S3745

An Act renaming the Division of Purchase and Property and revising certain aspects of the State procurement process, amending various parts of statutory law, supplementing chapter 18A of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, and repealing P.L.1995, c.134.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.1975, c.127 (C.10:5-32) is amended to read as follows:

2. No public works contract shall be awarded by the State, a county, municipality or other political subdivision of the State, or any agency of or authority created by any of the foregoing, nor shall any moneys be paid thereunder when a single contract, or aggregated contracts in a fiscal year, is in excess of 15 percent of the amount of the contracting agency’s bid threshold, to any contractor, subcontractor or business firm which has not agreed and guaranteed to afford equal opportunity in performance of the contract and, except with respect to affectional or sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression, in accordance with an affirmative action program approved by the State Treasurer.

(cf: P.L.2006, c.100, s.13)

2. Section 4 of P.L.1975, c.127 (C.10:5-34) is amended to read as follows:

4. Each prospective bidder on a public works contract or contracts when a single contract, or aggregated contracts in a fiscal year, is in excess of 15 percent of the amount of the contracting agency’s bid threshold, and each subcontract bidder to a prime contract bidder shall formulate and submit to the State Treasurer his or its affirmative action program of equal opportunity whereby he or it guarantees minorities employment in all employment categories; the submission shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount to be fixed by the State Treasurer. For the purposes of this section, equal employment opportunity but not affirmative action is required with respect to persons identified solely by their affectional or sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The State Treasurer shall notify the bidder of approval or disapproval of his or its program within 60 days of its submission; failure of the State Treasurer to so act within 60 days shall constitute approval of the program. Any existing federally approved or sanctioned affirmative action program shall be approved by the State Treasurer.

No subcontract bidder who has less than five employees need comply with the provisions of this section.

(cf: P.L.2006, c.100, s.15)

3. Section 4 of P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.51) is amended to read as follows:

4. No contractor shall bid on any contract for public work as defined in section 2 of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.26) , or for which payment of the prevailing wage is required by any other provision of law, unless the contractor is registered pursuant to this act prior to contract award. No contractor shall list a subcontractor in a bid proposal for the contract unless the subcontractor is eligible to register, and is registered pursuant to P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.48 et seq.) [at the time the bid is made] prior to contract award. No contractor or subcontractor, including a subcontractor not listed in the bid proposal, shall engage in the performance of any public work subject to the contract, unless the contractor or subcontractor is registered pursuant to that act. Contractors who bid on any contract for public work that rely solely on subcontractors, or dealers or distributors, to perform installation or maintenance services may rely on the subcontractor’s, or dealer’s or distributor’s, public works registration when bidding on any contract subject to this section.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.376, s.2)

4. Section 1 of P.L.1942, c.176 (C.52:25-24.1) is amended to read as follows:

1. The [State Purchase Commissioner] Division of Public Procurement in the Department of the Treasury is hereby authorized [, at any time within five days from the opening of bids,] to require any bidder to submit [to him] a financial statement [, under oath, in response to a questionnaire,] showing not only the financial responsibility of the bidder, but [his] also the ability to furnish the material desired, and such other pertinent and material facts as the [State Purchase Commissioner] division may deem desirable. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act the [State Purchase Commissioner] division is hereby authorized to prepare a standard form of questionnaire to be submitted by the bidder. If no response to the questionnaire is received by the [State Purchase Commissioner] division within five days from the time of its mailing [by said purchase commissioner], the [purchase commissioner] division may reject the bid of any such bidder and award the bid to the next lowest responsible bidder.

(cf: P.L.1942, c.176, s.1)

5. Section 1 of P.L.1977, c.33 (C.52:25-24.2) is amended to read as follows:

1. No corporation, partnership, or limited liability company shall be awarded any contract nor shall any agreement be entered into for the performance of any work or the furnishing of any materials or supplies, the cost of which is to be paid with or out of any public funds, by the State, or any county, municipality or school district, or any subsidiary or agency of the State, or of any county, municipality or school district, or by any authority, board, or commission which exercises governmental functions, unless prior to [the receipt of the bid or accompanying the bid, of] the time the contract is awarded to said corporation, said partnership, or said limited liability company there is submitted a statement setting forth the names and addresses of all stockholders in the corporation who own 10 percent or more of its stock, of any class, or of all individual partners in the partnership who own a 10 percent or greater interest therein, or of all members in the limited liability company who own a 10 percent or greater interest therein, as the case may be. If one or more such stockholder or partner or member is itself a corporation or partnership or limited liability company, the stockholders holding 10 percent or more of that corporation's stock, or the individual partners owning 10 percent or greater interest in that partnership, or the members owning 10 percent or greater interest in that limited liability company, as the case may be, shall also be listed. The disclosure shall be continued until names and addresses of every noncorporate stockholder, and individual partner, and member, exceeding the 10 percent ownership criteria established in this act, has been listed.

To comply with this section, a bidder with any direct or indirect parent entity which is publicly traded may submit the name and address of each publicly traded entity and the name and address of each person that holds a 10 percent or greater beneficial interest in the publicly traded entity as of the last annual filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission or the foreign equivalent, and, if there is any person that holds a 10 percent or greater beneficial interest, also shall submit links to the websites containing the last annual filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission or the foreign equivalent and the relevant page numbers of the filings that contain the information on each person that holds a 10 percent or greater beneficial interest.

(cf: P.L.2016, c.43, s.1)

6. (New section) The Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury, created and established by P.L.1948, c.92 (C.52:18A-1 et seq.), shall be known and referred to as the Division of Public Procurement. Any reference in a law, rule, regulation, judicial or administrative proceeding, or otherwise to the Division of Purchase and Property shall mean and refer to the Division of Public Procurement.

7. P.L.1995, c.134 (C.52:34-12.2) is repealed.

8. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill renames the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury as the Division of Public Procurement.

Additionally, this bill revises certain aspects of the State procurement process. This bill would also repeal the statutory requirement requiring a bidder to submit a MacBride principles certification.

Under this bill, the current Division of Purchase and Property will be renamed as the Division of Public Procurement. This new name aligns with the division’s purpose of serving as the State's central procurement agency.

The bill revises certain aspects of the State procurement process. Specifically, the bill amends existing law to:

· change the timeframe for submission of the ownership disclosure statement from at the time of bidding to prior to the contract award;

· exempt vendors when a single contract, or aggregated contracts in a fiscal year, is 15 percent or less of the amount of the contracting agency’s bid threshold from filing the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)/Affirmative Action (AA) form and exempts these vendors from paying the current fee to obtain an EEO/AA certificate;

· change the timeframe for submission of financial statements from immediately after bid opening to prior to the contract award; and

· provide that in order to bid on a contract for public work a contractor or a subcontractor must be eligible to register as a contractor or subcontractor pursuant to law.

Under this bill, the current MacBride principles certification requirement would be repealed. Repealing this certification requirement would reduce the number of statutorily required forms that a bidder is required to submit in response to a proposal or in connection with a contract award. The current certification form requires a bidder to certify that it has no business operations in Northern Ireland or that it will take lawful steps in good faith to conduct any business operations it has in Northern Ireland in accordance with the MacBride principles of nondiscrimination in employment.