‑58(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(b)	The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to:
…
(26)	The North Carolina Zoological Park."
SECTION 2.2.  G.S. 66‑58(c)(18) is repealed.

part iII:  Administrative improvements to the north carolina zoological park operations
SECTION 3.1.  The Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall work with the North Carolina Zoological Park to do the following:
(1)	Examine all purchasing and contracting policies and procedures. The Department shall identify opportunities for delegating purchasing and contracting responsibilities to the Park where appropriate. For purchases and contracts involving promotion and advertising, the Department shall consider increasing the amount over which the Park must solicit competitive bids or quotes to five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(2)	Continue negotiations with the Office of Information Technology Services regarding the implementation of Article 3D of Chapter 147 of the General Statutes.
(3)	Identify and address any other administrative concerns of the Park.
SECTION 3.2.  The Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall review the current Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and the North Carolina Zoological Society.  The Secretary shall work with the Society to make appropriate revisions to or replace the Memorandum, as needed.

Part Iv:  report
SECTION 4.  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall report to the North Carolina Zoological Park Funding and Organization Study Committee and to the Fiscal Research Division of the Legislative Services Office on the progress and implementation of Parts I and III of this act no later than January 15, 2010.

Part v:  Establishment of committee
SECTION 5.1.  Committee Established. – The North Carolina Zoological Park Funding and Organization Study Committee is hereby established.
SECTION 5.2.  Membership. – The Committee shall consist of 22 members as follows:
(1)	Five members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(2)	Five members of the House appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(3)	The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, or the Secretary's designee. 
(4)	The Director of the Zoological Park, or the Director's designee.
(5)	The Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary's designee.
(6)	The Executive Director of the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development of the Department of Commerce, or the Executive Director's designee.
(7)	The Chair of the North Carolina Zoological Park Council, or the Chair's designee.
(8)	The Chair of the board of directors of the North Carolina Zoological Society, Inc., or the Chair's designee.
(9)	Two additional representatives of the Zoo Society Board, who may be comprised of current or former members, one appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate upon recommendation of the Chair of the Zoo Society Board, one appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives upon recommendation of the Chair of the Zoo Society Board.
(10)	Two representatives from the public at large appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(11)	Two representatives from the public at large appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SECTION 5.3.  Cochairs. – The Committee shall have three cochairs, one designated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and two designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from among their respective appointees. The Committee shall meet upon the call of the cochairs.
SECTION 5.4.  Quorum. – A quorum of the Committee shall consist of 10 members.
SECTION 5.5.  Vacancies. – Any vacancy on the Committee shall be filled by the original appointing authority.
SECTION 5.6.  Purpose and Duties. – The Committee shall study: (i) funding issues associated with the Zoological Park, including current and expected capital and operational needs, current sources of revenue, and potential funding mechanisms; and (ii) the current organizational structure of the Zoological Park, and other potential organizational structures, including, but not limited to, reorganization as an authority, as a private nonprofit corporation, or other entity to determine which organizational structure would most effectively achieve the mission of the Zoological Park.
SECTION 5.7.  Expenses of Members. – Members of the Committee shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances in accordance with G.S. 120‑3.1, 138‑5, or 138‑6, as appropriate.
SECTION 5.8.  Staff. – Upon the prior approval of the Legislative Services Commission, the Legislative Services Officer shall assign professional staff to the Committee to aid in its work.
SECTION 5.9.  Consultants. – The Committee may hire consultants to assist with the study as provided in G.S. 120‑32.02(b).
SECTION 5.10.  Meetings. – The Committee may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building upon the approval of the Legislative Services Commission.
SECTION 5.11.  Report. – The Committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the 2010 Regular Session of the 2009 General Assembly and the Environmental Review Commission on or before May 1, 2010, at which time the Committee shall terminate.
SECTION 5.12.  Funding. – From funds appropriated to the General Assembly, the Legislative Services Commission shall allocate funds for the purpose of conducting the study provided for in this act.

part vi:  Effective Date
SECTION 6.  This act is effective when it becomes law.