STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2035

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed By Assemblyman DiGAETANO)

ADOPTED: DECEMBER 18, 1997

      This bill concerns the award of certain professional service contracts in connection with State construction projects. These floor amendments change the requirement that a firm file a "statement of qualification and supporting data" from at least once annually to at least once every two years. The amendments allow an agency to advertise for solicitations of proposals or expressions of interest through electronic means. In addition, the floor amendments require that an advertisement include the criteria an agency will use to evaluate the technical qualifications of professional firms. The amendments require an agency to negotiate a contract with the most technically qualified professional firm. The amendments change the effective date of the act to the 360th day after enactment and provide that an agency may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance of the effective date as may be necessary for the implementation of the act. Finally, the amendments make several technical changes to the bill.