La. Admin. Code tit. 34 § V-2521

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-2521 - Contractual Review Process

A. Contracts arriving in the Office of State Procurement will be date stamped and logged in. Contracts should be submitted prior to their effective dates and no contract shall be approved which has been submitted 60 days after its effective date unless written justification is provided by the using agency and approval granted by the director of the Office of State Procurement or his designee. All Submittals will be required to have a cover letter attached thereto.

B. If a contract does not appear to be out of the ordinary and appears to have the necessary attachments and inclusions, it will be routed as appropriate to the Division of Administration budget analyst for the submitting agency. A BA-22, or its equivalent, shall be submitted with every contract or amendment submitted to the Office of State Procurement, which contains any expenditures or reduction in expenditures.

C. Contracts that are incomplete as to form, or missing an attachment, may be returned to the submitting agency.

D. Contracts Returned from Budget

1. Not Recommended for Approval. If a contract is not recommended for approval, the Office of State Procurement shall discuss the reason with the budget analyst. If the problem cannot be resolved, the contract shall be returned to the submitting agency with an explanation.

2. Recommended for Approval. If a contract is recommended for approval the review process shall continue.

E. Legal and Content Review. There are a number of different types of contracts, and content requirements may vary. All contracts shall contain the following:

1. signatures of both the head of the using agency or his designee and the contractor. An electronic signature as provided by LAC 4:I.Chapter 7 shall be considered an original signature;

2. contractor name and address (including zip code);

3. scope of services that clearly and completely identifies the work to be performed and products to be delivered;

4. beginning and termination dates for the contract. Contracts shall not include a clause permitting automatic renewal or extension of the original beyond a three-year period, unless authorized by the funding statute. Per R.S. 39:1622(C)(1) performance-based energy efficiency contracts shall have a term not to exceed 10 years;

5. the maximum amount of compensation to be paid under the contract. This maximum must be inclusive of all payment, fees, travel expenses, etc. When applicable, the amounts shall be stated by category and then given as a comprehensive total. The payment schedule shall be given also;

6. a statement giving the legislative auditor and/or the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration auditors authority to audit the financial records of the contractor relative to work done under the contract;

7. a clause providing that the contractor shall not assign any interest in this contract, and shall not transfer any interest in the same (whether by assignment or novation), without the prior written consent of the submitting agency thereto, provided, however, that claims for money due or to become due to the contractor from the using agency under this contract may be assigned to a bank, trust company, or other financial institution without such approval. Notice of any such assignment or transfer shall be furnished promptly to both the using agency and the director of the Office of State Procurement;

8. the Office of State Procurement shall notify the using agency in writing when an assignment of proceeds notice has been received from a contractor;

9. a statement giving the contractor the responsibility for paying any taxes which may be due as a result of the contract. The taxes could include state or federal income taxes or payroll taxes;

10. advance payments on all contracts except those for professional services are allowable if limited to less than or equal to 20 percent of the contract amount and if necessary to provide for the lowest cost delivery of service, and as provided by R.S. 39:1613:

a. all such advances shall be approved by the director of the Office of State Procurement. If federal funds are to be advanced, federal guidelines shall prevail on the conditions and amount of the advance. Specific state statutory authority may override the 20 percent limit for certain contracts;

b. when submitting for approval a contract including provisions for an advance, the using agency shall submit the following additional information at a minimum:

i. certification by the using agency that the procurement of the services involved at the lowest cost requires the advance and that no other source of funding is available;

ii. provisions in the contract specifying the amount and timing of the payments and safeguarding repayment of the advance.

F. Each contract submitted for approval which exceeds the value specified in R.S. 39:1623(A) shall be accompanied by a certification letter as described in R.S. 39:1623, signed by the using agency's representative.

G. Proof of review and approval by other agencies shall accompany submitted contracts as follows; or contracts will be returned to the submitting agency without final approval.

1. Civil Service. All contracts must have Civil Service approval unless exempted by the Department of Civil Service.

2. Attorney General. Contracts for legal services that are not consulting work and that do involve or lead to litigation must be reviewed by the attorney general in accordance with R.S. 49:258. Approval of the attorney general can be evidenced by the signature on the contract documents or by a letter from the attorney general. Contracts with Louisiana district attorneys do not require this approval.

3. Legislative Auditor. Contracts for financial auditing of state agencies must have prior written approval of the legislative auditor.

4. If the contractor is a corporation not incorporated under the laws of the state of Louisiana, then the contractor must secure a certificate of authority pursuant to R.S. 12:301-302 from the secretary of the state of Louisiana and verification of such certificate must be made available to the Office of State Procurement.

5. The Office of Information Technology Services shall review and recommend any contract containing elements of telecommunication services before returning it to the Office of State Procurement for completion of the analysis.

H. If a contract is subject to the provisions of R.S. 39:1621(B), it must have been awarded pursuant to the requirements of R.S. 39:1595(B), unless exempt in accordance with Chapter 9 or Chapter 11 of this Part. Failure to so comply shall result in the using agency having to reconduct the process. Prior to approval of a contract for consulting services pursuant to this Subsection, the Office of State Procurement shall verify that the requirements of §2605 of this Part have been met.

I. Information technology consulting service contracts whose value exceeds the maximum amount specified in R.S. 39:1621(C) shall be procured in accordance with Subchapter B of this Chapter.

J. If a contract is for services defined as social services in R.S. 39:1556(54) it must have been awarded pursuant to the requirements of R.S. 39:1595(B) unless exempt by R.S. 39:1619. Failure to so comply shall result in the using agency having to reconduct the process. Prior to approval of a contract for social services pursuant to this Subsection, the Office of State Procurement shall verify that the requirements of §2605 of this Part have been met.

K. A formal, dated board resolution, disclosure of ownership or annual report filed with the Louisiana Secretary of State's office identifying the signatory as an officer, or equivalent document signed by one or more owners of the contractor must be secured and attached to the contract indicating that the signatory is a representative of the contractor and authorized to sign said contract.

L. When it has been determined that a contract is complete, the contract shall be returned to the submitting agency with an approval from the Office of State Procurement.

M. A performance evaluation for every personal, professional, consulting or social services contract shall be conducted by the using agency in accordance with R.S. 39:1569.1. This performance evaluation shall be retained by the using agency for all contracts approved under delegated authority. For all other contracts, this performance evaluation shall be submitted to the Office of State Procurement within 120 days after the termination of the contract.

La. Admin. Code tit. 34, § V-2521

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of Contractual Review, LR 7:182 (April 1981), amended LR 8:592 (November 1982), LR 10:456 (June 1984), LR 11:1069 (November 1985), LR 13:87 (February 1987), LR 13:653 (November 1987), LR 15:81 (February 1989), repromulgated by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of State Procurement, LR 40:2562 (December 2014), amended LR 40:2545 (December 2014), LR 41:671 (April 2015), repromulgated LR 41:1669 (September 2015), Amended by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of State Procurement, LR 44764 (4/1/2018), Amended LR 47585 (5/1/2021), Repromulgated LR 47725 (6/1/2021).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 39: 1490(B).