An Act concerning eligibility to bid for certain public contracts and amending and supplementing various parts of the statutory law.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) a. The State Board of Education shall establish a process for the prequalification of contractors who desire to bid on public school district transportation contracts. A contractor shall not be permitted to bid on a public school district transportation contract unless the contractor has been prequalified pursuant to the process established by the State board.

b. The prequalification process shall include a requirement that a contractor proposing to bid on a public school district transportation contract submit to the Department of Education a form designated by the State board which includes the following information:

(1) a certified, audited financial statement or compilation of financial statements or other documentation of financial status acceptable to the State board;

(2) a statement as to organization of the prospective bidder which shall demonstrate the adequacy of the prospective bidder to provide school district transportation services;

(3) a statement as to prior experience, which shall indicate the number of years the prospective bidder has been engaged in the school transportation business;

(4) a statement as to past performance, which shall provide an accurate and complete record of any school transportation work previously performed by the prospective bidder;

(5) a statement that all school transportation equipment meets the specifications of federal and State laws, rules and regulations and that the prospective bidder complies with applicable laws, rules and regulations governing pupil transportation. The prospective bidder shall include such information as deemed appropriate by the State board to demonstrate the safety of the school buses operated by the prospective bidder. The information shall include, but not be limited to, the number of out-of-service safety violations imposed by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission pursuant to P.L.1999, c.5 (C.39:3B-18 et seq.);

(6) a certificate of liability insurance;

(7) a statement that the prospective bidder has adopted or will comply with an Affirmative Action Program for Equal Opportunity in accordance with applicable federal and State laws, rules and regulations;

(8) an affidavit of noncollusion;

(9) a statement as to bonding capacity;

(10) a statement setting forth the names and addresses of all stockholders, partners or members who own a 10% or greater interest in the prospective bidder. If any of the stockholders, partners or members are a corporation, partnership or limited liability company owning a 10% or greater interest in the prospective bidder, the statement shall also set forth the names and addresses of all stockholders, partners or members owning a 10% or greater interest in that corporation, partnership or limited liability company; and

(11) any other information required by the State board.

c. The Commissioner of Education shall maintain a registry of all contractors prequalified to bid on public school district transportation contracts. The registry shall include information on the prequalification status of pupil transportation contractors, bonding capacity, insurance coverage, stockholder disclosure statement, if appropriate, the number of out-of-service safety violations imposed by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission pursuant to P.L.1999, c.5 (C.39:3B-18 et seq.), and any other information on contractors which a board of education may require to evaluate bids on school district transportation contracts. The commissioner shall ensure that each school district has access to the registry.

d. A contractor who has been prequalified as a bidder on public school district transportation contracts in accordance with the process established by the State board shall not be required to undergo any other prequalification process to bid on a public school district transportation contract.

2. (New section) A contractor who willfully makes, or causes to be made, a false, deceptive or fraudulent statement in the prequalification form submitted to the Department of Education pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree and may be permanently disqualified from bidding on any public school district transportation contract; and, in the case of an individual or the officer or employee charged with the duty of making the submission for a contractor, he shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense.

3. (New section) Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to the contrary, no contract for the transportation of pupils to and from school shall be valid unless the contract expressly permits the district to terminate the contract if:

a. an individual whom the contractor employs as a principal employee or in a position that involves regular contact with pupils is convicted under the laws of this State or any other jurisdiction of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude; or

b. it is discovered during the term of the contract that the contractor has, within five years prior to the beginning of the contract, employed as a principal employee or in a position that involves regular contact with pupils an individual who has been convicted under the laws of this State or any other jurisdiction of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude.

c. The board of education shall not consider any criminal convictions entered more than 10 years prior to submission of a bid. For the purpose of this section, a judgment of conviction or a plea of guilty, non vult, nolo contendere or any other such disposition of alleged criminal activity shall be deemed a conviction.

d. As used in this section:

"crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude" shall include, but not limited to, embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, tax offenses, violation of laws governing hours of labor, violation of minimum wage standards, and violation of laws governing the conduct of elections of the State or of its political subdivisions; and

"principal employee" shall mean any individual determined by the board of education by reason of remuneration or placement in a management, supervisory or policy-making position, to have direct or indirect responsibility for completing a contract awarded to the bidder.

4. Section 2 of P.L.2005, c.84 (C.18A:39-11.3) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. A board of education may, by resolution approved by a majority of the board of education and subject to the provisions of subsection b. of this section, disqualify a bidder who would otherwise be determined to be the lowest responsible bidder for a pupil transportation contract, if the board of education finds that it has had prior negative experience with the bidder or if charges are pending for a crime or offense enumerated in section 1 of P.L.1986, c.116 (C.18A:6-7.1), or for a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, against an individual employed by the bidder as a principal employee or in a position that involves regular contact with pupils. The disqualification shall be for a reasonable, defined period of time which shall not exceed three years.

b. As used in this section,

"crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude" shall include, but not be limited to, embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, tax offenses, violation of laws governing hours of labor, violation of minimum wage standards, and violation of laws governing the conduct of elections of the State or of its political subdivisions;

"principal employee" means any individual determined by the board of education by reason of remuneration or placement in a management, supervisory or policy-making position, to have direct or indirect responsibility for completing a contract awarded to the bidder; and

"prior negative experience" means any of the following:

(1) the bidder has been determined to be "nonperforming" under a pupil transportation contract after a hearing which shall include the bidder, the superintendent of schools, and the county superintendent of schools. The county superintendent of schools shall make the determination as to nonperformance and this determination may be appealed to Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education, as provided by law;

(2) the bidder defaulted on a transportation contract thereby requiring the board of education to utilize the services of another contractor to complete the contract;

(3) the bidder defaulted on a transportation contract thereby requiring the board of education to look to the bidder's surety for completion of the contract or tender of the costs of completion; or

(4) the bidder has at least a 10% ownership in any contractor that had prior negative experience with the board of education as described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.84, s.2)

5. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this act shall take effect immediately; and section 4 shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment and shall apply to bidders who submit bids on or after the effective date of that section.

STATEMENT

This bill requires prequalification of contractors who desire to bid on public school district transportation contracts and authorizes the disqualification of a bidder or termination of a transportation contract for certain crimes committed by an employee.

Under the bill's provisions, a contractor may not bid on a public school district transportation contract unless the contractor has been prequalified in accordance with a procedure to be established by the State Board of Education. The prequalification process would require a prospective bidder to submit a certified, audited financial statement; a statement as to the organization of the prospective bidder; a statement as to prior experience; a statement as to past performance; a statement that all school transportation equipment meets the specifications of governmental laws and regulations; a certificate of liability insurance; a statement that the prospective bidder has adopted or will comply with an Affirmative Action Program for Equal Opportunity; an affidavit of noncollusion; a statement as to bonding capacity; a statement setting forth the names and addresses of all stockholders, partners or members who own a 10% or greater interest in the prospective bidder; and any other information required by the State board. The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to maintain a registry of all contractors prequalified to bid on pupil transportation contracts and to ensure that every school district has access to the registry.

The bill includes a provision that makes it a crime of the fourth degree for a contractor to willfully make, or cause to be made, a false, deceptive or fraudulent statement in the form submitted to the Department of Education for prequalification. In addition, the contractor may be permanently disqualified from bidding on any public school district transportation contract for this activity. In the case of an individual or the officer or employee charged with the duty of making the submission for a contractor, he would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense.

The bill also requires contracts for the transportation of pupils to and from school to contain a provision that expressly permits the district to terminate the contract if: during the term of the contract, an individual employed by the contractor as a principal employee or in a position that involves regular contact with pupils is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty; or if it is discovered during the term of the contract that the contractor has employed such a person within five years prior to the beginning of the contract.

The bill also authorizes a board of education to disqualify the lowest responsible bidder for a transportation contract if certain criminal charges are pending against principal employees or employees who are in regular contact with pupils.