Public contracts: information technology services: contractor evaluations.

Existing law requires all contracts for the acquisition of information technology goods and services related to information technology projects, as defined, to be made by or under the supervision of the Department of Technology. Existing law requires all other contracts for the acquisition of information technology goods or services to be made by or under the supervision of the Department of General Services. Under existing law, both the Department of Technology and the Department of General Services are authorized to delegate their authority to another agency, as specified. Existing law establishes various procedures for the procurement of state goods and services, including consulting services and personal services. Existing law requires each state agency to conduct a postevaluation, by completing a postevaluation form, of each consulting services contract totaling $5,000 or more that it executes. Existing law requires the state agency to evaluate the performance of the contractor in doing the work or delivering the services for which the contract was awarded, including evaluating any cost overruns or delayed completions. This bill would require an awarding department, as specified, to conduct a postevaluation similar to the one described above for each contract for the acquisition of information technology services, as defined, totaling $500,000 or more. The bill would require a department to base a postevaluation on objective facts and support them with program and contract performance data. The bill would require the Department of Technology and the Department of General Services to jointly develop, and each awarding department to use, a standard form or forms that contain objective postevaluation factors or metrics, as specified. The bill would require a public official who signs a postevaluation to confirm its accuracy. The bill would require an awarding department and the Department of Technology to keep postevaluations on file, as specified, and would authorize a contractor to comment on a negative postevaluation. The bill would provide that the postevaluations and contractor responses are not public records. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.