§ 143-49. Powers and duties of Secretary. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 143‑49.  Powers andduties of Secretary.

The Secretary ofAdministration shall have power and authority, and it shall be his duty,subject to the provisions of this Article:

(1)        To canvass sourcesof supply, including sources of supply of materials and supplies with recycledcontent, and to purchase or to contract for the purchase, lease and lease‑purchaseof all supplies, materials, equipment and other tangible personal propertyrequired by the State government, or any of its departments, institutions oragencies under competitive bidding or otherwise as hereinafter provided.

(2)        To establish andenforce specifications which shall apply to all supplies, materials andequipment to be purchased or leased for the use of the State government or anyof its departments, institutions or agencies.

(3)        To purchase or tocontract for, by sealed, competitive bidding or other suitable means, allcontractual services and needs of the State government, or any of itsdepartments, institutions, or agencies; or to authorize any department,institution or agency to purchase or contract for such services.

Whenthe award of any contract for contractual services exceeding a cost of onehundred thousand dollars ($100,000) requires negotiation with prospectivecontractors, the Secretary shall request and the Attorney General shall assigna representative of the office of the Attorney General to assist in negotiationfor the award of the contract. It shall be the duty of such representative toassist and advise in obtaining the most favorable contract for the State, toevaluate all proposals available from prospective contractors for that purpose,to interpret proposed contract terms and to advise the Secretary or hisrepresentatives of the liabilities of the State and validity of the contract tobe awarded. All contracts and drafts of such contracts shall be prepared by theoffice of the Attorney General and copies thereof shall be retained by suchoffice for a period of three years following the termination of such contracts.The term "contractual services" as used in this subsection shall meanwork performed by an independent contractor requiring specialized knowledge,experience, expertise or similar capabilities wherein the service rendered doesnot consist primarily of acquisition by this State of equipment or materialsand the rental of equipment, materials and supplies. The term"negotiation" as used herein shall not be deemed to refer tocontracts entered into or to be entered into as a result of a competitive biddingprocess.

(4)        To have generalsupervision of all storerooms and stores operated by the State government, orany of its departments, institutions or agencies and to have supervision ofinventories of all tangible personal property belonging to the Stategovernment, or any of its departments, institutions or agencies. The dutiesimposed by this subdivision shall not relieve any department, institution oragency of the State government from accountability for equipment, materials,supplies and tangible personal property under its control.

(5)        To make provisionfor or to contract for all State printing, including all printing, binding,paper stock, recycled paper stock, supplies, and supplies with recycledcontent, or materials in connection with the same.

(6)        To make available tononprofit corporations operating charitable hospitals, to local nonprofitcommunity sheltered workshops or centers that meet standards established by theDivision of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department of Health and HumanServices, to private nonprofit agencies licensed or approved by the Departmentof Health and Human Services as child placing agencies, residential child‑carefacilities, private nonprofit rural, community, and migrant health centersdesignated by the Office of Rural Health and Resource Development, to privatehigher education institutions that are defined as "institutions" inG.S. 116‑22(1), and to counties, cities, towns, local schooladministrative units, governmental entities and other subdivisions of the Stateand public agencies thereof in the expenditure of public funds, the services ofthe Department of Administration in the purchase of materials, supplies andequipment under such rules, regulations and procedures as the Secretary ofAdministration may adopt. In adopting rules and regulations any or allprovisions of this Article may be made applicable to such purchases andcontracts made through the Department of Administration, and in addition therules and regulations shall contain a requirement that payment for all suchpurchases be made in accordance with the terms of the contract.

(7)        To evaluate thenonprofit qualifications and capabilities of qualified work centers tomanufacture commodities or perform services.

(8)        To establish andmaintain a procurement card program for use by State agencies, communitycolleges, and nonexempted constituent institutions of The University of NorthCarolina. The Secretary of Administration may adopt temporary rules for theimplementation and operation of the program in accordance with the paymentpolicies of the State Controller, after consultation with the Office ofInformation Technology Services. These rules would include the establishment ofappropriate order limits that leverage the cost savings and efficiencies of theprocurement card program in conjunction with the fullest possible use of theNorth Carolina E‑Procurement Service. Prior to implementing the program,the Secretary shall consult with the State Controller, the UNC GeneralAdministration, the Community Colleges System Office, the State Auditor, theDepartment of Public Instruction, a representative chosen by the local schooladministrative units, and the Office of Information Technology Services. TheSecretary may periodically adjust the order limit authorized in this sectionafter consulting with the State Controller, the UNC General Administration, theCommunity Colleges System Office, the Department of Public Instruction, and theOffice of Information Technology Services. (1931, c. 261, s. 2; 1951, c. 3, s. 1; c. 1127, s. 1;1957, c. 269, s. 3; 1961, c. 310; 1971, c. 587, s. 1; 1975, c. 580; c. 879, s.46; 1977, c. 733; 1979, c. 759, s. 1; 1983, c. 717, ss. 60, 62; 1985 (Reg.Sess., 1986), c. 955, ss. 79‑82; 1989, c. 408; 1991, c. 358, s. 1; 1993,c. 256, s. 1; 1995, c. 265, ss. 1, 5; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 24.17;1997‑443, s. 11A.118(a); 1999‑20, s. 1; 2000‑67, s. 10.9(a);2001‑424, s. 15.6(a); 2001‑424, s. 15.6(d); 2001‑513, s.28(b); 2003‑147, s. 8; 2004‑203, s. 72(b); 2005‑213, s. 2;2006‑203, s. 82.)