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
Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
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
Responsible: means being capable, in all respects, of:
(a)
meeting all the requirements of a solicitation; and
(b)
fully performing all the requirements of the contract resulting from the solicitation, including being financially solvent with sufficient financial resources to perform the contract. 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
“Annual cumulative threshold” means the maximum total annual amount, established by the rulemaking authority under Subsection (2), that a procurement unit may expend to obtain procurement items from the same source under this section.
(b)
“Individual procurement threshold” means the maximum amount, established by the rulemaking authority under Subsection (2), for which a procurement unit may purchase a procurement item under this section.
(c)
“Single procurement aggregate threshold” means the maximum total amount, established by the rulemaking authority under Subsection (2), that a procurement unit may expend to obtain multiple procurement items from one source at one time under this section.
(2)
(a)
The rulemaking authority may make rules governing small purchases of any procurement item, including construction, job order contracting, design professional services, other professional services, information technology, and goods.
(b)
Rules under Subsection (2)(a) may include provisions:
(i)
establishing expenditure thresholds, including:
(A)
an annual cumulative threshold;
(B)
an individual procurement threshold; and
(C)
a single procurement aggregate threshold;
(ii)
establishing procurement requirements relating to the thresholds described in Subsection (2)(b)(i); and
(iii)
providing for the use of electronic, telephone, or written quotes.
(c)
If a procurement unit obtains administrative law judge service through a small purchase standard procurement process, rules made under Subsection (2)(a) shall provide that the process for the procurement of administrative law judge service include an evaluation committee described in Subsection 63G-6a-116(3).
(3)
Expenditures made under this section by a procurement unit may not exceed a threshold established by the rulemaking authority, unless the procurement official gives written authorization to exceed the threshold that includes the reasons for exceeding the threshold.
(4)
Except as provided in Subsection (5), an executive branch procurement unit may not obtain a procurement item through a small purchase standard procurement process if the procurement item may be obtained through a state cooperative contract or a contract awarded by the chief procurement officer under Subsection 63G-6a-2105(1).
(5)
Subsection (4) does not apply if:
(a)
the procurement item is obtained for an unanticipated, urgent, or emergency condition, including:
(i)
an item needed to avoid stopping a public construction project;
(ii)
an immediate repair to a facility or equipment; or
(iii)
another emergency condition; or
(b)
the chief procurement officer or the procurement official of a procurement unit that is an executive branch procurement unit with independent procurement authority:
(i)
determines in writing that it is in the best interest of the procurement unit to obtain an individual procurement item outside of the state contract, comparing:
(A)
the contract terms and conditions applicable to the procurement item under the state contract with the contract terms and conditions applicable to the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state contract;
(B)
the maintenance and service applicable to the procurement item under the state contract with the maintenance and service applicable to the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state contract;
(C)
the warranties applicable to the procurement item under the state contract with the warranties applicable to the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state contract;
(D)
the quality of the procurement item under the state contract with the quality of the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state contract; and
(E)
the ability of the vendor under the state contract to match the quoted cost of the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state contract;
(ii)
for a procurement item that, if defective in its manufacture, installation, or performance, may result in serious physical injury, death, or substantial property damage, determines in writing that the terms and conditions, relating to liability for injury, death, or property damage, available from the source other than the contractor who holds the state contract, are similar to, or better than, the terms and conditions available under the state contract; and
(iii)
grants an exception, in writing, to the requirement described in Subsection (4).
(6)
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this section, a procurement unit:
(a)
may not use the small purchase standard procurement process described in this section for ongoing, continuous, and regularly scheduled procurements that exceed the annual cumulative threshold; and
(b)
shall make its ongoing, continuous, and regularly scheduled procurements that exceed the annual cumulative threshold through a contract awarded through another standard procurement process described in this chapter or an applicable exception to another standard procurement process, described in 8.
(7)
This section does not prohibit regularly scheduled payments for a procurement item obtained under another provision of this chapter.
(8)
(a)
It is unlawful for a person knowingly to divide a single procurement into multiple smaller procurements, including by dividing an invoice or purchase order into multiple invoices or purchase orders, if:
(i)
the single procurement would not have qualified as a small purchase under this section;
(ii)
one or more of the multiple smaller procurements qualify as a small purchase under this section; and
(iii)
the division is done with the intent to:
(A)
avoid having to use a standard procurement process, other than the small purchase process, that the person would otherwise be required to use for the single procurement; or
(B)
make one or more of the multiple smaller procurements fall below a small purchase expenditure threshold established by rule under Subsection (2)(b) that the single procurement would not have fallen below without the division.
(b)
A violation of Subsection (8)(a) is subject to penalties as provided in Subsection 63G-6a-2404.3(2).
(9)
The Division of Finance within the Department of Government Operations may conduct an audit of an executive branch procurement unit to verify compliance with the requirements of this section.
(10)
An executive branch procurement unit may not make a small purchase after January 1, 2014, unless the chief procurement officer certifies that the person responsible for procurements in the procurement unit has satisfactorily completed training on this section and the rules made under this section.
