A 4527

[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 4527
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 9, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
���� Exempts local library cooperatives from certain
provisions of the "Local Public Contracts Law."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As reported by the Assembly State and Local
Government Committee on May 11, 2026, with amendments.
��
An Act concerning local library cooperatives and
amending P.L.1971, c.198.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1[1. Section 2
of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-2) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� As used [herein the
following words have the following definitions, unless the context otherwise
indicates]
in P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.):
���� (1)�� "Contracting
unit" means:
���� (a)�� Any county; or
���� (b)�� Any municipality; or
���� (c)�� Any board, commission,
committee, authority or agency, which is not a State board, commission,
committee, authority, except as provided pursuant to P.L.2013, c.4, or agency,
and which has administrative jurisdiction over any district other than a school
district, project, or facility, included or operating in whole or in part,
within the territorial boundaries of any county or municipality which exercises
functions which are appropriate for the exercise by one or more units of local
government, including functions exercised in relation to the administration and
oversight of a tourism district located in a municipality in which authorized
casino gaming occurs, and which has statutory power to make purchases and enter
into contracts awarded by a contracting agent for the provision or performance
of goods or services.
���� The term shall not include a
private firm that has entered into a contract with a public entity for the
provision of water supply services pursuant to P.L.1995, c.101 (C.58:26-19 et
al.).
���� "Contracting unit"
shall not include a private firm or public authority that has entered into a
contract with a public entity for the provision of wastewater treatment
services pursuant to P.L.1995, c.216 (C.58:27-19 et al.).
���� "Contracting unit"
shall not include a duly incorporated nonprofit association that has entered
into a contract with the governing body of a city of the first class for the
provision of water supply services or wastewater treatment services pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.2002, c.47 (C.40A:11-5.1).
���� "Contracting unit"
shall not include an entity that has entered into a contract for management and
operation services with a local hospital authority established pursuant to
P.L.2006, c.46 (C.30:9-23.15 et al.).
���� "Contracting
unit" shall not include a local library cooperative.
���� (2)�� "Governing
body" means:
���� (a)�� The governing body of
the county, when the purchase is to be made or the contract or agreement is to
be entered into by, or on behalf of, a county; or
���� (b)�� The governing body of
the municipality, when the purchase is to be made or the contract or agreement
is to be entered into by, or on behalf of, a municipality; or
���� (c)�� Any board, commission,
committee, authority or agency of the character described in subsection (1) (c)
of this section.
���� (3)�� "Contracting
agent" means the governing body of a contracting unit, or appointed
membership of a State authority authorized to enter into a cooperative
purchasing agreement pursuant to P.L.2013, c.4, or its authorized designee,
which has the power to prepare the advertisements, to advertise for and receive
bids and, as permitted by this act, to make awards for the contracting unit in
connection with purchases, contracts or agreements.
���� (4)�� "Purchase"
means a transaction, for a valuable consideration, creating or acquiring an
interest in goods, services and property, except real property or any interest
therein.
���� (5)�� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1999, c.440[.])
���� (6)�� "Professional
services" means services rendered or performed by a person authorized by
law to practice a recognized profession, whose practice is regulated by law,
and the performance of which services requires knowledge of an advanced type in
a field of learning acquired by a prolonged formal course of specialized
instruction and study as distinguished from general academic instruction or
apprenticeship and training.� Professional services may also mean services
rendered in the provision or performance of goods or services that are original
and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor.
���� (7)�� "Extraordinary
unspecifiable services" means services which are specialized and
qualitative in nature requiring expertise, extensive training and proven
reputation in the field of endeavor.
���� (8)�� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1999, c.440[.])
���� (9)�� "Work"
includes services and any other activity of a tangible or intangible nature
performed or assumed pursuant to a contract or agreement with a contracting
unit.
���� (10) "Homemaker--home
health services" means at home personal care and home management provided
to an individual or members of the individual's family who reside with the
individual, or both, necessitated by the individual's illness or incapacity.
"Homemaker--home health services" includes, but is not limited to,
the services of a trained homemaker.
���� (11) "Recyclable
material" means those materials which would otherwise become municipal
solid waste, and which may be collected, separated or processed and returned to
the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials or products.
���� (12) "Recycling"
means any process by which materials which would otherwise become solid waste
are collected, separated or processed and returned to the economic mainstream
in the form of raw materials or products.
���� (13) "Marketing"
means the sale, disposition, assignment, or placement of designated recyclable
materials with, or the granting of a concession to, a reseller, processor,
materials recovery facility, or end-user of recyclable material, in accordance
with a district solid waste management plan adopted pursuant to P.L.1970, c.39
(C.13:1E-1 et seq.) and shall not include the collection of such recyclable
material when collected through a system of routes by local government unit
employees or under a contract administered by a local government unit.
���� (14) "Municipal solid
waste" means, as appropriate to the circumstances, all residential,
commercial and institutional solid waste generated within the boundaries of a
municipality; or the formal collection of such solid wastes or recyclable material
in any combination thereof when collected through a system of routes by local
government unit employees or under a contract administered by a local
government unit.
���� (15) "Distribution"
(when used in relation to electricity) means the process of conveying
electricity from a contracting unit that is a generator of electricity or a
wholesale purchaser of electricity to retail customers or other end users of electricity.
���� (16) "Transmission"
(when used in relation to electricity) means the conveyance of electricity from
its point of generation to a contracting unit that purchases it on a wholesale
basis for resale.
���� (17) "Disposition"
means the transportation, placement, reuse, sale, donation, transfer or
temporary storage of recyclable materials for all possible uses except for
disposal as municipal solid waste.
���� (18) "Cooperative
marketing" means the joint marketing by two or more contracting units of
the source separated recyclable materials designated in a district recycling
plan required pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.13) pursuant
to a written cooperative agreement entered into by the participating
contracting units thereof.
���� (19) "Aggregate"
means the sums expended or to be expended for the provision or performance of
any goods or services in connection with the same immediate purpose or task, or
the furnishing of similar goods or services, during the same contract year
through a contract awarded by a contracting agent.
���� (20) "Bid threshold"
means the dollar amount set in section 3 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-3), above
which a contracting unit shall advertise for and receive sealed bids in
accordance with procedures set forth in P.L.1999, c.440 (C.40A:11-4.1 et al.).
���� (21) "Contract"
means any agreement, including but not limited to a purchase order or a formal
agreement, which is a legally binding relationship enforceable by law, between
a vendor who agrees to provide or perform goods or services and a contracting
unit which agrees to compensate a vendor, as defined by and subject to the
terms and conditions of the agreement.� A contract also may include an
arrangement whereby a vendor compensates a contracting unit for the vendor's
right to perform a service, such as, but not limited to, operating a
concession.
���� (22) "Contract year"
means the period of 12 consecutive months following the award of a contract.
���� (23) "Competitive
contracting" means the method described in sections 1 through 5 of
P.L.1999, c.440 (C.40A:11-4.1 thru 40A:11-4.5) of contracting for specialized
goods and services in which formal proposals are solicited from vendors; formal
proposals are evaluated by the purchasing agent or counsel or administrator;
and the governing body awards a contract to a vendor or vendors from among the
formal proposals received.
���� (24) "Goods and
services" or "goods or services" means any work, labor,
commodities, equipment, materials, or supplies of any tangible or intangible
nature, except real property or any interest therein, provided or performed
through a contract awarded by a contracting agent, including goods and property
subject to N.J.S.12A:2-101 et seq.
���� (25) "Library and
educational goods and services" means textbooks, copyrighted materials,
student produced publications and services incidental thereto, including but
not limited to books, periodicals, newspapers, documents, pamphlets, photographs,
reproductions, microfilms, pictorial or graphic works, musical scores, maps,
charts, globes, sound recordings, slides, films, filmstrips, video and magnetic
tapes, other printed or published matter and audiovisual and other materials of
a similar nature, necessary binding or rebinding of library materials, and
specialized computer software used as a supplement or in lieu of textbooks or
reference material, notwithstanding goods and services provided by a local
library cooperative.
���� (26) "Lowest price"
means the least possible amount that meets all requirements of the request of a
contracting agent.
���� (27) "Lowest responsible
bidder or vendor" means the bidder or vendor:� (a) whose response to a
request for bids offers the lowest price and is responsive; and (b) who is
responsible.
���� (28) "Official
newspaper" means any newspaper designated by the contracting unit pursuant
to R.S.35:1-1 et seq.
���� (29) "Purchase
order" means a document issued by the contracting agent authorizing a
purchase transaction with a vendor to provide or perform goods or services to
the contracting unit, which, when fulfilled in accordance with the terms and
conditions of a request of a contracting agent and other provisions and
procedures that may be established by the contracting unit, will result in
payment by the contracting unit.
���� (30) "Purchasing
agent" means the individual duly assigned the authority, responsibility,
and accountability for the purchasing activity of the contracting unit, and who
has such duties as are defined by an authority appropriate to the form and
structure of the contracting unit, pursuant to P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et
seq.) and who possesses a qualified purchasing agent certificate.
���� (31) "Quotation"
means the response to a formal or informal request made by a contracting agent
by a vendor for provision or performance of goods or services, when the
aggregate cost is less than the bid threshold.� Quotations may be in writing,
or taken verbally if a record is kept by the contracting agent.
���� (32) "Responsible"
means able to complete the contract in accordance with its requirements,
including but not limited to requirements pertaining to experience, moral
integrity, operating capacity, financial capacity, credit, and workforce, equipment,
and facilities availability.
���� (33) "Responsive"
means conforming in all material respects to the terms and conditions,
specifications, legal requirements, and other provisions of the request.
���� (34) "Public works"
means building, altering, repairing, improving or demolishing any public
structure or facility constructed or acquired by a contracting unit to house
local government functions or provide water, waste disposal, power, transportation,
and other public infrastructures.
���� (35) "Director"
means the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the
Department of Community Affairs.
���� (36) "Administrator"
means a municipal administrator appointed pursuant to N.J.S.40A:9-136 and
N.J.S.40A:9-137; a business administrator, a municipal manager or a municipal
administrator appointed pursuant to the "Optional Municipal Charter
Law," P.L.1950, c.210 (C.40:69A-1 et seq.); a municipal manager appointed
pursuant to "the municipal manager form of government law,"
R.S.40:79-1 et seq.; or the person holding responsibility for the overall
operations of an authority that falls under the "Local Authorities Fiscal
Control Law," P.L.1983, c.313 (C.40A:5A-1 et seq.).
���� (37) "Concession"
means the granting of a license or right to act for or on behalf of the
contracting unit, or to provide a service requiring the approval or endorsement
of the contracting unit, and which may or may not involve a payment or exchange,
or provision of services by or to the contracting unit.
���� (38) "Index rate"
means the rate of annual percentage increase, rounded to the nearest
half-percent, in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government
Purchases of Goods and Services, computed and published quarterly by the United
States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
���� (39) "Proprietary"
means goods or services of a specialized nature, that may be made or marketed
by a person or persons having the exclusive right to make or sell them, when
the need for such goods or services has been certified in writing by the
governing body of the contracting unit to be necessary for the conduct of its
affairs.
���� (40) "Service or
services" means the performance of work, or the furnishing of labor, time,
or effort, or any combination thereof, not involving or connected to the
delivery or ownership of a specified end product or goods or a manufacturing process.�
Service or services may also include an arrangement in which a vendor
compensates the contracting unit for the vendor's right to operate a
concession.
���� (41) "Qualified
purchasing agent certificate" means a certificate granted by the director
pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-9).
���� (42) "Mistake"
means, for a public works project, a clerical error that is an unintentional
and substantial computational error or an unintentional omission of a
substantial quantity of labor, material, or both, from the final bid
computation.
���� (43) "Local library
cooperative" means a group of academic libraries, institutional libraries,
public libraries, school libraries, special libraries and library-related
agencies, or any combination thereof, which is organized as a nonprofit corporation
pursuant to P.L.1983, c.127 (C.15A:1-1 et seq.) to provide cooperative or
reciprocal library services.
(cf: P.L.2016, c.55, s.8)]1
���� 11.�� Section
2 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-2) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� As used [herein the
following words have the following definitions, unless the context otherwise
indicates]
in P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.):
���� (1)�� "Contracting
unit" means:
���� (a)�� Any county;
���� (b)�� Any municipality; or
���� (c)�� Any board, commission,
committee, authority, or agency, which is not a State board, commission,
committee, authority, except as provided pursuant to P.L.2013, c.4, or agency,
and which has administrative jurisdiction over any district other than a school
district, project, or facility, included or operating, in whole or in part,
within the territorial boundaries of any county or municipality which exercises
functions which are appropriate for the exercise by one or more units of local
government, including functions exercised in relation to the administration and
oversight of a tourism district located in a municipality in which authorized
casino gaming occurs, and which has statutory power to make purchases and enter
into contracts awarded by a contracting agent for the provision or performance
of goods or services.
���� The term shall not include a
private firm that has entered into a contract with a public entity for the
provision of water supply services pursuant to P.L.1995, c.101 (C.58:26-19 et
al.).
���� "Contracting unit"
shall not include a private firm or public authority that has entered into a
contract with a public entity for the provision of wastewater treatment
services pursuant to P.L.1995, c.216 (C.58:27-19 et al.).
���� "Contracting unit"
shall not include a duly incorporated nonprofit association that has entered
into a contract with the governing body of a city of the first class for the
provision of water supply services or wastewater treatment services pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.2002, c.47 (C.40A:11-5.1).
���� "Contracting unit"
shall not include an entity that has entered into a contract for management and
operation services with a local hospital authority established pursuant to
P.L.2006, c.46 (C.30:9-23.15 et al.).
���� "Contracting
unit" shall not include a local library cooperative.
���� (2)�� "Governing
body" means:
���� (a)�� The governing body of
the county, when the purchase is to be made or the contract or agreement is to
be entered into by, or on behalf of, a county;
���� (b)�� The governing body of
the municipality, when the purchase is to be made or the contract or agreement
is to be entered into by, or on behalf of, a municipality; or
���� (c)�� Any board, commission,
committee, authority, or agency of the character described in subsection (1)
(c) of this section.
���� (3)�� "Contracting
agent" means the governing body of a contracting unit, or appointed
membership of a State authority authorized to enter into a cooperative
purchasing agreement pursuant to P.L.2013, c.4, or its authorized designee,
which has the power to prepare the advertisements, to advertise for and receive
bids, and, as permitted by P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.), to make awards
for the contracting unit in connection with purchases, contracts or agreements.
���� (4)�� "Purchase"
means a transaction, for a valuable consideration, creating or acquiring an
interest in goods, services, and property, except real property or any interest
therein.
���� (5)�� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1999, c.440)
���� (6)�� "Professional
services" means services rendered or performed by a person authorized by
law to practice a recognized profession, whose practice is regulated by law,
and the performance of which services requires knowledge of an advanced type in
a field of learning acquired by a prolonged formal course of specialized
instruction and study as distinguished from general academic instruction or
apprenticeship and training.� Professional services may also mean services
rendered in the provision or performance of goods or services that are original
and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor.
���� (7)�� "Extraordinary
unspecifiable services" means services which are specialized and
qualitative in nature requiring expertise, extensive training, and proven
reputation in the field of endeavor.
���� (8)�� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1999, c.440)
���� (9)�� "Work"
includes services and any other activity of a tangible or intangible nature
performed or assumed pursuant to a contract or agreement with a contracting
unit.
���� (10) "Homemaker-home
health services" means at home personal care and home management provided
to an individual or members of the individual's family who reside with the
individual, or both, necessitated by the individual's illness or incapacity.
"Homemaker-home health services" includes, but is not limited to, the
services of a trained homemaker.
���� (11) "Recyclable
material" means those materials which would otherwise become municipal
solid waste, and which may be collected, separated, or processed and returned
to the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials or products.
���� (12) "Recycling"
means any process by which materials which would otherwise become solid waste
are collected, separated, or processed and returned to the economic mainstream
in the form of raw materials or products.
���� (13) "Marketing"
means the sale, disposition, assignment, or placement of designated recyclable
materials with, or the granting of a concession to, a reseller, processor,
materials recovery facility, or end user of recyclable material, in accordance
with a district solid waste management plan adopted pursuant to P.L.1970, c.39
(C.13:1E-1 et seq.) and shall not include the collection of such recyclable
material when collected through a system of routes by local government unit
employees or under a contract administered by a local government unit.
���� (14) "Municipal solid
waste" means, as appropriate to the circumstances, all residential,
commercial, and institutional solid waste generated within the boundaries of a
municipality or the formal collection of such solid wastes or recyclable material
in any combination thereof when collected through a system of routes by local
government unit employees or under a contract administered by a local
government unit.
���� (15) "Distribution"
(when used in relation to electricity) means the process of conveying
electricity from a contracting unit that is a generator of electricity or a
wholesale purchaser of electricity to retail customers or other end users of
electricity.
���� (16) "Transmission"
(when used in relation to electricity) means the conveyance of electricity from
its point of generation to a contracting unit that purchases it on a wholesale
basis for resale.
���� (17) "Disposition"
means the transportation, placement, reuse, sale, donation, transfer, or
temporary storage of recyclable materials for all possible uses except for
disposal as municipal solid waste.
���� (18) "Cooperative
marketing" means the joint marketing by two or more contracting units of
the source separated recyclable materials designated in a district recycling
plan required pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.13) pursuant
to a written cooperative agreement entered into by the participating
contracting units thereof.
���� (19) "Aggregate"
means the sums expended or to be expended for the provision or performance of
any goods or services in connection with the same immediate purpose or task, or
the furnishing of similar goods or services, during the same contract year
through a contract awarded by a contracting agent.
���� (20) "Bid threshold"
means the dollar amount set in section 3 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-3), above
which a contracting unit shall advertise for and receive sealed bids in
accordance with procedures set forth in P.L.1999, c.440 (C.40A:11-4.1 et al.).
���� (21) "Contract"
means any agreement, including, but not limited to, a purchase order or a
formal agreement, which is a legally binding relationship enforceable by law,
between a vendor who agrees to provide or perform goods or services and a contracting
unit which agrees to compensate a vendor, as defined by and subject to the
terms and conditions of the agreement.� A contract also may include an
arrangement whereby a vendor compensates a contracting unit for the vendor's
right to perform a service, such as, but not limited to, operating a
concession.
���� (22) "Contract year"
means the period of 12 consecutive months following the award of a contract.
���� (23) "Competitive
contracting" means the method described in sections 1 through 5 of
P.L.1999, c.440 (C.40A:11-4.1� through 40A:11-4.5) of contracting for
specialized goods and services in which formal proposals are solicited from
vendors, formal proposals are evaluated by the purchasing agent or counsel or
administrator, and the governing body awards a contract to a vendor or vendors
from among the formal proposals received.
���� (24) "Goods and
services" or "goods or services" means any work, labor,
commodities, equipment, materials, or supplies of any tangible or intangible
nature, except real property or any interest therein, provided or performed
through a contract awarded by a contracting agent, including goods and property
subject to N.J.S.12A:2-101 et seq.
���� (25) "Library and
educational goods and services" means textbooks, copyrighted materials,
student-produced publications and services incidental thereto, including, but
not limited to, books, periodicals, newspapers, documents, pamphlets, photographs,
reproductions, microfilms, pictorial or graphic works, musical scores, maps,
charts, globes, sound recordings, slides, films, filmstrips, video and magnetic
tapes, other printed or published matter, and audiovisual and other materials
of a similar nature, necessary binding or rebinding of library materials, and
specialized computer software used as a supplement or in lieu of textbooks or
reference material, notwithstanding goods and services provided by a local
library cooperative.
���� (26) "Lowest price"
means the least possible amount that meets all requirements of the request of a
contracting agent.
���� (27) "Lowest responsible
bidder or vendor" means the bidder or vendor:� (a) whose response to a
request for bids offers the lowest price and is responsive; and (b) who is
responsible.
���� (28) "Official
newspaper" means any newspaper designated by the contracting unit pursuant
to R.S.35:1-1 et seq.
���� (29) "Purchase
order" means a document issued by the contracting agent authorizing a
purchase transaction with a vendor to provide or perform goods or services to
the contracting unit, which, when fulfilled in accordance with the terms and
conditions of a request of a contracting agent and other provisions and
procedures that may be established by the contracting unit, will result in
payment by the contracting unit.
���� (30) "Purchasing
agent" means the individual duly assigned the authority, responsibility,
and accountability for the purchasing activity of the contracting unit, and who
has such duties as are defined by an authority appropriate to the form and
structure of the contracting unit, pursuant to P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et
seq.), and who possesses a qualified purchasing agent certificate.
���� (31) "Quotation"
means the response to a formal or informal request made by a contracting agent
by a vendor for provision or performance of goods or services when the
aggregate cost is less than the bid threshold.� Quotations may be in writing or
taken verbally if a record is kept by the contracting agent.
���� (32) "Responsible"
means able to complete the contract in accordance with its requirements,
including, but not limited to, requirements pertaining to experience, moral
integrity, operating capacity, financial capacity, credit, and workforce,
equipment, and facilities availability.
���� (33) "Responsive"
means conforming in all material respects to the terms and conditions,
specifications, legal requirements, and other provisions of the request.
���� (34) "Public works"
means building, altering, repairing, improving or demolishing any public
structure or facility constructed or acquired by a contracting unit to house
local government functions or provide water, waste disposal, power, transportation,
and other public infrastructures.
���� (35) "Director"
means the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the
Department of Community Affairs.
���� (36) "Administrator"
means a municipal administrator appointed pursuant to N.J.S.40A:9-136 and
N.J.S.40A:9-137; a business administrator, a municipal manager, or a municipal
administrator appointed pursuant to the "Optional Municipal Charter Law,"
P.L.1950, c.210 (C.40:69A-1 et seq.); a municipal manager appointed pursuant to
"the municipal manager form of government law," R.S.40:79-1 et seq.;
or the person holding responsibility for the overall operations of an authority
that falls under the "Local Authorities Fiscal Control Law,"
P.L.1983, c.313 (C.40A:5A-1 et seq.).
���� (37) "Concession"
means the granting of a license or right to act for or on behalf of the
contracting unit, or to provide a service requiring the approval or endorsement
of the contracting unit, and which may or may not involve a payment or exchange,
or provision of services by or to the contracting unit.
���� (38) "Index rate"
means the rate of annual percentage increase, rounded to the nearest
half-percent, in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government
Purchases of Goods and Services, computed and published quarterly by the United
States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
���� (39) "Proprietary"
means goods or services of a specialized nature, that may be made or marketed
by a person or persons having the exclusive right to make or sell them, when
the need for such goods or services has been certified in writing by the governing
body of the contracting unit to be necessary for the conduct of its affairs.
���� (40) "Service or
services" means the performance of work, or the furnishing of labor, time,
or effort, or any combination thereof, not involving or connected to the
delivery or ownership of a specified end product or goods or a manufacturing
process.� Service or services may also include an arrangement in which a vendor
compensates the contracting unit for the vendor's right to operate a
concession.
���� (41) "Qualified
purchasing agent certificate" means a certificate granted by the director
pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-9).
���� (42) "Mistake"
means, for a public works project, a clerical error that is an unintentional
and substantial computational error or an unintentional omission of a
substantial quantity of labor, material, or both from the final bid
computation.
���� (43) [�]"Parking
project[�]"
shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1948, c.198
(C.40:11A-3).
���� (44) [�]"Online
parking payment service[�]"
means a public-facing Internet website, Internet web application, or computer
or mobile application that allows a user to submit payment for parking a motor
vehicle at a publicly available parking project.
���� (45)  "Local library
cooperative" means a group of academic libraries, institutional libraries,
public libraries, school libraries, special libraries and library-related
agencies, or any combination thereof, which is organized as a nonprofit corporation
pursuant to
P.L.1983, c.127 (C.15A:1-1 et
seq.) to exclusively provide cooperative or reciprocal library services, access
to technology, and facilitate the sharing of resources.1
(cf: P.L.2025, c.241, s.1)
���� 2.��� Section 5 of P.L.1971,
c.198 (C.40A:11-5) is amended to read as follows:
���� 5.��� Any contract the amount
of which exceeds the bid threshold, may be negotiated and awarded by the
governing body without public advertising for bids and bidding therefor and
shall be awarded by resolution of the governing body if:
���� (1)�� The subject matter
thereof consists of:
���� (a)�� (i) Professional
services.� The governing body shall in each instance state supporting reasons
for its action in the resolution awarding each contract and shall forthwith
cause to be printed once, in the official newspaper, a brief notice stating the
nature, duration, service and amount of the contract, and that the resolution
and contract are on file and available for public inspection in the office of
the clerk of the county or municipality, or, in the case of a contracting unit
created by more than one county or municipality, of the counties or
municipalities creating the contracting unit; or (ii) Extraordinary
unspecifiable services.� The application of this exception shall be construed
narrowly in favor of open competitive bidding, whenever possible, and the
Division of Local Government Services is authorized to adopt and promulgate
rules and regulations after consultation with the Commissioner of Education
limiting the use of this exception in accordance with the intention herein
expressed.� The governing body shall in each instance state supporting reasons
for its action in the resolution awarding each contract and shall forthwith
cause to be printed, in the manner set forth in subsection (1) (a) (i) of this
section, a brief notice of the award of the contract;
���� (b)�� The doing of any work by
employees of the contracting unit;
���� (c)�� The printing of legal
briefs, records, and appendices to be used in any legal proceeding in which the
contracting unit may be a party;
���� (d)�� The furnishing of a tax
map or maps for the contracting unit;
���� (e)�� The purchase of
perishable foods as a subsistence supply;
���� (f)�� The supplying of any
product or the rendering of any service by a public utility, which is subject
to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities or the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission or its successor, in accordance with tariffs and
schedules of charges made, charged or exacted, filed with the board or
commission;
���� (g)�� The acquisition, subject
to prior approval of the Attorney General, of special equipment for
confidential investigation;
���� (h)�� The printing of bonds
and documents necessary to the issuance and sale thereof by a contracting unit;
���� (i)��� Equipment repair
service if in the nature of an extraordinary unspecifiable service and
necessary parts furnished in connection with the service, which exception shall
be in accordance with the requirements for extraordinary unspecifiable
services;
���� (j)��� The publishing of legal
notices in newspapers as required by law;
���� (k)�� The acquisition of
artifacts or other items of unique intrinsic, artistic or historical character;
���� (l)��� Those goods and
services necessary or required to prepare and conduct an election;
���� (m)� Insurance, including the
purchase of insurance coverage and consultant services, which exception shall
be in accordance with the requirements for extraordinary unspecifiable
services;
���� (n)�� The doing of any work by
persons with disabilities employed by a sheltered workshop;
���� (o)�� The provision of any
goods or services including those of a commercial nature, attendant upon the
operation of a restaurant by any nonprofit, duly incorporated, historical
society at or on any historical preservation site;
���� (p)�� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1999, c.440[.])
���� (q)�� Library and educational
goods and services;
���� (r)��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2005, c.212)[.]
���� (s)�� The marketing of
recyclable materials recovered through a recycling program, or the marketing of
any product intentionally produced or derived from solid waste received at a
resource recovery facility or recovered through a resource recovery program,
including, but not limited to, refuse-derived fuel, compost materials, methane
gas, and other similar products;
���� (t)��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1999, c.440[.])
���� (u)�� Contracting unit towing
and storage contracts, provided that all of the contracts shall be pursuant to
reasonable non-exclusionary and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, which
may include the provision of the services on a rotating basis, at the rates and
charges set by the municipality pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1979, c.101
(C.40:48-2.49).� All contracting unit towing and storage contracts for services
to be provided at rates and charges other than those established pursuant to
the terms of this paragraph shall only be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder in accordance with the provisions of the "Local Public Contracts
Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.) and without regard for the
value of the contract therefor;
���� (v)�� The purchase of steam or
electricity from, or the rendering of services directly related to the purchase
of steam or electricity from a qualifying small power production facility or a
qualifying cogeneration facility as defined pursuant to 16 U.S.C. s.796;
���� (w)� The purchase of
electricity or administrative or dispatching services directly related to the
transmission of purchased electricity by a contracting unit engaged in the
generation of electricity;
���� (x)�� The printing of
municipal ordinances or other services necessarily incurred in connection with
the revision and codification of municipal ordinances;
���� (y)�� An agreement for the
purchase of an equitable interest in a water supply facility or for the
provision of water supply services entered into pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1993, c.381 (C.58:28-2), or an agreement entered into pursuant to
N.J.S.40A:31-1 et al., so long as the agreement is entered into no later than
six months after the effective date of P.L.1993, c.381;
���� (z)�� A contract for the
provision of water supply services entered into pursuant to P.L.1995, c.101
(C.58:26-19 et al.);
���� (aa) The cooperative marketing
of recyclable materials recovered through a recycling program;
���� (bb) A contract for the
provision of wastewater treatment services entered into pursuant to P.L.1995,
c.216 (C.58:27-19 et al.);
���� (cc) Expenses for travel and
conferences;
���� (dd) The provision or
performance of goods or services for the support or maintenance of proprietary
computer hardware and software, except that this provision shall not be
utilized to acquire or upgrade non-proprietary hardware or to acquire or update
non-proprietary software;
���� (ee) The management or
operation of an airport owned by the contracting unit pursuant to R.S.40:8-1 et
seq.;
���� (ff) Purchases of goods and
services at rates set by the Universal Service Fund administered by the Federal
Communications Commission;
���� (gg) A contract for the
provision of water supply services or wastewater treatment services entered
into pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2002, c.47 (C.40A:11-5.1), or the designing,
financing, construction, operation, or maintenance, or any combination thereof,
of a water supply facility as defined in subsection (16) of section 15 of
P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-15) or a wastewater treatment system as defined in
subsection (19) of section 15 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-15), or any
component part or parts thereof, including a water filtration system as defined
in subsection (16) of section 15 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-15); [or]
���� (hh) The purchase of
electricity generated from a power production facility that is fueled by
methane gas extracted from a landfill in the county of the contracting unit;
or
���� (ii)�� The purchase of
goods and services from a local library cooperative 1;
however, a local library cooperative shall adhere to the provisions of the
"Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.)
for all construction and infrastructure-related projects1 .
���� (2)�� It is to be made or
entered into with the United States of America, the State of New Jersey,
county, or municipality, or any board, body, officer, agency, or authority
thereof, or any other state or subdivision thereof.
���� (3)�� Bids have been
advertised pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-4) on two
occasions and (a) no bids have been received on both occasions in response to
the advertisement, or (b) the governing body has rejected the bids on two
occasions because it has determined that they are not reasonable as to price,
on the basis of cost estimates prepared for or by the contracting agent prior
to the advertising therefor, or have not been independently arrived at in open
competition, or (c) on one occasion no bids were received pursuant to (a) and
on one occasion all bids were rejected pursuant to (b), in whatever sequence; a
contract may then be negotiated and may be awarded upon adoption of a
resolution by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the
governing body authorizing the contract; provided, however, that:
���� (i)��� A reasonable effort is
first made by the contracting agent to determine that the same or equivalent
goods or services, at a cost which is lower than the negotiated price, are not
available from an agency or authority of the United States, the State of New
Jersey or of the county in which the contracting unit is located, or any
municipality in close proximity to the contracting unit;
���� (ii) The terms, conditions,
restrictions, and specifications set forth in the negotiated contract are not
substantially different from those which were the subject of competitive
bidding pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-4); and
���� (iii) Any minor amendment or
modification of any of the terms, conditions, restrictions, and specifications,
which were the subject of competitive bidding pursuant to section 4 of
P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-4), shall be stated in the resolution awarding the
contract; provided further, however, that if on the second occasion the bids
received are rejected as unreasonable as to price, the contracting agent shall
notify each responsible bidder submitting bids on the second occasion of its
intention to negotiate, and afford each bidder a reasonable opportunity to
negotiate, but the governing body shall not award the contract unless the
negotiated price is lower than the lowest rejected bid price submitted on the
second occasion by a responsible bidder, is the lowest negotiated price offered
by any responsible vendor, and is a reasonable price for goods or services.
���� Whenever a contracting unit
shall determine that a bid was not arrived at independently in open competition
pursuant to subsection (3) of this section it shall thereupon notify the county
prosecutor of the county in which the contracting unit is located and the
Attorney General of the facts upon which its determination is based, and when
appropriate, it may institute appropriate proceedings in any State or federal
court of competent jurisdiction for a violation of any State or federal
antitrust law or laws relating to the unlawful restraint of trade.
���� (4)�� The contracting unit has
solicited and received at least three quotations on materials, supplies, or
equipment for which a State contract has been issued pursuant to section 12 of
P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-12), and the lowest responsible quotation is at least
10 percent less than the price the contracting unit would be charged for the
identical materials, supplies, or equipment, in the same quantities, under the
State contract.� A contract entered into pursuant to this subsection may be
awarded only upon adoption of a resolution by the affirmative vote of
two-thirds of the full membership of the governing body of the contracting unit
at a meeting thereof authorizing the contract.� A copy of the purchase order
relating to the contract, the requisition for purchase order, if applicable,
and documentation identifying the price of the materials, supplies or equipment
under the State contract and the State contract number shall be filed with the
director within five working days of the award of the contract by the
contracting unit.� The director shall notify the contracting unit of receipt of
the material and shall make the material available to the State Treasurer.� The
contracting unit shall make available to the director upon request any other
documents relating to the solicitation and award of the contract, including,
but not limited to, quotations, requests for quotations, and resolutions.� The
director periodically shall review material submitted by contracting units to
determine the impact of the contracts on local contracting and shall consult
with the State Treasurer on the impact of the contracts on the State
procurement process.� The director may, after consultation with the State
Treasurer, adopt rules in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to limit the use of this
subsection, after considering the impact of contracts awarded under this
subsection on State and local contracting, or after considering the extent to
which the award of contracts pursuant to this subsection is consistent with and
in furtherance of the purposes of the public contracting laws.
���� (5)�� Notwithstanding any
provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the subject matter
consists of the combined collection and marketing, or the cooperative combined
collection and marketing of recycled material recovered through a recycling
program, or any product intentionally produced or derived from solid waste
received at a resource recovery facility or recovered through a resource
recovery program including, but not limited to, refuse-derived fuel, compost
materials, methane gas, and other similar products, provided that in lieu of
engaging in public advertising for bids and the bidding therefor, the
contracting unit shall, prior to commencing the procurement process, submit for
approval to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, a
written detailed description of the process to be followed in securing the
services.� Within 30 days after receipt of the written description the director
shall, if the director finds that the process provides for fair competition and
integrity in the negotiation process, approve, in writing, the description
submitted by the contracting unit.� If the director finds that the process does
not provide for fair competition and integrity in the negotiation process, the
director shall advise the contracting unit of the deficiencies that must be
remedied.� If the director fails to respond in writing to the contracting unit
within 30 days, the procurement process as described shall be deemed approved.�
As used in this section, "collection" means the physical removal of
recyclable materials from curbside or any other location selected by the
contracting unit.
���� (6)�� Notwithstanding any
provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the contract is for the
provision of electricity by a contracting unit engaged in the distribution of
electricity for retail sale, for the provision of wholesale electricity by a municipal
shared services energy authority as defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2015,
c.129 (C.40A:66-3), or for the provision of administrative or dispatching
services related to the transmission of electricity, provided that in lieu of
engaging in public advertising for bids and the bidding therefor, the
contracting unit shall, prior to commencing the procurement process, submit for
approval to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, a
written detailed description of the process to be followed in securing these
services.� The process shall be designed in a way that is appropriate to and
commensurate with industry practices, and the integrity of the government
contracting process.� Within 30 days after receipt of the written description,
the director shall, if the director finds that the process provides for fair
competition and integrity in the negotiation process, approve, in writing, the
description submitted by the contracting unit.� If the director finds that the
process does not provide for fair competition and integrity in the negotiation
process, the director shall advise the contracting unit of the deficiencies
that must be remedied.� If the director fails to respond in writing to the
contracting unit within 30 days, the procurement process, as submitted to the
director pursuant to this section, shall be deemed approved.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.131, s.174)
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.