Virginia Code 56-575.17: Posting of conceptual proposals; public comment; public access to procurement records
A. Conceptual proposals submitted in accordance with subsection A or B of § 56-575.4 to a responsible public entity shall be posted by the responsible public entity within 10 working days after acceptance of such proposals as follows:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 56-575.17
- Comprehensive agreement: means the comprehensive agreement between the private entity and the responsible public entity required by § 56-575. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- development: means to plan, design, develop, finance, lease, acquire, install, construct, or expand. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
- Interim agreement: means an agreement between a private entity and a responsible public entity that provides for phasing of the development or operation, or both, of a qualifying project. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
- Private entity: means any natural person, corporation, general partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership, joint venture, business trust, public benefit corporation, non-profit entity, or other business entity. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Public entity: means the Commonwealth and any agency or authority thereof, any county, city or town and any other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, any public body politic and corporate, or any regional entity that serves a public purpose. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
- Responsible public entity: means a public entity that has the power to develop or operate the applicable qualifying project. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
- State: means the Commonwealth of Virginia. See Virginia Code 56-575.1
1. For responsible public entities that are state agencies, authorities, departments, institutions, and other units of state government, posting shall be on the Department of General Services’ centralized electronic procurement website; and
2. For responsible public entities that are local bodies, posting shall be on the responsible public entity’s website or on the Department of General Services’ central electronic procurement website. In addition, such public bodies may publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the contract is to be performed a summary of the proposals and the location where copies of the proposals are available for public inspection. Such local public bodies are encouraged to utilize the Department of General Services’ central electronic procurement website to provide the public with centralized visibility and access to the Commonwealth’s procurement opportunities.
In addition to the posting requirements, at least one copy of the proposals shall be made available for public inspection. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the posting of the conceptual proposals by additional means deemed appropriate by the responsible public entity so as to provide maximum notice to the public of the opportunity to inspect the proposals. Trade secrets, financial records, or other records of the private entity excluded from disclosure under the provisions of subdivision 11 of § 2.2-3705.6 shall not be required to be posted, except as otherwise agreed to by the responsible public entity and the private entity.
B. The responsible public entity shall hold a public hearing on the proposals during the proposal review process, but not later than 30 days prior to entering into an interim or comprehensive agreement.
C. Once the negotiation phase for the development of an interim or a comprehensive agreement is complete, but before an interim agreement or a comprehensive agreement is entered into, a responsible public entity shall make available the proposed agreement in a manner provided in subsection A.
D. Once an interim agreement or a comprehensive agreement has been entered into, a responsible public entity shall make procurement records available for public inspection, upon request. For the purposes of this subsection, procurement records shall not be interpreted to include (i) trade secrets of the private entity as defined in the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (§ 59.1-336 et seq.) or (ii) financial records, including balance sheets or financial statements of the private entity that are not generally available to the public through regulatory disclosure or otherwise.
E. Cost estimates relating to a proposed procurement transaction prepared by or for a responsible public entity shall not be open to public inspection.
F. Any inspection of procurement transaction records under this section shall be subject to reasonable restrictions to ensure the security and integrity of the records.
G. The provisions of this section shall apply to accepted proposals regardless of whether the process of bargaining will result in an interim or a comprehensive agreement.