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74 O.S. § 85.3. Purchasing Division - Director - Employees - Encouragement of Certain Purchases - Conflict of Interest

  1. There is hereby created and established in the Office of Management and Enterprise Services a Purchasing Division, the administrative head of which shall be the State Purchasing Director.
  2. The Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall hire the State Purchasing Director. The State Purchasing Director shall:
    1. Be at least twenty-eight (28) years of age;
    2. Have a thorough knowledge of office practices and buying procedures in volume purchasing; and
    3. Be a graduate of an accredited college or university with at least five (5) years’ experience in commercial or governmental purchasing, or, in lieu of such education, have at least ten (10) years’ experience in commercial or governmental purchasing.
  3. The Purchasing Division may include the following employees, and employment of such employees is hereby authorized:
    1. One assistant director;
    2. One qualified specifications engineer;
    3. Buyers who have at least three (3) years’ procurement experience for:
      1. food,
      2. hardware,
      3. textiles,
      4. petroleum,
      5. office supplies,
      6. building materials,
      7. pharmaceutical supplies,
      8. automotive equipment, parts, and accessories, and
      9. any other commodity group found by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to justify special purchasing attention;
    4. One buyer for products and services of the severely disabled as provided in Section 3001 et seq. of this title;
    5. One dietitian, who shall have the qualifications required by the State Department of Health; and
    6. Such other technical and clerical personnel as shall be assigned to the Purchasing Division by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
  4. All activities of any state agency, department, or institution relating to purchasing shall be under the direction of the Purchasing Division unless otherwise provided by the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act.
  5. The Purchasing Division shall provide qualified personnel to assist the purchasing activities of state agencies, departments, and institutions.
  6. Each state agency, department, and institution shall designate personnel to coordinate its purchasing functions with the Purchasing Division.
  7. The Purchasing Division may, if the needs of a state agency, department, or institution are such as to so require, employ, and establish a buyer within a state agency, department, or institution.
  8. No state agency, department, or institution subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act shall have or maintain a purchasing section without the prior approval in writing of the Purchasing Division unless otherwise provided in the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act.
  9. The Purchasing Division shall make acquisitions from industries operated by the Department of Corrections pursuant to the provisions of Section 549.1 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
  10. None of the personnel authorized by this section shall:
    1. Sell to or otherwise provide acquisitions to any state agency subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act;
    2. Be employees, partners, associates, officers, or stockholders in or with any business entity that sells to or otherwise provides acquisitions to any agency subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act;
    3. Be employed in any of the positions authorized by this section if a spouse or child owns any stock in any business entity which sells to or otherwise provides acquisitions to any agency subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act; or
    4. Be employed in any of the positions authorized by this section if a relative within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity sells to or otherwise provides acquisitions to any agency subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act or is interested in any business entity which does so, except that such relative, excluding a spouse or child, may own Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) worth or less, or one percent (1%) or less, whichever amount is the lesser amount, of the stock of a corporation or any business entity which sells to or otherwise provides acquisitions to any state agency subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act.

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. 

  1. 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. 
  2. 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. 

In addition to terms defined in 74 O.S., §85.2, the following words or terms, when used in this Chapter shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Acceptable Electronic Signature Technology" means technology that is capable of creating a signature that is unique to the person using it; is capable of verification, is under the sole control of the person using it, and is linked to the data in such a manner that if the data is changed, the electronic signature is invalidated."Acquisition authority" means the dollar amount within which a state agency is approved to make acquisitions without submitting a requisition to the State Purchasing Director."Addendum" means a written modification to a contract."All or none bid" means a bid in which the bidder states only an award for all items or services included in the solicitation will be accepted."All or none solicitation" means a solicitation in which the state indicates it will award a contract to a single supplier for all items or service included in the solicitation."Alteration" means a modification a bidder makes to a solicitation response prior to the response due date."Alternate bid" or "alternative bid" means a bid or proposal, which contains an intentional substantive variation to a basic provision, specification, term or condition of the solicitation."Amendment" means a written change, addition, correction, or revision to a solicitation made by the state agency responsible for making the acquisition."Authorized signature" means a manual, electronic or digital signature or other identifier uniquely linked to a person authorized to sign documents the supplier submits to the State Purchasing Director."Best and Final Offer" or "BAFO" means a final offer submitted in writing by a bidder based on the outcome of negotiations."Bid bond", "performance bond" or "surety" means a form of surety or guaranty that the State Purchasing Director may require bidders to submit with a bid."Bidder" means an individual or business entity that submits a bid or proposal in response to an invitation to bid or a request for proposal. [74 O.S. §85.2] When used in this Chapter, bidder is synonymous with a “supplier” or “supplier” responding to a solicitation."Business days" means Monday through Friday and is exclusive of weekends and Oklahoma state holidays."Central Purchasing Division" means the Central Purchasing Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Certified Procurement Officer" or "CPO" means a state agency procurement official certified as a procurement officer or analyst by the State Purchasing Director under the provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act."Chief Information Officer" means the chief administrative officer of the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Clarification" means a bidder’s explanation of all or part of a bid that does not change, alter or supplement the bid."Closing date/time" means the date and Central Time a solicitation specifies responses are due."Commodity classification" means numeric designations the State Purchasing Director assigns to classify goods and services into similar categories."Competitive solicitation" means a process for acquiring goods or services wherein bidders submit bids to the Central Purchasing Division or a state agency pursuant to terms, conditions and other requirements of a solicitation. The competitive solicitation process may be electronic when the terms of the solicitation expressly permit electronic submission and the requirements of applicable statutes and rules are met."Days" means calendar days unless otherwise specified."Debar" or "debarment" means action taken by the State Purchasing Director to exclude any business entity from inclusion on the Supplier List, bidding, offering to bid, receiving an award of contract with the State of Oklahoma for acquisitions by state agencies or a contract the Office of Management and Enterprise Services awards or administers and may also result in cancellation of existing contracts with the State of Oklahoma."Director" or "OMES Director" means the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services or his designee."Electronic Signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. Unless otherwise provided by this Chapter or law, an electronic signature may be used to sign a document and shall have the same force and effect as a written signature."Emergency acquisition" means an acquisition made by the State Purchasing Director or a state agency without seeking competitive bids to relieve an unforeseen condition believed to place human life or safety in imminent danger or threaten significant property interests with imminent destruction; or, is a condition certified by the Governor as a serious environmental situation. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.7]"Firm bid" means an offer by a bidder which contains no conditions which may prevent acceptance and which, by its terms, remains open and binding until the State Purchasing Director accepts or rejects the bid."Fiscal year" means the period of time from July 1 of a calendar year through June 30 of the succeeding calendar year."Forms" means documents the OMES Director prescribes and requires suppliers and state agencies to use to provide information to OMES."Indefinite quantity contract" means a contract the State Purchasing Director, CIO, or a state agency establishes based on historical usage of a service or product rather than a specified quantity of said service or product and which does not obligate the State to purchase any certain amount."Information Services Division" means the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Information technology" or "IT" means any electronic information equipment or interconnected system that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information, including audio, graphic, and text. [62 O.S. §34.29]"Invitation to bid" or "ITB" means a type of solicitation a state agency or the State Purchasing Director sends to suppliers to request submission of bids by suppliers for acquisitions."Invoice" refers to a proper invoice as defined by the State Comptroller."Material deficiency" or "material deviation" means a supplier’s failure to provide information necessary to evaluate a solicitation."Minor deficiency" or "minor informality" means an immaterial defect in a bid or variation in a bid from the exact requirements of a solicitation that may be corrected or waived without prejudice to other bidders. A minor deficiency or informality does not affect the price, quantity, quality, delivery or conformance to specifications and is negligible in comparison to the total cost or scope of the acquisition."Multi-award" means the award of a contract to two or more suppliers to furnish an indefinite quantity or category of item, where more than one supplier is needed to meet the contract requirements for quantity, delivery, service or product compatibility."Non-collusion certification" means a certification submitted by a supplier with any competitive bid or contract executed by the state for goods or services in accordance with 74 O.S. §85.22."Non-responsive" means a bid or proposal that has been determined not to conform to essential requirements of a solicitation."Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act" means 74 O.S. §§85.1 et seq."Oklahoma Correctional Industries" or "OCI" means a program of the State Department of Corrections for utilization of inmate labor for the manufacture or production of items or products for use by state agencies."Oklahoma Information Technology Accessibility Standards" or "IT Accessibility Standards" means the accessibility standards adopted by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, to address all technical standard categories of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220, August 7, 1998) to be used by each state agency in the procurement of information technology, and in the development and implementation of custom-designed information technology systems, web sites, and other emerging information technology systems."Office of Management and Enterprise Services" or "Office" or "OMES" means the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Online Bidding" means an electronic procurement process in which state agencies receive bids from suppliers for goods, services, construction, or information services over the Internet or other electronic medium in a real-time, competitive bidding event."Procurement" means buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring any goods or services. The term also means all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any goods or services, including, but not limited to, the description of requirements, selection, and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contracts, and all phases of contract administration."Ratification of an unauthorized commitment" means the act of approving an unauthorized commitment made by a state agency and the written agreement documenting the approval."Reciprocity" means a preference, which the State Purchasing Director or state agency shall apply against the price submitted for an acquisition by an out-of-state bidder whose home state applies a similar preference against Oklahoma bidders."Registered supplier" means a supplier that registers with the Central Purchasing Division pursuant to 74 O.S. §85.33."Remedy" means to cure, alter, correct or change."Request for information" or "RFI" means a non-binding procurement practice used to obtain information, comments, and feedback from interested parties or potential suppliers prior to issuing a solicitation."Request for proposal" or "RFP" means a type of solicitation a state agency or the State Purchasing Director provides to suppliers requesting submission of proposals for acquisitions. "Request for quotation" or "RFQ" means a simplified written or oral solicitation a state agency or the State Purchasing Director provides to suppliers requesting submission of a quote for acquisitions."Requisition number" means an identifier the state agency or OMES assigns to a requisition."Requisitioning unit" means the unit in a state agency responsible for making acquisitions."Responsible supplier" means a supplier who demonstrates capabilities in all respects to fully perform the requirements of a contract that may include, but may not be limited to, finances, credit history, experience, integrity, perseverance, reliability, capacity, facilities and equipment, and performance history which will ensure good faith performance."Responsive" means a bid or proposal that has been determined to conform to the essential requirements of a solicitation."Reverse Auctioning" means a procurement method wherein pre-qualified bidders are invited to bid on specified goods or services through real-time electronic bidding, with the award being made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. During the bidding process, bidders’ price positions are revealed and bidders shall have the opportunity to modify their bid prices for the duration of the time period established by the solicitation."Scheduled acquisition" means a recurring acquisition that consolidates multiple state agency requirements for a given commodity or group of commodities."State official" means a person that works for a department, state agency, trusteeship, authority, school district, fair board, advisory group, task force or study group supported in whole or in part by public funds or administering or operating public property."State Purchasing Director" means the director of the Central Purchasing Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services appointed by the OMES Director; and, includes any employee or agent of the State Purchasing Director, acting within the scope of delegated authority. [74 O.S. §85.2] Unless otherwise stated, the term includes employees of the Central Purchasing Division and state agency purchasing officials certified by the State Purchasing Director to which the State Purchasing Director has lawfully delegated authority to act on his or her behalf. In regards to the procurement of information technology or telecommunications, the term means the Chief Information Officer of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."State Use Committee" means the statutory Committee that certifies severely disabled individuals and sheltered workshops as qualified organizations to contract with the state to provide products and services, which are designated in the State Use Committee procurement schedule for state agency acquisitions pursuant to 74 O.S. §§ 3001 et seq."Statement of Work" means a detailed description of the work which a state agency requires a contractor or supplier to perform or accomplish."Supplier" or "supplier" means an individual or business entity that sells or desires to sell acquisitions to state agencies [74 O.S. §85.2]."Supplier performance evaluation" means information a state agency or OMES Procurement provides to the State Purchasing Director, in a manner the OMES Director prescribes, that documents the quality of service or products provided by a supplier."Supplier registration" means a process a supplier uses to register with the Central Purchasing Division to automatically receive solicitations based on a commodity class for a specified period of time."Supplier List" means a list of individuals or business entities that have registered with the Central Purchasing Division in order to receive notification of solicitations for commodities specified in their registration application."Suspension" means an action by the State Purchasing Director to suspend a supplier’s authority to be included on the Supplier List, be eligible to submit bids to state agencies and be awarded a contract by a state agency subject to the Central Purchasing Act."Utility service" or "utilities" means a public service furnishing electricity, natural gas, water, or sewage.

  1. A state agency shall submit a requisition to the State Purchasing Director for each of its acquisitions, whenever: 
    1. the agency does not have a CPO and/or approved internal purchasing procedures pursuant to the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7 and an acquisition exceeds Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00); 
    2. the agency’s acquisition authority has been reduced by the OMES Director and the acquisition exceeds the dollar amount of the reduced acquisition authority; or, 
    3. an acquisition exceeds the state agency’s acquisition authority. 
  2. OMES may contract with a state agency for the services of qualified personnel to assist or conduct purchasing activities for the agency upon written request by the agency or in the event the State Purchasing Director determines the needs of the agency are such to require qualified procurement personnel. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.3] The state agency may reimburse administrative costs to OMES for the services of employees necessary to provide procurement services pursuant to this subsection. 

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

  1. 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. 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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.
  4. 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. 
  5. 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. 
  6. 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
  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. 
  8. 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. 

Purchasing Reference Guide

References

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