To amend section 307.86 and to enact section 307.862 of the Revised Code to allow a county contracting authority to use competitive sealed proposals instead of competitive sealed bidding when doing so would be advantageous to the county.

Section 1. That section 307.86 be amended and section 307.862 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 307.86.  Anything to be purchased, leased, leased with an option or agreement to purchase, or constructed, including, but not limited to, any product, structure, construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance, repair, or service, except the services of an accountant, architect, attorney at law, physician, professional engineer, construction project manager, consultant, surveyor, or appraiser, by or on behalf of the county or contracting authority, as defined in section 307.92 of the Revised Code, at a cost in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars, except as otherwise provided in division (D) of section 713.23 and in sections 125.04, 125.60 to 125.6012, 307.022, 307.041, 307.861, 339.05, 340.03, 340.033, 4115.31 to 4115.35, 5119.16, 5513.01, 5543.19, 5713.01, and 6137.05 of the Revised Code, shall be obtained through competitive bidding. However, competitive bidding is not required when any of the following applies:

(A) The board of county commissioners, by a unanimous vote of its members, makes a determination that a real and present emergency exists, and that determination and the reasons for it are entered in the minutes of the proceedings of the board, when either of the following applies:

(1) The estimated cost is less than fifty thousand dollars.

(2) There is actual physical disaster to structures, radio communications equipment, or computers.

For purposes of this division, "unanimous vote" means all three members of a board of county commissioners when all three members are present, or two members of the board if only two members, constituting a quorum, are present.

Whenever a contract of purchase, lease, or construction is exempted from competitive bidding under division (A)(1) of this section because the estimated cost is less than fifty thousand dollars, but the estimated cost is twenty-five thousand dollars or more, the county or contracting authority shall solicit informal estimates from no fewer than three persons who could perform the contract, before awarding the contract. With regard to each such contract, the county or contracting authority shall maintain a record of such estimates, including the name of each person from whom an estimate is solicited. The county or contracting authority shall maintain the record for the longer of at least one year after the contract is awarded or the amount of time the federal government requires.

(B)(1) The purchase consists of supplies or a replacement or supplemental part or parts for a product or equipment owned or leased by the county, and the only source of supply for the supplies, part, or parts is limited to a single supplier.

(2) The purchase consists of services related to information technology, such as programming services, that are proprietary or limited to a single source.

(C) The purchase is from the federal government, the state, another county or contracting authority of another county, or a board of education, township, or municipal corporation.

(D) The purchase is made by a county department of job and family services under section 329.04 of the Revised Code and consists of family services duties or workforce development activities or is made by a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities under section 5126.05 of the Revised Code and consists of program services, such as direct and ancillary client services, child care, case management services, residential services, and family resource services.

(E) The purchase consists of criminal justice services, social services programs, family services, or workforce development activities by the board of county commissioners from nonprofit corporations or associations under programs funded by the federal government or by state grants.

(F) The purchase consists of any form of an insurance policy or contract authorized to be issued under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code or any form of health care plan authorized to be issued under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code, or any combination of such policies, contracts, or plans that the contracting authority is authorized to purchase, and the contracting authority does all of the following:

(1) Determines that compliance with the requirements of this section would increase, rather than decrease, the cost of the purchase;

(2) Employs a competent consultant to assist the contracting authority in procuring appropriate coverages at the best and lowest prices;

(3) Requests issuers of the policies, contracts, or plans to submit proposals to the contracting authority, in a form prescribed by the contracting authority, setting forth the coverage and cost of the policies, contracts, or plans as the contracting authority desires to purchase;

(4) Negotiates with the issuers for the purpose of purchasing the policies, contracts, or plans at the best and lowest price reasonably possible.

(G) The purchase consists of computer hardware, software, or consulting services that are necessary to implement a computerized case management automation project administered by the Ohio prosecuting attorneys association and funded by a grant from the federal government.

(H) Child care services are purchased for provision to county employees.

(I)(1) Property, including land, buildings, and other real property, is leased for offices, storage, parking, or other purposes, and all of the following apply:

(a) The contracting authority is authorized by the Revised Code to lease the property.

(b) The contracting authority develops requests for proposals for leasing the property, specifying the criteria that will be considered prior to leasing the property, including the desired size and geographic location of the property.

(c) The contracting authority receives responses from prospective lessors with property meeting the criteria specified in the requests for proposals by giving notice in a manner substantially similar to the procedures established for giving notice under section 307.87 of the Revised Code.

(d) The contracting authority negotiates with the prospective lessors to obtain a lease at the best and lowest price reasonably possible considering the fair market value of the property and any relocation and operational costs that may be incurred during the period the lease is in effect.

(2) The contracting authority may use the services of a real estate appraiser to obtain advice, consultations, or other recommendations regarding the lease of property under this division.

(J) The purchase is made pursuant to section 5139.34 or sections 5139.41 to 5139.46 of the Revised Code and is of programs or services that provide case management, treatment, or prevention services to any felony or misdemeanant delinquent, unruly youth, or status offender under the supervision of the juvenile court, including, but not limited to, community residential care, day treatment, services to children in their home, or electronic monitoring.

(K) The purchase is made by a public children services agency pursuant to section 307.92 or 5153.16 of the Revised Code and consists of family services, programs, or ancillary services that provide case management, prevention, or treatment services for children at risk of being or alleged to be abused, neglected, or dependent children.

(L) The purchase is to obtain the services of emergency medical service organizations under a contract made by the board of county commissioners pursuant to section 307.05 of the Revised Code with a joint emergency medical services district.

(M) The county contracting authority determines that the use of competitive sealed proposals would be advantageous to the county and the contracting authority complies with section 307.862 of the Revised Code.

Any issuer of policies, contracts, or plans listed in division (F) of this section and any prospective lessor under division (I) of this section may have the issuer's or prospective lessor's name and address, or the name and address of an agent, placed on a special notification list to be kept by the contracting authority, by sending the contracting authority that name and address. The contracting authority shall send notice to all persons listed on the special notification list. Notices shall state the deadline and place for submitting proposals. The contracting authority shall mail the notices at least six weeks prior to the deadline set by the contracting authority for submitting proposals. Every five years the contracting authority may review this list and remove any person from the list after mailing the person notification of that action.

Any contracting authority that negotiates a contract under division (F) of this section shall request proposals and renegotiate with issuers in accordance with that division at least every three years from the date of the signing of such a contract.

Any consultant employed pursuant to division (F) of this section and any real estate appraiser employed pursuant to division (I) of this section shall disclose any fees or compensation received from any source in connection with that employment.

Sec. 307.862.  (A) When a county contracting authority uses competitive sealed proposals pursuant to section 307.86 of the Revised Code, the county contracting authority shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop factors and criteria to evaluate each proposal, specify the relative importance of each factor or criterion in writing, and describe the evaluation procedures the contracting authority shall follow when awarding a contract to an offeror.

(2) Solicit competitive sealed proposals through a request for proposals;

(3) Include, at a minimum, all of the information described in division (B) of this section in the request for proposals;

(4) Give notice of the request for proposals in the same manner that notice must be given for competitive bidding pursuant to section 307.87 of the Revised Code;

(5) Open proposals that the contracting authority receives in a manner that prevents the disclosure of contents of competing offers to competing offerors;

(6) Rank each proposal using the factors and criteria the contracting authority develops pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section;

(7) If necessary, conduct discussions with offerors for the purpose of ensuring full understanding of, and responsiveness to, the requirements specified in the request for proposals, and accord fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion with offerors to provide any clarification, correction, or revision of proposals;

(8) If the contracting authority determines that discussions described in division (A)(7) of this section are necessary, avoid disclosing any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors during those discussions;

(9) Negotiate with the offeror who submits the proposal that the contracting authority determines is the most advantageous to the county based on the rankings performed by the contracting authority pursuant to division (A)(6) of this section and including any adjustment to those rankings based on discussions conducted pursuant to division (A)(7) of this section;

(10) Conduct negotiations with only one offeror at a time;

(11) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, award a contract in accordance with division (E) of this section.

(B) A contracting authority shall include, at a minimum, all of the following information in the contracting authority's request for proposals:

(1) The name and address of the department, office, institution, board, or commission that is requesting to purchase supplies, services, or both;

(2) Instructions for offerors to follow when submitting proposals;

(3) Instructions governing communications between an offeror and the contracting authority, including, but not limited to, the name, title, and telephone number of the person to whom questions concerning the request for proposals should be directed;

(4) A description of the scope of work that the contracting authority requests an offeror to perform or supplies the contracting authority plans to purchase;

(5) To the extent possible, a description of the performance criteria the contracting authority shall require an offeror to satisfy, including but not limited to, the quantity of the supplies, services, or both, to be purchased; the requirements the contracting authority shall follow for inspection and acceptance of the supplies, services, or both; and the delivery schedule for each such supply or service;

(6) The factors and criteria the contracting authority shall consider in evaluating proposals received;

(7) Any terms and conditions that the contracting authority is required by law to include in the contract the contracting authority awards, including any requirement for a bond and the amount required for that bond;

(8) The date and time by which, and the place to which an offeror must deliver the offeror's proposal to the contracting authority in order to be considered for the contract;

(9) A list of any documents that the contracting authority incorporates by reference in the request for proposals, provided that the contracting authority specifies in the request for proposals that the documents are readily available to all offerors and the location where an offeror may obtain those documents;

(10) A statement that includes all of the following information:

(a) That the contracting authority reserves the right to reject any proposal in which the offeror takes exception to the terms and conditions of the request for proposals; fails to meet the terms and conditions of the request for proposals, including but not limited to, the standards, specifications, and requirements specified in the request for proposals; or submits prices that the contracting authority considers to be excessive, compared to existing market conditions, or determines exceed the available funds of the contracting authority;

(b) That the contracting authority reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any proposal that the county contracting authority has determined, using the factors and criteria the contracting authority develops pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section, would not be in the best interest of the county;

(c) That the contracting authority may conduct discussions with offerors who submit proposals for the purpose of clarifications or corrections regarding a proposal to ensure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, the requirements specified in the request for proposals.

(11) Information concerning any potential partial or multiple party awards that the contracting authority may include in the contract, and a description of the supplies, services, or both that may be subject to a partial award or multiple awards;

(12) Any additional information the contracting authority considers necessary for its purposes in determining to whom to award the contract.

(C) In order to ensure fair and impartial evaluation, proposals and any documents or other records related to a subsequent negotiation for a final contract are not available for public inspection and copying under section 149.43 of the Revised Code until after the award of the contract, except that any information included in a proposal or such negotiation that is considered confidential by, proprietary to, or a trade secret of an offeror shall remain confidential indefinitely.

(D) An offeror may withdraw the offeror's proposal at any time prior to the award of a contract. A contracting authority may terminate negotiations with an offeror at any time during the negotiation process if the offeror fails to provide the necessary information for negotiations in a timely manner or fails to negotiate in good faith. If the contracting authority terminates negotiations with an offeror, the contracting authority shall negotiate with the offeror whose proposal is ranked the next most advantageous to the county according to the factors and criteria developed pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section.

(E) A county contracting authority may award a contract to the offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the county, taking into consideration the evaluation factors and criteria developed pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section and set forth in the request for proposals. A contracting authority may award a contract in whole or in part to one or more offerors. The contracting authority shall include a written statement in the contract file stating the basis on which the award is made.

The contracting authority shall send a written notice to the offeror to whom it wishes to award the contract and shall make that notice available to the public. Within a reasonable time period after the award is made, the contracting authority shall notify all other offerors that the contract has been awarded to another offeror.

(F) A contracting authority may cancel or reissue a request for proposals if any of the following apply:

(1) The supplies or services offered through all of the proposals submitted to the contracting authority are not in compliance with the requirements, specifications, and terms and conditions set forth in the request for proposals;

(2) The prices submitted by the offerors are excessive compared to existing market conditions or exceed the available funds of the contracting authority;

(3) The contracting authority determines that award of a contract would not be in the best interest of the county.

(G) A county contracting authority shall not use competitive sealed proposals for contracts for construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or reconstruction of a building, highway, drainage system, water system, road, street, alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, waterworks, and all other structures or works of any nature by a county contracting authority.

Section 2. That existing section 307.86 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.