57 O.S. § 549.1. Purchase of prison industries goods and services

The Department of Corrections is authorized to purchase in the manner prescribed by law, facilities, equipment, raw materials and supplies, and to engage the supervisory personnel necessary to establish and maintain for this state at the penal institutions, now or hereafter under the control of the State Board of Corrections, industries and agricultural programs for the utilization of services of prisoners in the manufacture, production, processing or assembly of the articles or products as may be needed for the construction, operation, maintenance or use of any office, department, institution or agency supported in whole or in part by this state and the political subdivisions thereof. Upon the request of the Oklahoma Historical Society or the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, the Department of Corrections shall provide labor for and shall produce or manufacture articles, products or materials needed for the repair, construction and maintenance of historical sites and state parks including, but not limited to, the production of materials and products needed for the reconstruction of historic forts in the state.
All articles and services provided by the Department of Corrections in the state correctional institutions, and not required for use therein, shall be purchased as required by all offices, departments, institutions, agencies, counties, schools, colleges, universities, or political subdivisions or any agency thereof of this state which are supported in whole or in part by this state, if such article or service is the lowest and best bid, and no such article or product may be purchased by any such office, department, institution, agency, county, school, college, university, or political subdivisions or agency thereof from any other source unless excepted from the provisions as hereinafter provided. Purchases made by the above-described state agencies may be made by submitting the proper requisition through the Office of Management and Enterprise Services or by direct order to the prison industries program of the Department of Corrections.
If a requisition is received by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services or a direct order is received by the Prison Industries Program of the Department of Corrections from a state agency for any product or service provided by the Department of Corrections and such product or service is also available from a severely handicapped person or a qualified nonprofit agency for the severely handicapped as provided in Section 3001 et seq. of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes at a comparable price, then the product or service shall be purchased from such severely handicapped person or qualified nonprofit agency for the severely handicapped. If the product or service is not available within the time period required by the purchasing state agency, then such product or service shall be purchased from the Department of Corrections under the provisions of this section.
All offices, departments, institutions, agencies, counties, cities, districts or political subdivisions, schools, colleges, or universities, or any agency thereof, or any agencies of the state, which are supported in whole or in part by this state, may purchase the goods or services manufactured, produced, processed or assembled by the prison industries of the Department of Corrections through their properly authorized purchasing authority, or they may place a direct order without competitive bid, with the prison industries of the Department of Corrections.
Not-for-profit corporations or charitable agencies chartered in Oklahoma or other states may purchase such goods and services. Units of the federal government and units of government in other states may also purchase such goods and services. All entities which contract with the state, its political units, its agencies, its public institutions, not-for-profit corporations or charitable agencies chartered in Oklahoma may purchase goods or services from the Department of Corrections which are used in the performance of such contracts. Any church located in the State of Oklahoma may also purchase goods and services manufactured, produced, processed or assembled by the prison industries of the Department of Corrections. Any community action agency or council of governments within this state may purchase housing components produced by the prison industries of the Department of Corrections. Nothing shall prohibit the Department from bidding on portions of a state contract which are subcontracted by the primary contractor.
Others are prohibited from purchasing such goods and services, with the exception that all surplus agricultural products may be sold on the open market or bartered and exchanged for other food, feed or seed products of comparable value. The Department of Corrections shall keep complete and accurate records of any such barters or exchanges in such form and manner as the Office of Management and Enterprise Services may prescribe. A copy of such records shall be filed with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services no later than March 1 of each year for all barters or exchanges occurring in the previous calendar year. When practicable, the Department of Corrections may accept and process agricultural products from the public and may export the resulting products to foreign markets.
Products manufactured, produced, processed or assembled by the Department of Corrections shall be of styles, patterns, designs and quantities specified by the Department of Corrections except where the same have been or may be specified by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Products shall be provided at a fair market price for comparable quality.
State agencies shall make maximum utilization of such products and no similar products shall be purchased by state agencies from any other source than the Department of Corrections except as provided in subsection C of this section, unless the Department of Corrections certifies to the State Purchasing Director that it is not able to provide products, and no claim therefor shall be paid without such certification.
Exceptions from the mandatory provisions hereof may be made in any case where, in the opinion of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the article or product does not meet the reasonable requirements of or for such offices, departments, institutions or agencies, or in any case where the requisitions made cannot be reasonably complied with. No such offices, departments, institutions or agencies, shall be allowed to evade the intent and meaning of this section by slight variations from standards adopted by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, when the articles, services or products produced, manufactured, processed or assembled by the Department of Corrections, in accordance with established standards, are reasonably adapted to the actual needs of such offices, departments, institutions or agencies.
In the event of disagreement between the Department of Corrections and the State Purchasing Director on fairness of price, ability to comply to specifications, reasonableness of specifications and timeliness of delivery of products the matter will be resolved by the Purchasing Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
The Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall cooperate with the Department of Corrections in seeking to promote for use in state agencies and by all other eligible customers, the products manufactured and services provided by the prison industries.
The Department of Corrections shall prepare catalogs containing the description of all goods and services provided, with the pricing of each item. Copies of such catalog shall be sent by the Department of Corrections to all offices, departments, institutions and agencies of this state, and shall be available for distribution to all other eligible customers. In lieu of preparing and distributing catalogs, the Department of Corrections may maintain a website that contains a description of all goods and services provided, with the pricing of each item.
The Department of Corrections may keep confidential:
1. Business plans, feasibility studies, financing proposals, marketing plans, financial statements or trade secrets submitted by a person or entity seeking a corrections industries partnership with the Department of Corrections;
2. Proprietary information of the business submitted to the Department for the purposes of a corrections industries partnership, and related confidentiality agreements detailing the information or records designated as confidential; and
3. The Department of Corrections may not keep confidential information when and to the extent that the person or entity submitting the information consents to disclosure.

Associated Rules

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections shall operate prison agricultural and manufacturing and products industries to be known as Agri-Services and Oklahoma Correctional Industries, respectively.

Funds earned from the operation of Agri-Services and Oklahoma Correctional Industries shall be placed in an Industries Revolving Fund with the Oklahoma State Treasury for the Department of Corrections.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is authorized to purchase, in a manner prescribed by law, facilities, equipment, raw materials, and supplies, and to engage necessary personnel to establish and maintain at the penal institutions, under the control of the Department of Corrections, industries, and agricultural programs for the utilization of services of prisoners in the manufacture or production of such articles or products as may be needed for the construction, operation, maintenance, or the use of any office, department, or agency supported in whole or in part by the state or political subdivisions thereof.

State agencies shall make acquisitions using a method of acquisition in this section.

State Use Committee. State agencies shall make acquisitions from suppliers on the State Use Committee procurement schedule at the fair market price if the supplier’s delivery date meets state agency requirements. State Use Committee contracts are mandatory contracts to the extent a fair market value has been established. State agencies shall utilize the State Use Committee procurement schedule to ensure all acquisitions are made pursuant to 74 O.S. §§ 3001 et seq. If an acquisition is available from both the State Use Committee procurement schedule and the Oklahoma Correctional Industries, the state agency shall make the acquisition from the State Use Committee procurement schedule.
Oklahoma Correctional Industries. If an acquisition is not available from the State Use Committee within the time period required by the purchasing state agency or if it does not have an established fair market value, state agencies shall make acquisitions from the Oklahoma Correctional Industries pursuant to 57 O.S. §549.1 or statewide contracts as follows:
1. If a state agency determines in the acquisition of a product or service within the agency’s acquisition authority, the product or service is available from OCI and is the lowest and best offer, the agency may place a direct order with OCI without competitive bidding. If an acquisition is competitively bid, the award shall be made to OCI upon determination that OCI is lowest and best.
2. For an acquisition exceeding an agency’s procurement authority, the agency may place a direct order with OCI or submit a requisition to OMES for issuance of a solicitation to include OCI as a supplier. The award shall be made to OCI if such product or service is the lowest and best bid.
3. If Oklahoma Correctional Industries is unable to meet state agency requirements for an acquisition, Oklahoma Correctional Industries shall certify to the State Purchasing Director that it is not able to provide products.
4. If the State Purchasing Director determines that a product or service the Oklahoma Correctional Industries produces does not meet the reasonable state agency requirements, the State Purchasing Director shall notify Oklahoma Correctional Industries.
5. If Oklahoma Correctional Industries disagrees with the State Purchasing Director, the OMES Director shall resolve the issue.
Statewide Contracts. The State Purchasing Director shall designate statewide contracts as mandatory or non-mandatory.
1. Mandatory statewide contract. The State Purchasing Director may designate a statewide contract for mandatory use. State agencies shall make acquisitions from mandatory statewide contracts regardless of the acquisition purchase price. A state agency may submit a written request to the State Purchasing Director to waive requirements for a state agency’s use of a mandatory statewide contract for acquisitions. The State Purchasing Director shall grant exceptions prior to a state agency making the acquisition from another supplier.
2. Non-mandatory statewide contracts. State agencies are encouraged to use non- mandatory statewide contracts. Whenever a state agency acquires a product or service from an alternate source, the acquisition shall be made in accordance with the Central Purchasing Act, the rules of this chapter and any other laws and rules applicable to the acquisition.
Open Market Acquisitions. State agencies may make acquisitions within their approved acquisition authority limit, pursuant to provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, rules of this Chapter, any other applicable laws or rules, and the agency’s approved internal purchasing procedures. The most common types of acquisitions include:
1. Contract for definite quantity. If a state agency is able to establish a definite quantity of items or services for an acquisition, the State Purchasing Director or the state agency may establish a contract for acquisition by the state agency.
2. Contract for indefinite quantities. If an agency is unable to establish a definite quantity of items or services for an acquisition, the State Purchasing Director or the state agency may establish a contract for an indefinite quantity of items or services.
3. Contract for scheduled acquisitions. When a state agency’s needs for certain items are compiled (aggregated) and purchased in bulk at predetermined intervals, the State Purchasing Director or the state agency may establish a contract for scheduled acquisitions. The intervals shall be established in accordance with market characteristics or using agency consumption patterns, with consideration of seasonal factors and warehousing facilities. A schedule shall be developed for particular commodities monthly, quarterly, or annually. If a contract for scheduled acquisitions is established for a state agency, the state agency shall not make open market purchases for the same commodity or group of commodities.
Sole source and sole brand acquisitions.
1. State agencies with a CPO and approved internal purchasing procedures meeting the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7, may make a sole source or sole brand acquisition within the agency’s acquisition authority. [Reference: 74 O.S. §85.45j]
2. The chief administrative officer of any state agency not utilizing the State’s financial and information system for acquisitions shall submit to the State Purchasing Director a monthly listing of all sole source and sole brand acquisitions exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) executed by the state agency in the preceding month pursuant to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act. The monthly list shall be submitted on a form prescribed and approved by the State Purchasing Director.
3. If the sole source or sole brand acquisition amount exceeds the agency’s acquisition authority, the agency shall submit the requisition to the State Purchasing Director.
Emergency acquisition. State agencies with a CPO and approved internal purchasing procedures meeting the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7, may make an emergency acquisition in accordance with 74 O.S. §85.7.
Acquisitions from other governmental agencies. A state agency may contract with any other department of state government or institution pursuant to 74 O.S. §581 or §1001 through §1008. A state agency may contract with any “public agency” pursuant to 74 O.S.§1001 through §1008, which includes a political subdivision of this state or another state, and any agency of this state or of the United States. Acquisitions shall not be made for the purpose of evading competitive bidding requirements, provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, rules of the Purchasing Division or provisions related to the State Use Committee.
Acquisition pursuant to waiver. If the OMES Director approves a state agency’s request for a waiver pursuant to 260:115-1-6, a state agency with a CPO and approved internal purchasing procedures meeting the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7 may make the acquisition for which the waiver was approved, within their approved purchasing authority limit.