§ 143-129.8A. Purchase of certain goods and services for the North Carolina Zoological Park. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 143‑129.8A.  Purchaseof certain goods and services for the North Carolina Zoological Park.

(a)        Exemption. – TheNorth Carolina Zoological Park is a State entity whose primary purpose is theattraction of, interaction with, and education of the public regarding issuesof global conservation, ecological preservation, and scientific exploration,and that purpose presents unique challenges requiring greater flexibility andfaster responsiveness in meeting the needs of and creating the attractions forthe Park. Accordingly, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources mayuse the procedure set forth in this section, in addition to or instead of anyother procedure available under North Carolina law, to contract with a non‑Stateentity on behalf of the Park for the acquisition of goods and services where:(i) the contract directly results in the generation of revenue for the State ofNorth Carolina or (ii) the use of the acquired goods and services by the Parkresults in increased revenue or decreased expenditures for the State of NorthCarolina.

(b)        Limitation. – Contractsexecuted pursuant to the exemption of subsection (a) of this section may beentered into under a request for proposals procedure that satisfies thefollowing minimum requirements:

(1)        Notice of therequest for proposals shall be given in accordance with G.S. 143‑129(b).

(2)        Contracts shall beawarded to the person or entity that submits the best overall proposal asdetermined by the awarding authority. Factors to be considered in awardingcontracts shall be identified in the request for proposals.

(c)        ProcurementMethods. – The Department may use procurement methods set forth in G.S. 143‑135.9in developing and evaluating requests for proposals under this section. TheDepartment may negotiate with any proposer in order to obtain a final contractthat best meets the needs of the awarding authority. Negotiations allowed underthis section shall not alter the contract beyond the scope of the originalrequest for proposals in a manner that: (i) deprives the proposers or potentialproposers of a fair opportunity to compete for the contract; and (ii) wouldhave resulted in the award of the contract to a different person or entity ifthe alterations had been included in the request for proposals.

(d)        Promotional Rights.– Subject to the approval of the Department, a non‑State entity awarded acontract that results in increased revenue or decreased expenditures for thePark may advertise, announce, or otherwise publicize the provision of servicespursuant to award of the contract.  (2009‑329, s. 1.1.)