Senate Bill No. 702
(By Senators Bowman, Kessler, McKenzie,
Rowe, Caldwell, Fanning, Chafin, Love,
Sprouse and Weeks)
____________
[Introduced February 23, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §5A-3-37b and
§5A-3-37c, all relating to prohibiting foreign professional
service contracts with the state; creating the "Keep Jobs In
West Virginia Act"; declaring that state officials do not have
authority to bind the state under the government procurement
rules of an international trade agreement; providing the state
is not bound by the government procurement rules of any
international trade agreement; requiring the state attorney
general to notify the United States trade representative as
well as congress of this state's position not to be bound by
the government procurement rules of any international trade
agreements; prohibiting the state to enter into foreign
procurement contracts; and setting forth an effective date for
the proposed legislation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto two new sections, designated §5A-3-37b
and §5A-3-37c, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-37b. Prohibition on foreign professional service contracts.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
following provisions apply to all contracts for professional
services.
(a) A principal representative may not award a contract for
professional services to a person if the professional services are
to be rendered at a site that is outside the United States.
(b) Each person submitting a bid to provide professional
services for a state agency shall certify that the professional
services covered by the bid will be performed in the United States.
§5A-3-37c. Keep jobs in West Virginia Act.
(a) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited
as the "Keep Jobs in West Virginia Act."
(b) Legislative declaration. -- The Legislature hereby finds
and declares that:
(1) State officials, including the governor, do not have the
authority to agree to bind the state under the government
procurement rules of an international trade agreement, nor to give
consent to the federal government for the state to be bound to such
an agreement;
(2) Any consent a state official has given to be bound by the
government procurement rules of an international trade agreement is
invalid;
(3) This state is not bound by the government procurement rules of any international trade agreement, including, but not
limited to, the "agreement on government procurement," any world
trade organization agreements, the United States Chile free trade
agreement, or the United States Singapore free trade agreement,
whether under state, federal or international law;
(4) This state will not consent to be bound by the government
procurement rules of any international trade agreements in the
future absent a specific, explicit act of the Legislature
authorizing consent.
(c) Notice to United States trade representatives. -- The
state attorney general shall notify the United States Trade
Representative of the policies of the Legislature set forth in
subsection (b) of this section in writing no later than the first
day of January, two thousand five, and shall, additionally, provide
copies of the notice to the president of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives.
(d) Prohibition on foreign contracts. -- Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, the following provisions apply to
all procurement contracts:
(1) The executive director and the purchasing agent for each
purchasing agency may not award a procurement contract for services
rendered or supplies delivered from a site that is outside the
United States.
(2) Each person submitting a bid to provide services or
supplies to a governmental body shall certify that the services and
supplies covered by the bid will be performed or delivered from a site within the United States.
(e) Effective date - Applicability. -- This section shall take
effect the first day of July, two thousand four and shall apply to
all contracts entered on or after that date.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit foreign
professional service contracts with the state while creating the
"Keep Jobs In West Virginia Act." The act declares that state
officials do not have authority to bind the state under the
government procurement rules of an international trade agreement
and it provides the state is not bound by the government
procurement rules of any international trade agreement. Further,
it requires the state attorney general to notify the United States
Trade Representative as well as the Congress, of this state's
position not to be bound by the government procurement rules of any
international trade agreements. Finally, it prohibits the state
from entering into foreign procurement contracts while setting
forth an effective date for the proposed legislation.
§§5A-3-37b and 5A-3-37c
are new; therefore, strike-throughs
and underscoring have been omitted.
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