H. B. 2730
(By Delegates Staton, Michael, Douglas,
Varner and Beane)
[Introduced February 10, 1999;
Referred to the Committee the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article three, chapter five-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
thereto a new section, designated section ten-a; and to amend
and reenact section twenty-two of said article, all relating
to awarding state contracts; providing that no contract may be
awarded or renewed where a vendor has a delinquency regarding
state taxes, workers' compensation premium or other state fees
or assessments; setting forth definitions; and setting forth
exceptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter five-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by thereto a new section, designated section ten-a; and
that section twenty-two of said article be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-10a. Prohibition upon awarding contracts.
(a) No contract or renewal of any contract may be awarded
under this article where any vendor, or prospective vendor, who is
delinquent in the payment to this state of any assessment, penalty
or fine.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms are
defined as follows:
(1) "Any assessment, penalty or fine" means and includes, but
is not limited to, any tax administered pursuant to chapter eleven
of this code, any workers' compensation premium, any permit fee or
any environmental fee or assessment, including any interest or
penalties thereon, in an amount greater than five thousand dollars,
in the aggregate.
(2) "Contract" means any contract entered into by the State of
West Virginia for the purchase of tangible personal property or
services and includes leases of real or personal property;
(3) "Vendor" means and includes any person, firm, company,
corporation, individual, partnership, limited liability company or
other entity whatsoever and any related parties.
(4) "Related parties" means and includes any person, firm,
company, corporation, individual, partnership, limited liability
company or other entity whatsoever related to any vendor prohibited
from contract by this section by blood, marriage, or where there is an identity of ownership.
(5) "Identity of ownership" means and includes any
partnership, corporation or limited liability company having any
partner, shareholder, member or investor who is delinquent in the
payment to this state of any assessment, penalty or fine.
(c) The prohibition of this section does not apply where a
vendor has contested any tax administered pursuant to chapter
eleven of this code, workers' compensation premium, permit fee or
environmental fee or assessment, and the matter has not become
final, or where the vendor has entered into a payment plan or
agreement and the vendor is not in default of any of the provisions
of such plan or agreement.
§5A-3-22. Legislative printing.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the
letting of all contracts for legislative printing shall be subject
only to the provisions of this section.
Upon request of the Legislature, or either house thereof, all
contracts for legislative printing shall be let on competitive bids
by the director to the lowest responsible bidder.
For the purposes
of this section, the term "lowest responsible bidder" excludes any
vendor, or prospective vendor, who is delinquent in the payment to
this state of any tax administered pursuant to chapter eleven of
this code, workers' compensation premium, permit fee or
environmental fee or assessment, including interest and penalties, in an amount greater than five thousand dollars, in the aggregate,
and is subject to the definitions set forth in section ten-a of
this article. Each such contract shall be subject to the approval
of the governor, and in case of his disapproval the contract shall
be relet on competitive bids submitted in the same manner as the
original bids on the contract that was disapproved. Each bid on
every such contract shall be within the maximum limits that may be
fixed from time to time by concurrent resolution of the
Legislature. The clerk of the Senate and the clerk of the House of
Delegates shall have exclusive control of all printing authorized
by their respective legislative bodies, and shall approve the
specifications included in any contract before an invitation for
bids is released by the director of purchasing. Before presenting
for payment any bill for such legislative printing, the printer
shall have the same approved by the purchasing division as correct
and according to contract specifications. A copy of all bills for
legislative printing shall be furnished the clerk of the house for
which such printing was done. When properly approved bills are
presented to the clerk of the Senate, or to the clerk of the House
of Delegates, he shall draw his requisition upon the auditor in the
amount of the bill, payable from the legislative printing fund, and
the auditor shall honor the requisition and issue to the printer a
state draft therefor.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the award or
renewal of state contracts where a vendor has a delinquency regarding state taxes, workers' compensation premium or other state
fees or assessments in excess of $5,000.00, in the aggregate,
including interest and penalties. The bill provides definitions
and a limited exception.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.