An Act Relating to the Creation of Public-private Facilities and Infrastructure
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1298
Committee Amendment CA_A_H575 (House)
Amends: 5 MRSA §1811, 5 MRSA §1812, 5 MRSA §1825-B, 5 MRSA §1825-D

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A" to H.P. 884, L.D. 1298, Bill, "An Act Relating 
to the Creation of Public-private Facilities and Infrastructure" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Update the Maine Procurement Laws' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §1811, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. T, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
8. 
Cooperative purchasing. 
To permit any political subdivision or school 
administrative district in the State or nonprofit free health care clinic that provides free 
primary or preventative services to make purchases of goods and services. including but 
not limited to foodstuffs, materials, equipment and suppliesi through the Bureau of 
General Services, subject to such procedures, rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
by the director. This subsection applies to a municipality notwithstanding any provision 
in its municipal charter to the contrary; 
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §1812, as amended by PL 1991, c. 780, Pt. Y, §67, is further 
amended to read: 
§1812. Scope of purchasing authority 
The terms "services," "goods," "commodities," "supplies," "materials" and 
"equipment" as used in this chapter mean any and all serYiees, labor, time or effort 
furnished to the State or any department or agency of the State by a contractor or vendor 
and articles or things that are used by or furnished to the State or any department or 
agency thereof, and any and all printing, binding, publication of laws, journals and 
reports. Except as provided in chapters 141 to 155, any and all services, goods, 
commodities, supplies, materials and equipment needed by one or more departments or 
agencies of the State Government must be directly purchased or contracted for by the 
Director of the Bureau of General Services, as may be determined from time to time by 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMIITEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 884, L.D. 1298 
rules adopted pursuant to chapters 141 to 155, which rules the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services is authorized and empowered to make. It is the 
intent and purpose of this chapter that the Director of the Bureau of General Services 
purchase collectively all services, goods, commodities, supplies, materials and equipment 
for the State or any department or agency thei=eef of the State in a manner that will best 
secure the greatest possible economy consistent with the grade or quality of the services, 
goods, commodities, supplies, materials and equipment best adapted for the purposes for 
which they are needed. Whenever supplies and materials are available for purchase that 
are composed in whole or in part of recycled materials and are shown by the seller, 
supplier or manufacturer to be equal in quality and are competitively priced, except for 
paper and paper products, the Director of the Bureau of General Services shall purchase 
such recycled supplies and materials. The Director of the Bureau of General Services 
shall also review procurement procedures and bid specifications for the purchase of 
products and materials to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible, the purchase of 
products or materials that are made with recycled materials or may be recycled or reused 
once discarded. For the purposes of this section and section 1812-B, "recycled materials" 
means materials that are composed in whole or in part of elements that are reused or 
reclaimed. 
The Trustees of the University of Maine System may authorize the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services to act for them in any purchases. 
The word "serviees," whea 1:1sed ia this ehapter, meaas aay aad all wiadow eleaaiag 
serviees, elevator repair and maiateaaaee serviees, la1:1adi)· serviee, liaea SMJ)ply serviee, 
dry eleaaiag serviee, jaaitor seryiee, floor maiateaaaee serviee, fl:l00ish aad gareage 
disposal serviee, tree s1:1rgeoa serviee, all types of offiee maehiae repair aad maiateaaaee 
serviee, extenniaator serviee, refrigerator £0f'air aad maiateaaaee serviee aad oil 01:lffler 
repair aad maiateaaaee serviee ·.vl:i.ea aay s1:1eh serviee is performed 0y aa iadepeadeat 
eoatraetor. The Direetor of the B1:1rea1:1 of Geaeral Serviees may, with the appro¥al of the 
Cofflfflissioaer of Admiaistrati¥e aad FiHaaeial Serviees add to or elimiaate from the 
vario1:1s tyf)es of ser,liee set forth ia this par-agraph sueh serviees performed 0y 
iadepeadeat eoatraetors as may 00 eoasidered 0y the direetor to 00 ia the 0est iaterests of 
the State. 
The Director of the Bureau of General Services may enter into or participate in 
multistate agreements and requests for proposals and bids for goods and services when it 
is determined to be in the best interests of the State. The Director of the Bureau of 
General Services may enter into or participate in competitively awarded agreements from 
the United States Government, other state or local governments or other public entities if 
the director determines that the competitive process used is substantially similar to that of 
the State. 
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§2, 1C, as amended by PL 1991, c. 780, Pt. Y, 
§70, is further amended to read: 
C. After reasonable investigation by the Director of the Bureau of General Services, 
it appears that any required uait er it0fB of Stiflf)ty, or 0r0il:s of that l:lffit or it0fB, is 
goods or services are procurable by the State from only one source; 
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§2, ,rn, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 785, §2, is 
amended to read: 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 884, L.D. 1298 
D. It appears to be in the best interest of the State to negotiate for the procurement of 
energy-related commodities, such as petroleum products, natural gas and electricity; 
Sec. 5. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§2, ,G, as amended by PL 1999, c. 105, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
G. The procurement of goods or services involves expenditures of $10,000 $25,000 
or less, and procurement from a single source is the most economical, effective and 
appropriate means of fulfilling a demonstrated need. 
Sec. 6. 5 MRSA §1825-B, sub-§§7 and 8, as amended by PL 2015, c. 179, §2, 
are further amended to read: 
7. 
Awards to best-value bidder. 
Except as otherwise provided by law, 
competitively awarded orders, grants or contracts made by the Director of the Bureau of 
General Services or by any department or agency of the State must be awarded to the 
best-value bidder, taking into consideration the qualities of the goods or services to be 
supplied, their conformity with the specifications, the purposes for which they are 
required, the date of delivery and the best interest of the State or any criteria identified 
within the State's competitive bidding documents for any given purchase. If the bidder 
that was initially awarded the order, grant or contract does not perform, the Director of 
the Bureau of General Services may cancel the order, grant or contract and award a new 
order, grant or contract to the 2nd best-value bidder. The order, grant or contract may not 
be awarded to a bidder that the Director of the Bureau of General Services determined 
was not in compliance at the time the initial bid was submitted. 
8. Tie bids. The Director of the Bureau of General Services shall award contracts, 
grants or purchases to in-state bidders or to bidders rendering services or offering 
commodities produced or manufactured in the State if the price, quality, availability and 
other factors are equivalent. If a tie cannot be resolved based on whether one bidder is an 
in-state bidder or a bidder who renders services or offers commodities produced or 
manufactured in the State, the director may contact the tied bidders and invite them to 
submit new cost proposals. The bidder with the lowest cost proposal must be awarded the 
contract, unless the director decides not to make an award to any bidder. 
Sec. 7. 5 MRSA §1825-D, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 785, §2, is amended 
to read: 
2. Review process. To be used when reviewing competitive bids, including the 
requirement that written records of the evaluation of bids be kept hv easl:i He.-sofl clfresth1 
r0vi01NiRe: er rankine: bids;' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the minority report and strikes and replaces the bill. It changes the 
title and amends Maine's procurement laws instead of, as in the bill, establishing a 
framework for governmental entities to enter into agreements with private entities and 
persons to develop or operate qualifying projects. 
It expands the description of what can be purchased cooperatively by the State for 
other public entities. It adds "goods" and "commodities" to the list of terms under the 
scope of the purchasing authority of the Department of Administrative and Financial 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 884, L.D. 1298 
Services, Bureau of General Services. It replaces the term "services" with "labor, time or 
effort" by a contractor or vendor and removes the definition of "services." It provides that 
the Director of the Bureau of General Services may enter into or participate in multistate 
agreements when it is in the best interests of the State. The director may also enter into or 
participate in competitively awarded agreements from the United States Government, 
other state and local governments or other public entities when the competitive process is 
similar to the State's. 
The amendment updates language in regard to specific reasons under which a waiver 
of competition can be granted by the bureau. The language provides consistency and 
updates current practices to better reflect current markets, including the addition of 
natural gas and electricity. It also increases from $10,000 or less to $25,000 or less the 
amount of expenditures under which the director may waive competitive bidding if 
procurement from a single source is the most economical, effective and appropriate. 
The amendment expands what the bureau must take into consideration when 
determining the best-value bidder for any goods or services to be consistent with 
competitive bidding documents. It clarifies how to remedy tie bids. 
The amendment provides that rules of the State Purchasing Agent that govern the 
procedure for reviewing competitive bids include the requirement that written records of 
the evaluation of bids be kept. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT