1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to transportation; regulating professional 
  1.3             and technical services contracts for state 
  1.4             transportation projects; proposing coding for new law 
  1.5             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 161. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [161.3205] [PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SERVICES 
  1.8   CONTRACTS.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE; AUTHORITY GENERALLY.] (a) 
  1.10  Notwithstanding other law to the contrary, this section applies 
  1.11  to professional and technical services contracts entered into by 
  1.12  the commissioner of transportation. 
  1.13     (b) The commissioner has the authority and duty to: 
  1.14     (1) approve state transportation project plans and 
  1.15  specifications; 
  1.16     (2) award transportation construction and maintenance 
  1.17  contracts; 
  1.18     (3) approve, select, and award professional and technical 
  1.19  consultant contracts for state transportation projects; and 
  1.20     (4) approve utility and municipal agreements affecting 
  1.21  state transportation projects. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITION OF PROFESSIONAL OR TECHNICAL 
  1.23  SERVICES.] For purposes of this section, "professional or 
  1.24  technical services" means services that are intellectual in 
  1.25  character, including consultative, analytical, evaluative, 
  2.1   predictive, planning, programming, or recommendatory, and that 
  2.2   result in the production of a report or the completion of a 
  2.3   task.  Professional or technical contracts do not include the 
  2.4   provision of supplies or materials, except (1) by the approval 
  2.5   of the commissioner, (2) as incidental to providing supplies or 
  2.6   materials, or (3) as incidental to providing professional or 
  2.7   technical services. 
  2.8      Subd. 3.  [DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER.] Before entering into a 
  2.9   professional or technical services contract with a value 
  2.10  exceeding $150,000, the commissioner shall certify that: 
  2.11     (1) no current state employee is able and available to 
  2.12  perform the services called for by the contract; 
  2.13     (2) the normal competitive bidding mechanisms do not 
  2.14  provide for adequate performance of the services; 
  2.15     (3) the contractor has certified that the product of the 
  2.16  services will be original in character; 
  2.17     (4) reasonable efforts were made to publicize the 
  2.18  availability of the contract to the public; 
  2.19     (5) the agency has received, reviewed, and accepted a 
  2.20  detailed work plan from the contractor for performance under the 
  2.21  contract, if applicable; and 
  2.22     (6) the commissioner has developed and will implement a 
  2.23  written plan providing for the assignment of specific agency 
  2.24  personnel to a monitoring and liaison function, the periodic 
  2.25  review of interim reports or other indications of past 
  2.26  performance, and the ultimate utilization of the final product 
  2.27  of the services. 
  2.28     Subd. 4.  [CONTRACT PROCEDURES.] Before approving a 
  2.29  proposed contract for professional or technical services, the 
  2.30  commissioner shall determine, at least, that: 
  2.31     (1) the work to be performed under the contract is 
  2.32  necessary to the agency's achievement of its statutory 
  2.33  responsibilities and there is statutory authority to enter into 
  2.34  the contract; 
  2.35     (2) the contract does not establish an employment 
  2.36  relationship between the state or the agency and any persons 
  3.1   performing under the contract; 
  3.2      (3) the contractor and agents are not employees of the 
  3.3   state; 
  3.4      (4) no agency has previously performed or contracted for 
  3.5   the performance of tasks that would be substantially duplicated 
  3.6   under the proposed contract; 
  3.7      (5) the commissioner has specified a satisfactory method of 
  3.8   evaluating and using the results of the work to be performed; 
  3.9   and 
  3.10     (6) the combined contract and amendments will not exceed 
  3.11  five years, unless otherwise provided for by law.  The term of 
  3.12  the original contract must not exceed two years, unless the 
  3.13  commissioner determines that a longer duration is in the best 
  3.14  interest of the state. 
  3.15     Subd. 5.  [CONTRACT TERMINATION AND PAYMENT TERMS.] (a) A 
  3.16  professional or technical services contract must by its terms 
  3.17  permit the commissioner to unilaterally terminate the contract 
  3.18  prior to completion, upon payment of just compensation, if the 
  3.19  commissioner determines that further performance under the 
  3.20  contract would not serve agency purposes. 
  3.21     (b) The commissioner shall approve and make final payment 
  3.22  on all professional and technical services contracts within 30 
  3.23  days of submittal.  Overdue payments are subject to the 
  3.24  applicable prompt payment provisions of section 16A.124. 
  3.25     Subd. 6.  [REPORTS.] (a) The commissioner shall submit to 
  3.26  the governor, the chair of the ways and means committee of the 
  3.27  house of representatives, the chair of the senate state 
  3.28  government finance committee, and the legislative reference 
  3.29  library a yearly listing of all contracts for professional or 
  3.30  technical services executed.  The report must identify the 
  3.31  contractor, contract amount, duration, and services to be 
  3.32  provided.  The commissioner shall also issue yearly reports 
  3.33  summarizing the contract review activities of the department by 
  3.34  fiscal year.  
  3.35     (b) The fiscal year report must be submitted by September 1 
  3.36  of each year and must: 
  4.1      (1) be sorted by contractor; 
  4.2      (2) show the aggregate value of contracts issued to each 
  4.3   contractor; 
  4.4      (3) distinguish between contracts that are being issued for 
  4.5   the first time and contracts that are being extended; 
  4.6      (4) state the termination date of each contact; and 
  4.7      (5) identify services by commodity code, including topics 
  4.8   such as contracts for training and contracts for research. 
  4.9      (c) Within 30 days of final completion of a contract over 
  4.10  $150,000 covered by this subdivision, the commissioner must 
  4.11  submit a one-page report to the legislative reference library.  
  4.12  The report must: 
  4.13     (1) summarize the purpose of the contract, including why it 
  4.14  was necessary to enter into a contract; 
  4.15     (2) state the amount spent on the contract; and 
  4.16     (3) explain why this amount was a cost-effective way to 
  4.17  enable the agency to provide its services or products better or 
  4.18  more efficiently.