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Policy 5215 – Professional Services

Revision Date: 10/21/2019

Last Review:  10/21/2019

Original Effective Date: 11/1/2002

Responsible Office: Purchasing Office

References: LRS 39:1551 et seq.; Title 34, Part V; Louisiana Procurement Code

Policy:

The Purchasing Department is charged with administering the rules and regulations adopted by the Louisiana Office of State Procurement (OSP) for the procurement, management, control and disposition of all professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts required by University Departments.

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 39:1551 et seq. and the Louisiana Procurement Code directly addresses the laws and regulations governing Professional, Personal, Consulting, and Social Services Contracts. The official rules and regulations of the Office of State Procurement appear in Title 34, Part V of the Louisiana Administrative Code.

The Purchasing Department decides all matters of policy relative to professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts for the University.

Definitions:

Not Applicable.

Procedures:

Ethics Statement:  All public purchasers are required to adhere to the ethical standards for public servants.  Care must be exercised to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety.   The Code of Governmental Ethics can be found by searching La. R.S. 42:1101-1170.

The Code of Governmental Ethics specifically prohibits: 

Receipt of a thing of economic value for assisting someone with a transaction with the agency of the public servant.

Receipt of a thing of economic value by a public servant for services rendered to or for the following: persons who have or are seeking to obtain a contractual or other business or financial relationship with the public servant’s agency.

Participation by a public servant in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which any of the following persons have a substantial economic interest:

  • the public servant;
  • any member of his immediate family;
  • any person in which he has an ownership interest that is greater than the interest of a general class;
  • any person of which he is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee;
  • any person with whom he is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment;
  • any person who is indebted to him or is a party to an existing contract with him and by reason thereof is in a position to affect directly his economic interests.

Authorized Signature – Only the Director of Purchasing or University President or specific designee may execute contracts on behalf of the University committing expenditure of university funds or other resources.

In general, contracts are prohibited in the following situations:

  • Individual is not a U.S. Citizen
  • Individual is a current Louisiana Tech Student
  • Individuals that have been an employee of Louisiana Tech within the previous 2 years

Contract approval routing 

In the approval process, submit three (3) original contracts accompanied with a contract routing form and Louisiana Tech University Checklist for Personal Professional, Consulting or Social Services Contract.

Certification:

When submitting a contract to the Purchasing Department, the person initiating the contract must certify in writing the following:

  1. Either no employee of our agency is both competent and available to perform the services called for by the proposed contract or the services called for are not the types readily susceptible of being performed by persons who are employed by the state on a continuing basis;
  2. The services are not available as a product of a prior or existing professional, personal, consulting, or social services contract;
  3. When applicable, the requirements for consulting or social services contracts have been complied with.

Contracts may only be signed by the President. 

Contracts exceeding $50,000 require approval of the State of Louisiana Office of State Procurement and may require RFP.

All contracts must be routed by routing form and will be returned to the person initiating the routing form.

Three original contracts should be prepared with one for each of the following:  (1) Office of Purchasing, (2) Department initiating the contract and (3) Other party on contract.

Contracts for legal services require all of the following, plus approval by the Office of Attorney General and Office of State Procurement.  Coordinate all requests for legal services through the Office of President.

General Policy – The Purchasing Department is charged with administering the rules and regulations adopted by the Louisiana Office of State Procurement for the procurement, management, control and disposition of all professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts required by University Departments.

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 39:1551 et seq. directly addresses the laws governing Professional, Personal, Consulting, and Social Services Contracts. The official rules and regulations of the Office of Contractual Review appear in Title 34, Part V of the Louisiana Administrative Code.

Contracts must be accompanied by a W9, proof of authority to sign, and Certificate of Insurance.

The Purchasing Department decides all matters of policy relative to professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts for the University.  Requirements established in Louisiana Revised Statutes and Administrative Code are strictly followed.  The Office of State Procurement has established the following minimum requirements:

Contracts Shall:

  1. Contain appropriate original (not a signature stamp) signatures of agency and contractor.
  2. Contain appropriate approvals; i.e. Civil Service, Attorney General, Higher Education Boards, if applicable, etc.
  3. Contain a date upon which the contract is to begin and upon which contract will terminate.
  4. Contain a description of the work to be performed including goals and objectives, deliverables, performance measures and a monitoring plan.
  5. Contain a maximum amount and schedule of payments to be made.
  6. Contain an itemized budget if it is a cost reimbursement contract.
  7. Contain a description of reports or other deliverables to be received, when applicable.
  8. Contain a schedule when reports or other deliverables are to be received, when applicable.
  9. When a contract includes travel and/or other reimbursable expenses, it contains language to effect the following:
    • Travel and other reimbursable expenses constitute part of the total maximum payable under the contract, or
    • No more than ($_________) of the total maximum amount payable under this contract shall be paid as reimbursable expenses, and
    • Travel expenses shall be reimbursed in accordance with Division of Administration Policy and Procedure Memorandum 49 (The State General Travel Regulations).
  10. Contain the responsibility for payment of taxes, when applicable.
  11. Contain the circumstances under which the contract can be terminated either with or without cause and contains remedies for default. Must contain 30 day termination at convenience of the state unless justified and approved by the Director of the Office of Contractual Review.
  12. Contain a statement giving the Legislative Auditor and the Division of Administration Auditors the authority to audit records of the individual(s) or firm(s).
  13. Contain an assignability clause.
  14. Contain required anti-discrimination language (ADA).
  15. Prohibition of Discriminatory Boycotts of Israel
  16. Continuing Obligation requirement
  17. Eligibility Status – Not on Federal List of Excluded Parties                  
  18. Appropriate language if key internal controls have been outsourced.

Contracts that must be forwarded to Office of State Procurement must have:

  1. Signed BA-22 form.
  2. Certification letter, if contract is over $5,000.
  3. Multi-year letter, if contract exceeds 12 months.
  4. Late letter, if contract is more than 60 days late.
  5. Board Resolution, if contractor is a corporation, either profit or non-profit.
  6. Disclosure of Ownership affidavit which has been filed with the Secretary of State’s Office if contractor is a for profit corporation whose stock is not publicly traded.
  7. Certificate of Authority to do business in Louisiana if contractor is an out-of-state corporation.
  8. Resume for Consultants.
  9. Advance payment justification from non-profit contractor and approval by the agency with a statement that this is the most cost effective way of obtaining the services as well as a recoupment schedule.
  10. Information and documentation if contract was awarded through the Request for Proposals process.

Related Links and Resources

Policy 5215 – Professional Services

Revision Date: 10/21/2019

Last Review:  10/21/2019

Original Effective Date: 11/1/2002

Responsible Office: Purchasing Office

References: LRS 39:1551 et seq.; Title 34, Part V; Louisiana Procurement Code

Policy:

The Purchasing Department is charged with administering the rules and regulations adopted by the Louisiana Office of State Procurement (OSP) for the procurement, management, control and disposition of all professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts required by University Departments.

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 39:1551 et seq. and the Louisiana Procurement Code directly addresses the laws and regulations governing Professional, Personal, Consulting, and Social Services Contracts. The official rules and regulations of the Office of State Procurement appear in Title 34, Part V of the Louisiana Administrative Code.

The Purchasing Department decides all matters of policy relative to professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts for the University.

Definitions:

Not Applicable.

Procedures:

Ethics Statement:  All public purchasers are required to adhere to the ethical standards for public servants.  Care must be exercised to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety.   The Code of Governmental Ethics can be found by searching La. R.S. 42:1101-1170.

The Code of Governmental Ethics specifically prohibits: 

Receipt of a thing of economic value for assisting someone with a transaction with the agency of the public servant.

Receipt of a thing of economic value by a public servant for services rendered to or for the following: persons who have or are seeking to obtain a contractual or other business or financial relationship with the public servant’s agency.

Participation by a public servant in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which any of the following persons have a substantial economic interest:

  • the public servant;
  • any member of his immediate family;
  • any person in which he has an ownership interest that is greater than the interest of a general class;
  • any person of which he is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee;
  • any person with whom he is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment;
  • any person who is indebted to him or is a party to an existing contract with him and by reason thereof is in a position to affect directly his economic interests.

Authorized Signature – Only the Director of Purchasing or University President or specific designee may execute contracts on behalf of the University committing expenditure of university funds or other resources.

In general, contracts are prohibited in the following situations:

  • Individual is not a U.S. Citizen
  • Individual is a current Louisiana Tech Student
  • Individuals that have been an employee of Louisiana Tech within the previous 2 years

Contract approval routing 

In the approval process, submit three (3) original contracts accompanied with a contract routing form and Louisiana Tech University Checklist for Personal Professional, Consulting or Social Services Contract.

Certification:

When submitting a contract to the Purchasing Department, the person initiating the contract must certify in writing the following:

  1. Either no employee of our agency is both competent and available to perform the services called for by the proposed contract or the services called for are not the types readily susceptible of being performed by persons who are employed by the state on a continuing basis;
  2. The services are not available as a product of a prior or existing professional, personal, consulting, or social services contract;
  3. When applicable, the requirements for consulting or social services contracts have been complied with.

Contracts may only be signed by the President. 

Contracts exceeding $50,000 require approval of the State of Louisiana Office of State Procurement and may require RFP.

All contracts must be routed by routing form and will be returned to the person initiating the routing form.

Three original contracts should be prepared with one for each of the following:  (1) Office of Purchasing, (2) Department initiating the contract and (3) Other party on contract.

Contracts for legal services require all of the following, plus approval by the Office of Attorney General and Office of State Procurement.  Coordinate all requests for legal services through the Office of President.

General Policy – The Purchasing Department is charged with administering the rules and regulations adopted by the Louisiana Office of State Procurement for the procurement, management, control and disposition of all professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts required by University Departments.

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 39:1551 et seq. directly addresses the laws governing Professional, Personal, Consulting, and Social Services Contracts. The official rules and regulations of the Office of Contractual Review appear in Title 34, Part V of the Louisiana Administrative Code.

Contracts must be accompanied by a W9, proof of authority to sign, and Certificate of Insurance.

The Purchasing Department decides all matters of policy relative to professional, personal, consulting, and social services contracts for the University.  Requirements established in Louisiana Revised Statutes and Administrative Code are strictly followed.  The Office of State Procurement has established the following minimum requirements:

Contracts Shall:

  1. Contain appropriate original (not a signature stamp) signatures of agency and contractor.
  2. Contain appropriate approvals; i.e. Civil Service, Attorney General, Higher Education Boards, if applicable, etc.
  3. Contain a date upon which the contract is to begin and upon which contract will terminate.
  4. Contain a description of the work to be performed including goals and objectives, deliverables, performance measures and a monitoring plan.
  5. Contain a maximum amount and schedule of payments to be made.
  6. Contain an itemized budget if it is a cost reimbursement contract.
  7. Contain a description of reports or other deliverables to be received, when applicable.
  8. Contain a schedule when reports or other deliverables are to be received, when applicable.
  9. When a contract includes travel and/or other reimbursable expenses, it contains language to effect the following:
    • Travel and other reimbursable expenses constitute part of the total maximum payable under the contract, or
    • No more than ($_________) of the total maximum amount payable under this contract shall be paid as reimbursable expenses, and
    • Travel expenses shall be reimbursed in accordance with Division of Administration Policy and Procedure Memorandum 49 (The State General Travel Regulations).
  10. Contain the responsibility for payment of taxes, when applicable.
  11. Contain the circumstances under which the contract can be terminated either with or without cause and contains remedies for default. Must contain 30 day termination at convenience of the state unless justified and approved by the Director of the Office of Contractual Review.
  12. Contain a statement giving the Legislative Auditor and the Division of Administration Auditors the authority to audit records of the individual(s) or firm(s).
  13. Contain an assignability clause.
  14. Contain required anti-discrimination language (ADA).
  15. Prohibition of Discriminatory Boycotts of Israel
  16. Continuing Obligation requirement
  17. Eligibility Status – Not on Federal List of Excluded Parties                  
  18. Appropriate language if key internal controls have been outsourced.

Contracts that must be forwarded to Office of State Procurement must have:

  1. Signed BA-22 form.
  2. Certification letter, if contract is over $5,000.
  3. Multi-year letter, if contract exceeds 12 months.
  4. Late letter, if contract is more than 60 days late.
  5. Board Resolution, if contractor is a corporation, either profit or non-profit.
  6. Disclosure of Ownership affidavit which has been filed with the Secretary of State’s Office if contractor is a for profit corporation whose stock is not publicly traded.
  7. Certificate of Authority to do business in Louisiana if contractor is an out-of-state corporation.
  8. Resume for Consultants.
  9. Advance payment justification from non-profit contractor and approval by the agency with a statement that this is the most cost effective way of obtaining the services as well as a recoupment schedule.
  10. Information and documentation if contract was awarded through the Request for Proposals process.

Related Links and Resources