La. Admin. Code tit. 34, § V-121 - Contractual Review Process
A.
Contracts arriving in the Office of Contractual Review will be date stamped and
logged in. Contracts should be submitted prior to their effective dates and no
contract shall be approved which has been submitted 60 days after its effective
date unless written justification is provided by the using agency and approval
granted by the Director of Contractual Review or his designee. All submittals
will be required to have a cover letter attached thereto in conformity with
§195, Appendix D of this Part.
B. If a contract does not appear to be out of
the ordinary and appears to have the necessary attachments and inclusions, it
will be routed as appropriate to the Division of Administration budget analyst
for the submitting agency. A BA-22, or its equivalent, shall be submitted with
every contract submitted to the Office of Contractual Review, which contains
any expenditures or reduction in expenditures.
C. Contracts that are incomplete as to form
may be returned to the submitting agency. If a contract is merely missing an
attachment then the necessary attachment may be secured from the submitting
agency.
D. Contracts Returned from
Budget
1. Not Recommended for Approval. If a
contract is not recommended for approval, the Office of Contractual Review
shall discuss the reason with the budget analyst. If the problem cannot be
resolved, the contract shall be returned to the submitting agency with a letter
explaining the problem.
2.
Recommended for Approval. If a contract is recommended for approval the review
process shall continue.
E. Legal and Content Review. There are a
number of different types of contracts, and content requirements may vary a
little. All contracts shall contain the following:
1. signatures of both the head of the using
agency or his designee and the contractor. At least one submitted copy of each
contract shall bear an actual, nonfacsimile signature of each party;
2. contractor name and address (including zip
code);
3. scope of services that
clearly and completely identifies the work to be performed and products to be
delivered;
4. beginning and
termination dates for the contract. Normally, such contracts should be for a
term no longer than one year, although the Director of Contractual Review may
approve contracts with terms up to three years. Contracts shall not include a
clause permitting automatic renewal or extension of the original beyond a
three-year period, unless authorized by the funding statute. Per
R.S.
39:1496.1(c),
performance-based energy efficiency contracts shall have a term not to exceed
10 years;
5. the maximum amount of
compensation to be paid under the contract. This maximum must be inclusive of
all payment, fees, travel expenses, etc. When applicable, the amounts shall be
stated by category and then given as a comprehensive total. The payment
schedule shall be given also;
6. a
statement giving the legislative auditor and/or the Office of the Governor,
Division of Administration auditors authority to audit the financial records of
the contractor relative to work done under the contract. A clause referencing
audit requirements given in
R.S. 24:517
is advisable for contractors who may be considered "quasi-public";
7. a clause providing that the contractor
shall not assign any interest in this contract, and shall not transfer any
interest in the same (whether by assignment or novation), without the prior
written consent of the submitting agency thereto, provided, however, that
claims for money due or to become due to the contractor from the using agency
under this contract may be assigned to a bank, trust company, or other
financial institution without such approval. Notice of any such assignment or
transfer shall be furnished promptly to both the using agency and the Director
of the Office of Contractual Review;
8. the Office of Contractual Review shall
notify the using agency in writing when an assignment of proceeds notice has
been received from a contractor;
9.
a statement giving the contractor the responsibility for paying any taxes which
may be due as a result of the contract. The taxes could include state or
federal income taxes or payroll taxes;
10. advance payments on all contracts except
those for professional services are allowable if limited to less than or equal
to 20 percent of the contract amount and if necessary to provide for the lowest
cost delivery of service:
a. all such
advances shall be approved by the Director of the Office of Contractual Review.
If federal funds are to be advanced, federal guidelines shall prevail on the
conditions and amount of the advance. Specific state statutory authority may
override the 20 percent limit for certain contracts;
b. when submitting for approval a contract
including provisions for an advance, the using agency shall submit the
following additional information at a minimum:
i. certification by the using agency that the
procurement of the services involved at the lowest cost requires the advance
and that no other source of funding is available;
ii. provisions in the contract specifying the
amount and timing of the payments and safeguarding repayment of the
advance.
F. Each contract over $5,000 submitted for
approval shall be accompanied by a certification letter as described in
R.S.
39:1497, signed by the using agency's
representative (see §191, Appendix B of this Part).
G. Proof of review and approval by other
agencies shall accompany submitted contracts as follows; or contracts will be
returned to the submitting agency without final approval.
1. Civil Service. All contracts must have
Civil Service approval unless exempted by the Department of Civil
Service.
2. Attorney General.
Contracts for legal services that are not consulting work and that do involve
or lead to litigation must be reviewed by the attorney general in accordance
with
R.S.
49:258. Approval of the attorney general can
be evidenced by the signature on the contract documents or by a letter from the
attorney general. Contracts with Louisiana district attorneys do not require
this approval.
3. Legislative
Auditor. Contracts for financial auditing of state agencies must have prior
written approval of the legislative auditor.
4. If the contractor is a corporation not
incorporated under the laws of the state of Louisiana, then the contractor must
secure a certificate of authority pursuant to R.S. 12:301-302 from the
secretary of the state of Louisiana and verification of such certificate must
be made available to the Office of Contractual Review.
5. The Office of Telecommunications
Management shall review and recommend any contract containing elements of
telecommunication services before returning it to the Office of Contractual
Review for completion of the analysis.
H. Consulting Services Contracts for $50,000
or More. If a contract is for services defined as consulting in
R.S.
39:1484(4) and is for an
amount equal to or exceeding $50,000, it must have been awarded pursuant to the
requirements of
R.S.
39:1503, unless exempt by §142. Failure
to so comply shall result in the using agency having to reconduct the process.
A statement in accordance with
R.S.
39:1503.C as to why the award was made must
be submitted with the contract.
I.
Data processing consulting service contracts for more than $100,000 shall be
procured in accordance with Subchapter C of these regulations.
J. Social Services Contracts for $150,000 or
More During a 12-Month Period. If a contract is for services defined as social
services in
R.S.
39:1484(24), it must have
been awarded pursuant to the requirements of
R.S.
39:1503 unless exempt by R.S. 1494.1. Failure
to so comply shall result in the using agency having to reconduct the process.
A statement in accordance with
R.S.
39:1503(c) as to why the
award was made must be submitted with the contract.
K. When a contractor is a corporation, a
formal, dated board resolution must be secured and attached to the contract
indicating that the signatory is a corporate representative and authorized to
sign said contract.
L. When it has
been determined that a contract is complete, the contract shall be returned to
the submitting agency with an approval letter attached and signed by the
Director of Contractual Review.
M.
A performance evaluation for every personal, professional, consulting or social
services contract shall be done by the using agency in accordance with
R.S.
39:1500. This performance evaluation shall be
retained by the using agency for all small purchase contracts approved under
delegated authority. For all other contracts this performance evaluation shall
be submitted to the Office of Contractual Review within 120 days after the
termination of the contract. An example evaluation form can be found in
§195, Appendix F of this Part. Using agencies should use their own
formats.
Notes
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