ID S1422

Changes the director's authority on multiple awards from discretionary ("may") to mandatory ("shall") when awarding contracts to two or more bidders for the same or similar property.

Requires the director to make a written determination showing that multiple awards satisfy at least one criterion: furnishing required property types/quantities, providing expeditious and cost-efficient acquisition, or enabling acquisition of compatible property.

Directs state agencies to purchase from the contractor offering the most advantageous bid considering price, availability, support services, and delivery, with option to implement a reasonable identification process and purchase from selected contractor for up to one year before repeating the process.

Prohibits multiple awards when a single bidder can reasonably serve acquisition needs and limits awards to only the number of bidders necessary; requires use of vendors certified by nationally recognized organizations including OMNIA partners or national association of state procurement officials, and allows multiple awards for open contracts to provide reasonable variety of property and vendors.

Effective date: July 1, 2024, declared an emergency.