North Carolina § 143B-1361 - Information technology procurement policy; reporting requirements.

§ 143B-1361. Information technology procurement policy; reporting requirements.

Policy. - In order to further the policy of the State to encourage and promote the use of small, minority, physically handicapped, and women contractors in State purchasing of goods and services, all State agencies shall cooperate with the Department in efforts to encourage the use of small, minority, physically handicapped, and women contractors in achieving the purposes of this Article, which is to provide for the effective and economical acquisition, management, and disposition of information technology. Bids. - A vendor submitting a bid shall disclose in a statement, provided contemporaneously with the bid, where services will be performed under the contract sought, including any subcontracts and whether any services under that contract, including any subcontracts, are anticipated to be performed outside the United States. Nothing in this section is intended to contravene any existing treaty, law, agreement, or regulation of the United States. The State CIO shall retain the statements required by this subsection regardless of the State entity that awards the contract and shall report annually to the Secretary of Administration on the number of contracts which are anticipated to be performed outside the United States. Reporting. - Every State agency that makes a direct purchase of information technology using the services of the Department shall report directly to the Department of Administration all information required by G.S. 143-48(b). Data from Department of Administration. - The Department of Administration shall collect and compile the data described in this section and report it annually to the Department of Information Technology, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology, and the Fiscal Research Division. History (2015-241, s. 7A.2(b).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 7A.2(b), enacted this section as G.S. 143B-1334. The section has been renumbered as G.S. 143B-1361 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2013-360, s. 7.5, provides: "Statewide information technology procurement shall be funded through fees charged to agencies using the services of the Statewide Information Technology Procurement Office. The Office of the State Chief Information Officer (CIO) shall provide to the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) a fee schedule to allow cost recovery. If an agency fails to pay for services within 30 days of billing, OSBM shall transfer the unpaid amount to the State Information Technology Procurement Office, following notification of the affected agency." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 7.7(a)-(c), provides: "(a) SCIO Review. - The State Chief Information Officer (State CIO) shall review all State information technology (IT) contracts and shall develop a plan to consolidate duplicate IT contracts and multiple IT contracts with the same vendor. "(b) Bulk Purchasing. - The State CIO shall develop a plan to modify bulk purchasing contracts, while maintaining economies of scale, to provide agencies with the option of purchasing equipment on an 'as-needed' basis. By December 15, 2013, the State CIO shall provide the plan to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and the Fiscal Research Division. The State CIO may modify the plan based upon input from the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and, following the review, shall begin implementation of the plan. "(c) Sole Sourcing, Extensions, and Expansions Limited. - State IT contracts, including sole sourcing, extensions of the period of performance, or expansion of the scope of existing contracts, must receive the prior approval of the State CIO who may grant a specific exception. The State CIO shall immediately report any exceptions granted to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and the Fiscal Research Division. The report shall explain the reasons why the exception was deemed to be appropriate." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 7.7(e), (f), provides: "(e) Enterprise Contracts. - The State CIO shall consult participating agency chief information officers and obtain approval from the Office of State Budget and Management prior to the initiation of any enterprise project or contract and shall ensure that enterprise project and contract costs are allocated to participating agencies in an equitable manner. Enterprise agreements shall not exceed the participating State agencies' ability to financially support the contracts. "The State CIO shall not enter into any enterprise information technology contracts without obtaining written agreements from participating State agencies regarding the apportionment of the contract cost. State agencies agreeing to participate in a contract shall: "(1) Ensure that sufficient funds are budgeted to support their agreed shares of enterprise contracts throughout the life of the contract. "(2) Transfer the required funding to the Information Technology Internal Service Fund in sufficient time for the Office of Information Technology Services to meet vendor contract requirements. "(f) Three-Year Contracts. - Notwithstanding the cash management provisions of G.S. 147-86.11 , the Office of Information Technology Services may procure information technology goods and services for periods up to a total of three years where the terms of the procurement contracts require payment of all or a portion of the contract price at the beginning of the contract agreement. All of the following conditions shall be met before payment for these agreements may be disbursed: "(1) Any advance payment can be accomplished within the IT Internal Service Fund budget. "(2) The State Controller receives conclusive evidence that the proposed agreement would be more cost-effective than a multiyear agreement that complies with G.S. 147-86.11 . "(3) The procurement complies in all other aspects with applicable statutes and rules. "(4) The proposed agreement contains contract terms that protect the financial interest of the State against contractor nonperformance or insolvency through the creation of escrow accounts for funds, source codes, or both, or by any other reasonable means that have legally binding effect. "The Office of State Budget and Management shall ensure the savings from any authorized agreement shall be included in the IT Internal Service Fund rate calculations before approving annual proposed rates. Any savings resulting from the agreements shall be returned to agencies included in the contract in the form of reduced rates. Beginning October 1, 2013, ITS shall submit a quarterly written report of any authorizations granted under this section to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and the Fiscal Research Division." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 7.7(g), as added by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 7.7, provides: "(g) Enhance State IT Contract Expertise. - The State Chief Information Officer (State CIO), the Office of State Human Resources, the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University, the Schools of Government and Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and in the discretion of the State CIO, schools and departments at other public and private institutions of higher learning in the State, shall work jointly to create a career path for State government information technology contracting professionals that includes defined qualifications, career progression, training opportunities, and appropriate compensation. By December 1, 2014, the State CIO shall submit a detailed, fully implementable plan to create the career path for State government information technology contracting professionals to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and the Fiscal Research Division." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 7.8, as amended by Session Laws 2013-363, s. 2.3 provides: "Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no contract for information technology personal services, or that provides personnel to perform information technology functions, may be established or renewed without written approval from the Statewide Information Technology Procurement Office and the Office of State Budget and Management. To facilitate compliance with this requirement, the Statewide Information Technology Procurement Office shall develop and document the following: "(1) Standards for determining whether it is more appropriate for an agency to hire an employee or use the services of a vendor. "(2) A process to monitor all State agency personal services contracts, as well as any other State contracts providing personnel to perform information technology functions. "(3) A process for obtaining approval of contractor positions. "The Statewide Information Technology Procurement Office shall review current personal services contracts and determine if each contractor is performing a function that could more appropriately be performed by a State employee. Where the determination is made that a State employee should be performing the function, the Statewide Information Technology Procurement Office shall work with the impacted agency, the Office of State Budget and Management, and the Office of State Personnel to identify or create the position. "Beginning October 1, 2013, the Statewide Information Technology Procurement Office shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and the Fiscal Research Division on its progress toward standardizing information technology personal services contracts. In addition, the report shall include detailed information on the number of personal service contractors in each State agency, the cost for each, and the comparable cost (including benefits) of a State employee serving in that capacity rather than a contractor." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013.'" Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause.