2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 2 - Government Administration › Chapter 2A - Public-Private Partnerships › Subchapter III - Procurement of Public-Private Partnerships › § 2–273.09. Transparency

§ 2–273.09. Transparency.
(a)(1) Before entering into a public-private partnership agreement, the Office shall submit to the Council a report outlining the details of the selected proposal, including any participating private entities, significant terms of the public-private partnership agreement, overall cost, cost to the District, value-for-money analysis and public sector comparator analysis, time for completion, delivery method, any participating public entities, a list of private entities that responded to the request for proposals, and how those responses were scored and how a response was selected according to the criteria and methodology for evaluating responses outlined in the request for proposals.
(2) The Office shall provide public notice of the report submitted to the Council.
(b)(1) A proposer shall identify those portions of a proposal or other submission that the proposer considers to be a trade secret or confidential commercial, financial, or proprietary information.
(2) For trade secrets and confidential and proprietary information to be exempt from disclosure, the proposer must do all of the following:
(A) Invoke exclusion on submission of the information or other materials for which protection is sought;
(B) Identify with conspicuous labeling the data or other materials for which protection is sought;
(C) State the reasons why protection is necessary; and
(D) Fully comply with any applicable District law with respect to information that the proposer contends should be exempt from disclosure.
(3) Each request for proposals issued pursuant to this subchapter shall require the proposer to include with its proposal an executive summary, which shall be subject to release and disclosure to the public at any time, describing the major elements of its proposal that do not address the pro-poser's price, financing plan, or other confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets that the proposer intends to be exempt from disclosure.
(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no part of a proposal other than the executive summary and the information required to be disclosed under §§ 2-273.03(f), 2-273.04(b), and 2-273.09(a) shall be subject to release or disclosure by the Office or a designated public entity be-fore an award of the public-private partnership agreement and at the conclusion of any protest, appeal, or other challenge to the award, absent an administrative or judicial order requiring re-lease or disclosure.
(B) After the award of the public-private partnership agreement and the conclusion of any protest, appeal, or other challenge to the award, the Freedom of Information Act shall apply to the proposal except for exclusions, such as proprietary information, as specifically provided in this chapter.
(c) An unsolicited proposal shall contain a similar executive summary and be afforded the same protections as a requested proposal.
(d) The Office shall provide public notice of all meetings and shall conduct its meetings in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
(e) The Office shall submit an annual report to the Council within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, summarizing the activities of the Office for the fiscal year just ended, including:
(1) A summary of solicitations requested by public entities for any public-private partnership, including the type of project, the Office's response, and current status;
(2) A summary of unsolicited proposals submitted to the Office by private entities, including the type of project, the Office's response, and current status;
(3) A summary of all public-private partnership agreements entered into by the Office, including the term sheet and current status of implementation;
(4) A summary of all public hearings and public meetings held by the Office;
(5) Any recommendations for needed action on the part of the Mayor and Council that is necessary for the Office to fulfill its mission; and
(6) An audit of the Office's budget, including the amount and percentage of the Office's budget spent on administrative costs.
(Mar. 11, 2015, D.C. Law 20-228, § 114, 62 DCR 261.)