New Jersey-2018-A4763-Introduced

An Act concerning State college contracting and supplementing chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, the board of trustees of a four-year public institution of higher education with a campus in a municipality in which casino gaming has been legalized shall have the power and duty to adopt standing operating rules and procedures only for that campus for the purchase of all equipment, materials, supplies and services pursuant to this section. No contract entered into pursuant to this section shall be entered into for the purchase of services, materials, equipment and supplies, for the performance of any work, or for the hiring of equipment or vehicles, where the sum to be expended exceeds $33,300 or the amount determined by the Governor as provided herein, unless the institution shall first publicly advertise for bids and shall award the contract to that responsible bidder whose bid, conforming to the invitation for bids, will be most advantageous to the institution, price and other factors considered. Such advertising shall not be required in those exceptions created by the board of trustees of the institution, which shall be in substance those exceptions contained in sections 4 and 5 of P.L.1954, c.48 (C.52:34-9 and 10) and section 5 of P.L.1986, c.43 (C.18A:64-56) or for the supplying of any product or the rendering of any service by a public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities of this State and tariffs and schedules of the charges made, charged, or exacted by the public utility for any such products to be supplied or services to be rendered are filed with the said board. Commencing July 1, 2019 and every two years thereafter, the Governor, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, shall adjust the threshold amount set forth in this section in direct proportion to the rise or fall of the consumer price index for all urban consumers in the New York City and the Philadelphia areas as reported by the United States Department of Labor. The Governor shall notify the institution of the adjustment. The adjustment shall become effective on July 1 of the year in which it is reported.

This section of law shall not prevent the institution from having any work performed by its own employees, nor shall it apply to repairs, or to the furnishing of materials, supplies or labor, or the hiring of equipment or vehicles, when the safety or protection of its or other public property or the public convenience requires or the exigency of the institution's service will not admit of such advertisement. In such case, the institution shall, by resolution passed by the affirmative vote of its board of trustees, declare the exigency or emergency to exist, and set forth in the resolution the nature and approximate amount to be expended; shall maintain appropriate records as to the reason for such awards; and shall report regularly to its board of trustees on all such purchases, the amounts and the reasons therefor.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, a four-year public institution of higher education with a campus in a municipality in which casino gaming has been legalized shall not be subject to subsections w. or x. of N.J.S.18A:64-6, sections 3 and 4, 6 through 28, and 33 of P.L.1986, c.43 (C.18A:64-54, C.18A:64-55, C.18A:64-57 through C.18A:64-79, and C.18A:64-84), section 2 of P.L.1992, c.61 (C.18A:64-76.1), and P.L.2013, c.147 (C.18A:64-76.2 et seq.) for the purchase of all equipment, materials, supplies, and services for that campus.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill alters the requirements pursuant to which Stockton University would purchase goods and services and construct buildings on its Atlantic City campus in order to align those requirements with the contracting standards governing the State's public research universities. The bill would allow Stockton University the ability to follow the more flexible requirements of the contracting process which apply to the public research universities in the case of the university's Atlantic City campus.

Under current law, the contracting standards for the State colleges and universities, including Stockton University, are found in the "State College Contracts Law," P.L.1986, c.43 (C.18A:64-52 et seq.). This bill provides that various sections of that law which are inconsistent with the contracting requirements imposed on the public research universities would no longer apply to Stockton University for contracting on the Atlantic City campus.

This bill grants the board of trustees of Stockton University the power and duty to adopt standing operating rules and procedures for the purchase of all equipment, materials, supplies, and services for the Atlantic City campus. The power to adopt standing operating rules and procedures is limited, however, by the requirement that no contract may be entered into for the purchase of services, materials, equipment and supplies, for the performance of any work, or for the hiring of equipment or vehicles, where the sum to be expended exceeds a specified bid threshold, unless the university first publicly advertises for bids and awards the contract to that responsible bidder whose bid, conforming to the invitation for bids, will be most advantageous to the university, price and other factors considered. The university is permitted to create exceptions to the public advertising requirement, but those exceptions must be in substance those exceptions found currently in the "State College Contracts Law" and sections 4 and 5 of P.L.1954, c.48 (C.52:34-9 and 10).