60E-1.003. Central, Non-Profit Agency

(1) By way of competitive solicitation conducted as prescribed in Chapter 287, F.S., a CNA may be designated to represent employment centers for the blind and other severely handicapped in facilitating the allocation of orders by purchasing offices.

(2) The following shall be responsibilities of the CNA:

(a) Assist employment centers by facilitating the allocation of orders among employment centers.

(b) Evaluate the ability of employment centers to provide the products or services they offer and advise the Department of its findings.

(c) Based on the cost to the employment centers, provide the Department with its current recommended prices for suitable commodities or services for procurement from its employment centers.

(d) Maintain an internet website providing, at a minimum, a listing of its network of employment centers and a listing of all commodities and services offered by each employment center. The CNA’s website can be found at https://secure.imarcsgroup.com/respect/Default.asp.

(e) Maintain all necessary records and data on its employment centers to enable the Department to properly review and audit all employment center purchase activities.

(f) Monitor the employment centers and advise the Department of any concerns the CNA may have regarding an employment center’s ability to provide the products or services they offer.

(g) As market conditions change, recommend to the Department price changes for commodities or services provided by its employment centers and provide justification for the recommended change(s).

(h) Provide the Department with full and complete access to all purchasing office records as required by the Department.

(i) Make commodities and services offered by its employment centers available to eligible users through the MyFloridaMarketPlace procurement system.

(3) The CNA shall not engage in the following actions –

(a) Enter into nondisclosure agreements or contracts which prohibit employees or associates of the CNA from meeting with, discussing or providing information requested by the Department or its authorized representatives.

(b) Require that employment centers join or become a member of any industry or trade association as a condition of being part of the CNA’s network of employment centers.

(4) Assignment of commodity or service –

(a) Any employment center may, in writing to the CNA, propose to have the employment center assigned to the procurement list to provide a particular commodity or service. Proposals for addition to the procurement list shall at a minimum: clearly identify the commodity or service the employment center proposes to offer; include a cost proposal for the offered commodity or service; and specify why it would be in the state’s best interest to assign the commodity or service to the employment center.

(b) Subject to approval by the Department, the CNA shall assign commodities or services to employment centers based on the ability of the employment centers to produce the commodity or provide the service.

(c) The employment center assigned by the Department to provide a particular commodity or service shall be placed on the procurement list within 60 days after it is assigned to make available the commodities or services it offers for purchase by purchasing offices.

(d) If the Department determines that an employment center cannot provide the commodities or services assigned, the Department may reassign the commodity or service to another employment center capable of providing the commodity or service.

(5) Distribution of orders – The CNA shall allocate orders from purchasing offices only to employment centers which the Department has assigned to produce the specific commodity or to perform the particular service. When the Department has assigned two or more employment centers to produce a specific commodity, or perform a particular service, the CNA shall allocate orders among those employment centers in a fair and equitable manner.

(6) Priority over correctional work program – When purchasing offices buy any product or service pursuant to the Act, priority shall be given to the products and services designated by the Department and offered by employment centers over any requirement to purchase from the Corporation operating the correctional work programs under Chapter 946, F.S., unless such priority is waived by the Department through the CNA.

(7) Waiver of priority – Within thirty (30) days after notification by the Corporation operating the correctional work programs that the Corporation has proposed a commodity or service to be produced by correctional work programs and offered for purchase to purchasing offices, the Department shall notify the Corporation and the CNA of its intention to exercise or waive the priority on the proposed commodity or service. Waiver of priority shall occur only when determined by the Department that such waiver will provide the best value to the state.

(a) The Corporation operating the correctional work programs need not request waiver of priority when a proposed commodity change only involves a change of color or size of an item which is part of a sequence of identical items and is currently provided by the correctional work programs under an existing contract.

(b) Priority may be exercised by the Department, through the CNA, if a proposed or similar commodity or service is currently on the Department’s procurement list or if a qualified employment center is in the process of adding a same or similar commodity or service to the Department’s procurement list. Addition of a same or similar commodity or service to the procurement list shall be done in accordance with the process described in subsection 60A-1.003(4), F.A.C.

Rulemaking Authority 413.035, 413.036 FS. Law Implemented 413.033(3), (4), 413.035, 413.036 FS. History–New 10-12-81, Formerly 13G-1.03, Amended 2-22-89, Formerly 13G-1.003, Amended 12-31-95, 10-22-06.