Procurement Amendments

10
63G-6a-506
63G-6a-507
63G-6a-1005
0
Procurement Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: David Shallenberger
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions of Title 63G, Chapter 6a, Utah Procurement Code.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines the term "resident supplier";
authorizes the rulemaking authority for a procurement unit to make rules governing small
purchases that encourage procurements from resident suppliers over non-resident
suppliers;
modifies the process to create an approved vendor list;
requires the rulemaking authority to create a procedure to ensure vendors on an approved
vendor list that are resident suppliers have increased opportunity to compete for a
contract for a procurement item in comparison to non-resident suppliers on the approved
vendor list;
provides that a procurement unit shall give a preference to bidders that certify on the bid
that the bidder qualifies as a resident supplier; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63G-6a-506
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 69
63G-6a-507
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 257
ENACTS:
63G-6a-1005
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
63G-6a-506
is amended to read:
63G-6a-506
. Small purchases.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Annual cumulative threshold" means the maximum total annual amount, established
by the rulemaking authority under Subsection
(2)
, that a procurement unit may
expend to obtain procurement items from the same source under this section.
(b)
"Individual procurement item threshold" means the maximum amount, established
by the rulemaking authority under Subsection
(2)
, for which a procurement unit may
purchase a procurement item under this section.
(c)
"Resident supplier" means the same as that term is defined in Section
63G-6a-1005
.
(c)
(d)
"Single procurement aggregate threshold" means the maximum total amount,
established by the rulemaking authority under Subsection
(2)
, that a procurement unit
may expend to obtain multiple procurement items from one source at one time under
this section.
(2)
(a)
The rulemaking authority may make rules governing small purchases of any
procurement item, including construction, job order contracting, design professional
services, other professional services, information technology, and goods.
(b)
Rules under Subsection
(2)(a)
may include provisions:
(i)
establishing expenditure thresholds, including:
(A)
an annual cumulative threshold;
(B)
an individual procurement item threshold; and
(C)
a single procurement aggregate threshold;
(ii)
establishing procurement requirements relating to the thresholds described in
Subsection
(2)(b)(i)
;
and
(iii)
providing for the use of electronic, telephone, or written quotes
.
; and
(iv)
encouraging procurements from resident suppliers over non-resident suppliers,
when available.
(c)
If a procurement unit obtains administrative law judge service through a small
purchase standard procurement process, rules made under Subsection
(2)(a)
shall
provide that the process for the procurement of administrative law judge service
include an evaluation committee described in Subsection
63G-6a-116(3)
.
(3)
Expenditures made under this section by a procurement unit may not exceed a threshold
established by the rulemaking authority, unless the procurement official gives written
authorization to exceed the threshold that includes the reasons for exceeding the
threshold.
(4)
Except as provided in Subsection
(5)
, an executive branch procurement unit may not
obtain a procurement item through a small purchase standard procurement process if the
procurement item may be obtained through a state cooperative contract or a contract
awarded by the chief procurement officer under Subsection
63G-6a-2105(1)
.
(5)
Subsection
(4)
does not apply if:
(a)
the procurement item is obtained for an unanticipated, urgent, or emergency
condition, including:
(i)
an item needed to avoid stopping a public construction project;
(ii)
an immediate repair to a facility or equipment; or
(iii)
another emergency condition; or
(b)
the chief procurement officer or the procurement official of a procurement unit that
is an executive branch procurement unit with independent procurement authority:
(i)
determines in writing that it is in the best interest of the procurement unit to obtain
an individual procurement item outside of the state contract, comparing:
(A)
the contract terms and conditions applicable to the procurement item under the
state contract with the contract terms and conditions applicable to the
procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state
contract;
(B)
the maintenance and service applicable to the procurement item under the
state contract with the maintenance and service applicable to the procurement
item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state contract;
(C)
the warranties applicable to the procurement item under the state contract with
the warranties applicable to the procurement item if the procurement item is
obtained outside of the state contract;
(D)
the quality of the procurement item under the state contract with the quality of
the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state
contract; and
(E)
the ability of the vendor under the state contract to match the quoted cost of
the procurement item if the procurement item is obtained outside of the state
contract;
(ii)
for a procurement item that, if defective in its manufacture, installation, or
performance, may result in serious physical injury, death, or substantial property
damage, determines in writing that the terms and conditions, relating to liability
for injury, death, or property damage, available from the source other than the
contractor who holds the state contract, are similar to, or better than, the terms and
conditions available under the state contract; and
(iii)
grants an exception, in writing, to the requirement described in Subsection
(4)
.
(6)
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this section, a procurement unit:
(a)
may not use the small purchase standard procurement process described in this
section for ongoing, continuous, and regularly scheduled procurements that exceed
the annual cumulative threshold; and
(b)
shall make its ongoing, continuous, and regularly scheduled procurements that
exceed the annual cumulative threshold through a contract awarded through another
standard procurement process described in this chapter or an applicable exception to
another standard procurement process, described in
Part 8, Exceptions to
Procurement Requirements
.
(7)
This section does not prohibit regularly scheduled payments for a procurement item
obtained under another provision of this chapter.
(8)
(a)
It is unlawful for a person knowingly to divide a single procurement into multiple
smaller procurements, including by dividing an invoice or purchase order into
multiple invoices or purchase orders, if:
(i)
the single procurement would not have qualified as a small purchase under this
section;
(ii)
one or more of the multiple smaller procurements qualify as a small purchase
under this section; and
(iii)
the division is done with the intent to:
(A)
avoid having to use a standard procurement process, other than the small
purchase process, that the person would otherwise be required to use for the
single procurement; or
(B)
make one or more of the multiple smaller procurements fall below a small
purchase expenditure threshold established by rule under Subsection
(2)(b)
that
the single procurement would not have fallen below without the division.
(b)
A violation of Subsection
(8)(a)
is subject to penalties as provided in Subsection
63G-6a-2404.3(2)
.
(9)
The Division of Finance within the Department of Government Operations may conduct
an audit of an executive branch procurement unit to verify compliance with the
requirements of this section.
(10)
An executive branch procurement unit may not make a small purchase after January 1,
2014, unless the chief procurement officer certifies that the person responsible for
procurements in the procurement unit has satisfactorily completed training on this
section and the rules made under this section.
Section 2. Section
63G-6a-507
is amended to read:
63G-6a-507
. Approved vendor list procurement process.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Closed-ended approved vendor list" means an approved vendor list that is subject to:
(i)
a short period of time, specified by the procurement unit, during which vendors
may be added to the list; and
(ii)
a specified period of time after which the list will expire.
(b)
"Open-ended approved vendor list" means an approved vendor list that is subject to:
(i)
an indeterminate period of time during which vendors may be added to the list;
(ii)
the addition of vendors to the list throughout the term of the list; and
(iii)
a specified period of time after which the procurement unit is required to verify
that vendors on the list continue to meet the minimum mandatory requirements,
evaluation criteria, and applicable score thresholds.
(c)
"Resident supplier" means the same as that term is defined in Section
63G-6a-1005
.
(2)
A procurement unit may not establish an approved vendor list unless the procurement
unit has first completed the statement of qualifications process described in Section
63G-6a-410
.
(3)
(a)
A procurement unit may establish an approved vendor list for:
(i)
a specific, fully defined procurement item; or
(ii)
a future procurement item that is not specifically and fully defined, if the request
for statement of qualifications contains a general description of:
(A)
the procurement item; and
(B)
the type of vendor that the procurement unit seeks to provide the procurement
item.
(b)
A procurement unit may not award a contract to a vendor on an approved vendor list
for a procurement item that is outside the scope of the general description of the
procurement item contained in the request for statement of qualifications.
(4)
After receiving the statements of qualifications and evaluation scores submitted by the
evaluation committee under Subsection
63G-6a-410(9)(f)
, the procurement official of
the procurement unit using the request for statement of qualifications process under
Section
63G-6a-410
as part of an approved vendor list process shall:
(a)
include on an approved vendor list those vendors meeting the minimum mandatory
requirements, evaluation criteria, and applicable score thresholds;
and
(b)
reject any vendor not meeting the minimum mandatory requirements, evaluation
criteria, and applicable score thresholds as ineligible for inclusion on the approved
vendor list
.
; and
(c)
indicate on an approved vendor list those vendors that qualify as a resident supplier,
if the vendor includes that information in the vendor's statement of qualifications.
(5)
(a)
A procurement unit shall include approved vendors on a closed-ended approved
vendor list or an open-ended approved vendor list.
(b)
(i)
A closed-ended approved vendor list shall expire no later than 18 months after
the publication of the closed-ended approved vendor list.
(ii)
A procurement unit shall verify, no less frequently than every 18 months, by a
method approved by the procurement official, that each vendor on an open-ended
approved vendor list continues to meet the minimum mandatory requirements,
evaluation criteria, and applicable score thresholds.
(6)
A procurement unit may:
(a)
(i)
using a bidding process, request for proposals process, small purchase process,
or design professional procurement process, award a contract to a vendor on an
approved vendor list for any procurement item or type of procurement item
specified by the procurement unit in the request for statement of qualifications,
including procurement items that the procurement unit intends to acquire in a
series of future procurements described in the request for statement of
qualifications; and
(ii)
limit participation in a bidding process, request for proposals process, small
purchase process, or design professional procurement process to vendors on an
approved vendor list; or
(b)
award a contract to a vendor on an approved vendor list at a price established as
provided in Section
63G-6a-113
.
(7)
(a)
After establishing an approved vendor list as provided in this section, a
conducting procurement unit shall, before using the approved vendor list, submit the
approved vendor list to the issuing procurement unit.
(b)
An issuing procurement unit that receives an approved vendor list under Subsection
(7)(a)
shall make the approved vendor list available to the public.
(8)
A conducting procurement unit administering an open-ended approved vendor list shall:
(a)
require a vendor seeking inclusion on the approved vendor list to submit a statement
of qualifications that complies with all requirements applicable at the time of the
initial request for statement of qualifications; and
(b)
if modifying the requirements for inclusion on the approved vendor list, apply any
new or additional requirement to all vendors equally, whether a vendor is seeking
inclusion on the approved vendor list for the first time or is already included on the
approved vendor list.
(9)
A rulemaking authority shall make rules pertaining to an approved vendor list process,
including:
(a)
procedures to ensure that
:

(i)
all vendors on an approved vendor list
that are resident suppliers
have a fair and
equitable opportunity to compete for a contract for a procurement item
in
comparison to other resident suppliers on the approved vendor list;
(ii)
all vendors on an approved vendor list that are not resident suppliers have a fair
and equitable opportunity to compete for a contract for a procurement item in
comparison to other non-resident suppliers on the approved vendor list; and
(iii)
vendors on an approved vendor list that are resident suppliers have a greater
opportunity to compete for a contract for a procurement item in comparison to
non-resident suppliers on the approved vendor list
; and
(b)
requirements for using an approved vendor list with the small purchase process.
Section 3. Section
63G-6a-1005
is enacted to read:
63G-6a-1005
. Preference for resident suppliers.
(1)
As used in this section, "resident supplier" means a person, partnership, corporation, or
other business entity that:
(a)
maintains a principal place of business in Utah;
(b)
is registered and in good standing with the Division of Corporations and Commercial
Code created in Section
13-1a-1
; and
(c)
has maintained the principal place of business described in Subsection
(1)(a)
for at
least one year before the day on which bids or requests for qualifications were first
solicited.
(2)
The provisions of this section apply if the provisions of Sections
63G-6a-1002
and
63G-6a-1003
do not apply.
(3)
(a)
For a procurement that is awarded based on evaluation criteria with assigned point
values, an issuing procurement unit shall award a resident supplier additional points
equal to 10% of the total available evaluation points.
(b)
The additional points described in Subsection
(3)(a)
shall be added to the resident
supplier's final evaluation score.
(c)
The preference described in this Subsection
(3)
:
(i)
is waived if the certification that the bidder qualifies as a resident supplier does
not appear on the bid or proposal; and
(ii)
does not apply if application of the preference might jeopardize the receipt of
federal funds.
Section 4.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-17-26 4:31 PM