An independent procurement unit may, without the supervision, interference, oversight, control, or involvement of the division or the chief procurement officer, but in accordance with the requirements of this chapter:
Division: means the Division of Purchasing and General Services, created in Section 63A-2-101. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Executive branch procurement unit: means a department, division, office, bureau, agency, or other organization within the state executive branch. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Independent procurement unit: means :
(a)
(i)
a legislative procurement unit;
(ii)
a judicial branch procurement unit;
(iii)
an educational procurement unit;
(iv)
a local government procurement unit;
(v)
a conservation district;
(vi)
a local building authority;
(vii)
a special district;
(viii)
a public corporation;
(ix)
a special service district; or
(x)
the Utah Communications Authority, established in Section 63H-7a-201;
the Department of Transportation, but only to the extent of the procurement authority provided under Title 72, Transportation Code; or
(e)
any other executive branch department, division, office, or entity that has statutory procurement authority outside this chapter, but only to the extent of that statutory procurement authority. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Procure: means to acquire a procurement item through a procurement. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Procurement: means the acquisition of a procurement item through an expenditure of public funds, or an agreement to expend public funds, including an acquisition through a public-private partnership. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Procurement item: means an item of personal property, a technology, a service, or a construction project. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Procurement official: means :
(a)
for a procurement unit other than an independent procurement unit, the chief procurement officer;
(b)
for a legislative procurement unit, the individual, individuals, or body designated in a policy adopted by the Legislative Management Committee;
(c)
for a judicial procurement unit, the Judicial Council or an individual or body designated by the Judicial Council by rule;
(d)
for a local government procurement unit:
(i)
the legislative body of the local government procurement unit; or
(ii)
an individual or body designated by the local government procurement unit;
(e)
for a special district, the board of trustees of the special district or the board of trustees' designee;
(f)
for a special service district, the governing body of the special service district or the governing body's designee;
(g)
for a local building authority, the board of directors of the local building authority or the board of directors' designee;
(h)
for a conservation district, the board of supervisors of the conservation district or the board of supervisors' designee;
(i)
for a public corporation, the board of directors of the public corporation or the board of directors' designee;
(j)
for a school district or any school or entity within a school district, the board of the school district or the board's designee;
(k)
for a charter school, the individual or body with executive authority over the charter school or the designee of the individual or body;
(l)
for an institution of higher education described in Section 53B-2-101, the president of the institution of higher education or the president's designee;
(m)
for the State Board of Education, the State Board of Education or the State Board of Education's designee;
(n)
for the Utah Board of Higher Education, the Commissioner of Higher Education or the designee of the Commissioner of Higher Education;
(o)
for the Utah Communications Authority, established in Section 63H-7a-201, the executive director of the Utah Communications Authority or the executive director's designee; or
(p)
(i)
for the facilities division, and only to the extent of procurement activities of the facilities division as an independent procurement unit under the procurement authority provided under Title 63A, Chapter 5b, Administration of State Facilities, the director of the facilities division or the director's designee;
(ii)
for the attorney general, and only to the extent of procurement activities of the attorney general as an independent procurement unit under the procurement authority provided under Title 67, Chapter 5, Attorney General, the attorney general or the attorney general's designee;
(iii)
for the Department of Transportation created in Section 72-1-201, and only to the extent of procurement activities of the Department of Transportation as an independent procurement unit under the procurement authority provided under Title 72, Transportation Code, the executive director of the Department of Transportation or the executive director's designee; or
(iv)
for any other executive branch department, division, office, or entity that has statutory procurement authority outside this chapter, and only to the extent of the procurement activities of the department, division, office, or entity as an independent procurement unit under the procurement authority provided outside this chapter for the department, division, office, or entity, the chief executive officer of the department, division, office, or entity or the chief executive officer's designee. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Rule: includes a policy or regulation adopted by the rulemaking authority, if adopting a policy or regulation is the method the rulemaking authority uses to adopt provisions that govern the applicable procurement unit. See Utah Code 63G-6a-103
Rulemaking authority: means :
(a)
for a legislative procurement unit, the Legislative Management Committee;
(b)
for a judicial procurement unit, the Judicial Council;
(c)
(i)
only to the extent of the procurement authority expressly granted to the procurement unit by statute:
(A)
for the facilities division, the facilities division;
(B)
for the Office of the Attorney General, the attorney general;
(C)
for the Department of Transportation created in Section 72-1-201, the executive director of the Department of Transportation; and
(D)
for any other executive branch department, division, office, or entity that has statutory procurement authority outside this chapter, the governing authority of the department, division, office, or entity; and
(ii)
for each other executive branch procurement unit, the board;
(d)
for a local government procurement unit:
(i)
the governing body of the local government unit; or
(ii)
an individual or body designated by the local government procurement unit;
(e)
for a school district or a public school, the board, except to the extent of a school district's own nonadministrative rules that do not conflict with the provisions of this chapter;
(f)
for a state institution of higher education, the Utah Board of Higher Education;
(g)
for the State Board of Education or the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the State Board of Education;
(h)
for a public transit district, the chief executive of the public transit district;
(i)
for a special district other than a public transit district or for a special service district, the board, except to the extent that the board of trustees of the special district or the governing body of the special service district makes its own rules:
(i)
with respect to a subject addressed by board rules; or
(ii)
that are in addition to board rules;
(j)
for the Utah Educational Savings Plan, created in Section 53B-8a-103, the Utah Board of Higher Education;
(k)
for the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, created in Section 53C-1-201, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Board of Trustees;
(l)
for the School and Institutional Trust Fund Office, created in Section 53D-1-201, the School and Institutional Trust Fund Board of Trustees;
(m)
for the Utah Communications Authority, established in Section 63H-7a-201, the Utah Communications Authority board, created in Section 63H-7a-203; or
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
acquire a procurement item under an exception, as provided in this chapter, to the requirement to use a standard procurement process; or
(c)
otherwise engage in an act authorized or required by this chapter.
(2)
Notwithstanding Subsection (1), an independent procurement unit may agree in writing with the division to extend the authority of the division or the chief procurement officer to the procurement unit, as provided in the agreement.
(3)
With respect to a procurement or contract over which an independent procurement unit’s procurement official has authority, the procurement official may:
(a)
manage and supervise the procurement to ensure to the extent practicable that taxpayers receive the best value;
(b)
prepare and issue standard specifications for procurement items;
delegate duties and authority to an employee of the procurement unit, as the independent procurement unit’s procurement official considers appropriate;
(e)
for the procurement official of an executive branch procurement unit that is an independent procurement unit, coordinate with the Division of Technology Services, created in Section 63A-16-103, with respect to the procurement unit’s procurement of information technology services;
(f)
correct, amend, or cancel a procurement at any stage of the procurement process if the procurement is out of compliance with this chapter or a rule adopted by the rulemaking authority;
(g)
attempt to resolve a contract dispute in coordination with the legal counsel of the independent procurement unit; and
(h)
at any time during the term of a contract awarded by the independent procurement unit, correct or amend a contract to bring it into compliance or cancel the contract:
(i)
if the procurement official determines that correcting, amending, or canceling the contract is in the best interest of the procurement unit; and
(ii)
after consulting with, as applicable, the attorney general’s office or the procurement unit’s legal counsel.
(4)
The attorney general may, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, but without involvement by the division or the chief procurement officer:
(a)
retain outside counsel, subject to Section 67-5-33 if the attorney general retains outside counsel under a contingent fee contract, as defined in that section; or
(b)
procure litigation support services, including retaining an expert witness.
(5)
An independent procurement unit that is not represented by the attorney general’s office may, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, but without involvement by the division or the chief procurement officer:
(a)
retain outside counsel; or
(b)
procure litigation support services, including retaining an expert witness.
(6)
The state auditor’s office may, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, but without involvement by the division or the chief procurement officer, procure audit services.
(7)
The state treasurer may, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, but without involvement by the division or the chief procurement officer, procure:
