Chapter 55a

(1) “Competitive negotiation” means a procedure for contracting for services in which (A) proposals are solicited from qualified persons, firms or corporations by a request for proposals, and (B) changes may be negotiated in proposals and prices after being submitted.

(2) “Personal service contractor” means any person, firm or corporation not employed by the state, who is hired by a state agency for a fee to provide services to the agency. The term “personal service contractor” shall not include (A) a person, firm or corporation providing “contractual services”, as defined in section 4a-50, to the state, (B) a “consultant”, as defined in section 4b-55, (C) a “consultant”, as defined in section 13b-20b, (D) an agency of the federal government, of the state or of a political subdivision of the state, or (E) a person, firm or corporation providing consultant services for information and telecommunications systems authorized under subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of section 4d-2.

(3) “Personal service agreement” means a written agreement defining the services or end product to be delivered by a personal service contractor to a state agency, excluding any agreement with a personal service contractor that the state accounting manual does not require to be submitted to the Comptroller.

(4) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.

(5) “State agency” means a department, board, council, commission, institution or other executive branch agency.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 1, 13; P.A. 96-235, S. 7, 19; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 97; P.A. 04-58, S. 4; P.A. 09-210, S. 1; P.A. 11-51, S. 113.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 96-235 substituted “consultant” for “design professional” in Subdiv. (2)(B), effective June 6, 1996; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 added Subdiv. (2)(E) re exclusion for certain consultant services, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 04-58 amended Subdiv. (2)(E) by adding “a person, firm or corporation providing”; P.A. 09-210 amended Subdiv. (2)(C) by deleting “providing services to the Department of Transportation” and made technical changes in Subdivs. (1) and (5), effective July 8, 2009; P.A. 11-51 amended Subdiv. (2) to change “subdivision (5) of subsection (c)” to “subdivision (3) of subsection (b)” re reference to Sec. 4d-2, effective July 1, 2011.

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Sec. 4-213. Personal service agreement required when hiring personal service contractor. On and after July 1, 1994, no state agency may hire a personal service contractor without executing a personal service agreement with such contractor.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 2, 13.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993.

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Sec. 4-214. Personal service agreements having cost of not more than fifty thousand dollars. Each personal service agreement executed on or after January 1, 2024, and having a cost of not more than fifty thousand dollars shall be based, when possible, on competitive negotiation or competitive quotations.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 3, 13; P.A. 94-188, S. 19; P.A. 09-210, S. 2; P.A. 23-204, S. 107.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 94-188 changed the applicable amount of the personal service agreement from $10,000 to $20,000; P.A. 09-210 deleted former Subsec. (b) re state agency reports and made a conforming change, effective July 8, 2009; P.A. 23-204 replaced “July 1, 1994” with “January 1, 2024”, changed the applicable amount of the personal service agreement from $20,000 to $50,000 and deleted reference to term of not more than 1 year, effective January 1, 2024.

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(P.A. 93-336, S. 4, 13; 93-435, S. 82, 95; P.A. 94-188, S. 20; P.A. 09-210, S. 3; P.A. 18-137, S. 9; P.A. 19-117, S. 103; P.A. 23-204, S. 447.)

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Sec. 4-216. Approval for personal service agreements having cost of more than fifty thousand dollars. Waiver requests. Report. (a) No state agency may execute a personal service agreement having a cost of more than fifty thousand dollars without the approval of the secretary. A state agency may apply for an approval by submitting the following information to the secretary: (1) A description of the services to be purchased and the need for such services; (2) an estimate of the cost of the services and the term of the agreement; (3) whether the services are to be ongoing; (4) whether the state agency has contracted out for such services during the preceding two years and, if so, the name of the contractor, term of the agreement with such contractor and the amount paid to the contractor; (5) whether any other state agency has the resources to provide the services; (6) whether the agency intends to purchase the services by competitive negotiation and, if not, why; and (7) whether it is possible to purchase the services on a cooperative basis with other state agencies. In the case of a proposed personal services agreement for audit services, the agency shall notify the Auditors of Public Accounts of a proposed personal services agreement for audit services and give said auditors an opportunity to review the application and advise the agency whether such audit services are necessary and, if so, could be provided by said auditors.

(b) Each personal service agreement having a cost of more than fifty thousand dollars shall be based on competitive negotiation or competitive quotations, unless the state agency purchasing the personal services determines that a sole source purchase is required and applies to the secretary for a waiver from such requirement and the secretary grants the waiver. The secretary shall adopt guidelines for determining the types of services that may qualify for such waivers. The qualifying services shall include, but not be limited to, (1) services for which the cost to the state of a competitive selection procedure would outweigh the benefits of such procedure, as documented by the state agency, (2) proprietary services, (3) services to be provided by a contractor mandated by the general statutes or a public or special act, and (4) emergency services, including services needed for the protection of life or health. The secretary shall post any approvals of requests for a waiver received under this section on the State Contracting Portal. Not later than January 15, 2024, and annually thereafter, the secretary shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and government administration and the State Contracting Standards Board listing any such waiver requests received during the prior year and the justification for the grant or denial of such request.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 5, 13; 93-435, S. 83, 95; P.A. 96-268, S. 18, 34; P.A. 99-44, S. 1, 2; P.A. 09-210, S. 4; P.A. 17-122, S. 1; P.A. 19-127, S. 1; P.A. 21-65, S. 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 339; P.A. 23-186, S. 3; 23-204, S. 108.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 93-435 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “and any necessary supporting information” to Subdiv. (7), effective June 28, 1993; P.A. 96-268 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “ten” with “fifteen” and “ten-day” with “fifteen-day” re time limit for action on applications, amended Subsec. (b) to add “or competitive quotations” and made a technical correction, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 99-44 amended Subsec. (a) to require secretary to give Auditors of Public Accounts opportunity to review personal services agreement applications for audit services, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 09-210 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 8, 2009; P.A. 17-122 added Subsec. (c) re establishment of incentive program for nonprofit providers of human services, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 19-127 substantially amended Subsec. (c) including replacing “may establish an incentive program” with “shall establish a pilot incentive program”, deleting reference to contracts that do not exceed $1,000,000, deleting former Subdiv. (2) re requirement that at least 50 per cent of savings retained by providers be used to expand services, redesignated existing Subdiv. (3) as new Subdiv. (2), adding provisions re nonprofit providers of human services with contracts in certain amounts to be included in pilot incentive program, and replacing “state funded assistance programs” with “nonprofit providers of human services”, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 21-65 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting reference to incentive program being pilot program, “a percentage of” in Subdiv. (1) and provisions re 8 nonprofit providers and amounts of contracts, effective July 1, 2021; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-3 made identical changes as P.A. 21-65 and further amended Subsec. (c) by requiring nonprofit providers to report on use of excess funds, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 23-186 deleted Subsec. (c) re a contract savings retention program for nonprofit providers of human services, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to term of more than 1 year, deleting requirement for approval or disapproval of applications within 15 business days, adding requirement for agency rather than secretary to notify auditors and auditors to advise agency rather than secretary re services and making conforming changes and amended Subsec. (b) by deleting reference to term of more than 1 year, adding provision re sole source purchase, adding provisions re waivers in Subdivs. (1) to (4) and adding provision re waiver request report, effective January 1, 2024.

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Sec. 4-216a. State agency contracts with nonprofit providers of human services. Prohibition on state agency adjustment of contracts to offset paycheck protection program loans. (a) As used in this section, (1) “COVID-19” means the respiratory disease designated by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, and any related mutation thereof recognized by said organization as a communicable respiratory disease, (2) “loan forgiveness” means forgiveness of any paycheck protection program loan, in whole or in part, provided under the CARES Act, P.L. 116-136, or the Paycheck Program Flexibility Act of 2020, P.L. 116-142, and (3) “paycheck protection program loan” means a loan offered to a business or nonprofit organization during the COVID-19 pandemic under the CARES Act.

(b) No state agency contracting with a nonprofit provider of human services may attempt to recover or otherwise offset funds obtained or retained by such nonprofit provider through loan forgiveness. For purposes of this subsection, “attempt to recover or otherwise offset” means (1) reductions in contracted amounts for the same or similar services from the contract period before such loan forgiveness to the next contract period, or (2) demands for reimbursement of state funds from such providers in the amount of any loan forgiveness.

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 337; P.A. 22-78, S. 1.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 effective June 23, 2021; P.A. 22-78 amended Subsec. (b) by designating the meaning of “attempt to recover or otherwise offset” as Subdivs. (1) and (2), effective May 24, 2022.

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Sec. 4-217. Standards. Written procedures. Requests for proposals. (a) Not later than March 1, 1994, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish standards for state agencies to follow in entering into personal service agreements. The standards shall include, but not be limited to, provisions for: (1) Evaluating the need to use a personal service agreement, (2) developing a request for proposals, (3) advertising for personal service contractors, (4) evaluating submitted proposals, (5) selecting a personal service contractor, including compliance with section 4a-60g, (6) systematically monitoring and evaluating personal service contractor performance, (7) documenting the entire process for selecting and managing personal service contractors and (8) carrying out any other aspect of such process.

(b) Not later than May 1, 1994, each state agency shall: (1) Establish written procedures for implementing the standards established by the secretary under subsection (a) of this section, and (2) submit such procedures to the secretary for his approval. If the secretary disapproves an agency's procedures he shall return the procedures to the agency with recommendations for revisions. On and after July 1, 1994, no state agency may execute a personal service agreement unless the secretary has approved procedures established by the agency under this section.

(c) A request for proposals issued under section 4-214 or 4-216 shall include, but not be limited to, an outline of the work to be performed, the required minimum qualifications for the personal service contractor, criteria for review of proposals by the state agency, the format for proposals and the deadline for submitting proposals. Each state agency which prepares a request for proposals shall establish a screening committee to evaluate the proposals submitted in response to the request for proposals. The screening committee shall rank all proposals in accordance with the criteria set forth in the request for proposals and shall submit the names of the top three proposers to the executive head of the agency, who shall select the personal service contractor from among such names.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 6, 13; P.A. 23-204, S. 111.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting reference to Sec. 4-215, effective January 1, 2024.

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Sec. 4-218. Reports to the General Assembly concerning personal service agreements. (a) Not later than October 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, the secretary shall submit a report to the General Assembly indicating (1) for each personal service agreement, pursuant to sections 4-214 to 4-216, inclusive, and executed during the preceding fiscal year, (A) the name of the personal service contractor, (B) a description of the services provided, (C) the term and cost of the agreement, and (D) the method of selecting the personal service contractor; and (2) for each such agreement either executed or otherwise in effect during the preceding fiscal year, (A) the amount of all payments made during the preceding fiscal year to the personal service contractor, and (B) the amount of any federal or private funds allocated for such payments.

(b) Not later than October 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, the secretary shall submit a report to the General Assembly indicating (1) for each agreement executed during the preceding fiscal year with a person, firm or corporation providing contractual services, as defined in section 4a-50, a consultant, as defined in section 4b-55, a “consultant”, as defined in section 13b-20b, or an agency of the federal government, of the state or of a political subdivision of the state, (A) the name of the person, firm or corporation, (B) a description of the services provided, (C) the term and cost of the agreement, and (D) the method of selecting the person, firm or corporation; and (2) for each such agreement either executed or otherwise in effect during the preceding fiscal year, (A) the amount of all payments made during the preceding fiscal year to the person, firm or corporation, and (B) the amount of any federal or private funds allocated for such payments.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 7, 13; 93-435, S. 84, 95; P.A. 94-188, S. 21; P.A. 96-235, S. 8, 19; P.A. 09-210, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 93-435 amended Subsec. (c) by specifying information to be included in report, effective June 28, 1993; P.A. 94-188 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by specifying that the type of agreement involved was a “personal service” agreement and by exempting state agencies utilizing contractual services hired by using a purchase order approved and committed by the state comptroller from the report requirement; P.A. 96-235 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “consultant” for “design professional”, effective June 6, 1996; P.A. 09-210 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing provision requiring state agencies to submit reports with provision requiring secretary to submit reports annually to General Assembly pursuant to Secs. 4-214 to 4-216, replacing references to “person, firm or corporation” with references to “personal service contractor”, replacing references to 6-month period with references to preceding fiscal year and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing provision requiring Department of Transportation to submit reports with provision requiring secretary to submit reports annually to General Assembly, including reports re agreements providing contractual services as defined in Sec. 4a-50 and agreements with a consultant as defined in Sec. 4b-55, replacing references to 6-month period with references to preceding fiscal year, deleting reference to report “by fund” and making technical changes and deleted former Subsec. (c) re secretary's annual reports to General Assembly.

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Sec. 4-219. Amendments to personal service agreements. No state agency may, without the approval of the secretary, execute (1) an amendment to a personal service agreement, which agreement has an original cost of more than fifty thousand dollars, or (2) an amendment to any other personal service agreement, which amendment (A) has a cost of one hundred per cent or more of the cost of the original agreement, (B) increases the cost of the agreement to more than fifty thousand dollars, (C) extends the terms of the agreement beyond a one-year period or (D) is the second or subsequent amendment to the agreement. The secretary shall approve or disapprove a proposed amendment within fifteen business days after receiving it and any necessary supporting information, provided if the secretary does not act within such fifteen-day period the application shall be deemed to have been approved.

(P.A. 93-336, S. 8, 13; 93-435, S. 85, 95; P.A. 96-268, S. 19, 34.)

History: P.A. 93-336 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 93-435 amended the section by adding “any and necessary supporting information” to Subdiv. (2), effective June 28, 1993; P.A. 96-268 added provisions re expansion of the secretary's authority to review amendments, replaced “ten” with “fifteen” and “ten-day” with “fifteen-day” re time limit for approval or disapproval of agreement amendments and made a technical correction, effective July 1, 1996.

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Sec. 4-220. Nonprofit provider retention of state contract savings. Definitions. Requirements. (a) As used in this section, (1) “private provider organization” and “purchase of service contract” each have the same meanings as provided in section 4-70b; (2) “health and human services” means services provided under contract with a state agency that directly support the health, safety and welfare of residents, including, but not limited to, those residents who may have conditions that include, but are not limited to, behavioral health disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and autism spectrum disorder; (3) “attempt to recover or otherwise offset” means efforts to recoup savings at the end of each fiscal year; and (4) “state agency” means the Departments of Developmental Services, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Social Services and Children and Families.

(b) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, each state agency that contracts with a nonprofit private provider organization for health and human services shall allow such nonprofit organization that otherwise meets contractual requirements, including, but not limited to, its contractual obligations regarding services provided and clients served, to retain any savings from a purchase of service contract at the end of each fiscal year. No state agency shall attempt to recover or otherwise offset funds retained by such nonprofit organization from the contracted cost for services.

(c) Any nonprofit private provider organization allowed to retain savings under this section shall submit an application to the contracting state agency on how savings are planned to be reinvested and report to the contracting state agency on how savings will be reinvested to strengthen quality, invest in deferred maintenance and make asset improvements. The commissioner of each state agency shall prescribe the form and manner of such application form and the frequency of such reports. The commissioner of each state agency shall review an application submitted pursuant to this subsection and respond to a nonprofit private provider organization not later than ninety days after receiving such application from such provider organization. Retained funds may only be used for the purposes of strengthening quality, investing in deferred maintenance and making asset improvements. The commissioner of each state agency shall approve, disapprove or modify any application for funds in accordance with the allowable uses in this subsection. Nonprofit private provider organizations providing health and human services shall be permitted to expend retained funds on programs that are funded by the same state agency.

(d) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in this section, a state agency shall not allow a nonprofit private provider organization to retain surplus funds from the contracted cost of services under a contract funded in whole, or in part, with federal funds when allowing such organization to retain such funds would jeopardize federal funding or reimbursement for such contract or when such allowance is prohibited by federal law or regulations.

(e) The Commissioner of Social Services, in consultation with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the Commissioners of Children and Families, Mental Health and Addiction Services and Developmental Services, may undertake a study of the contracting and billing practices of such nonprofit private provider organizations to ensure compliance with all Medicaid waivers and Medicaid state plan amendments. Any study started under this subsection shall be completed not later than December 31, 2024.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (e), inclusive, of this section, the Commissioner of Developmental Services, in consultation with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, may extend the provisions of this section to other private provider organizations with which the Department of Developmental Services contracts, provided they meet all of the requirements set forth in this section, including, but not limited to, meeting all terms and conditions of their contracts for services with the Department of Developmental Services.

(P.A. 23-186, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 23-186 effective July 1, 2023.

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Secs. 4-221 to 4-229. Reserved for future use.

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