H 3315 General Bill, By Cobb-Hunter
 A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE 1, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
 RELATING TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, BY ADDING SECTION 1-7-85 SO AS TO REQUIRE A
 COMPETITIVE BID PROCEDURE FOR SOLICITING BIDS FROM AT LEAST THREE PRIVATE LAW
 FIRMS OR PRIVATE SOLE PRACTITIONERS OF LAW BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY
 ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR THE REPRESENTATION OF THE STATE IN A LEGAL MATTER
 INVOLVING THE STATE, TO CREATE A BOARD OF REVIEW TO DEVELOP A ROTATING AND
 ANNUALLY UPDATED LIST OF PREAPPROVED PRIVATE LAW FIRMS AND SOLE PRACTITIONERS
 OF LAW AND TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THE COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS FOR EACH
 PROPOSED CONTRACT FOR LEGAL REPRESENTATION, AND TO REQUIRE APPROVAL FROM THE
 STATE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD OF EACH PROPOSED CONTRACT FOR LEGAL
 REPRESENTATION OF THE STATE BY A PRIVATE LAW FIRM OR SOLE PRACTITIONER OF LAW.

   01/23/01  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-12
   01/23/01  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-13

TO AMEND CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE 1, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, BY ADDING SECTION 1-7-85 SO AS TO REQUIRE A COMPETITIVE BID PROCEDURE FOR SOLICITING BIDS FROM AT LEAST THREE PRIVATE LAW FIRMS OR PRIVATE SOLE PRACTITIONERS OF LAW BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR THE REPRESENTATION OF THE STATE IN A LEGAL MATTER INVOLVING THE STATE, TO CREATE A BOARD OF REVIEW TO DEVELOP A ROTATING AND ANNUALLY UPDATED LIST OF PREAPPROVED PRIVATE LAW FIRMS AND SOLE PRACTITIONERS OF LAW AND TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THE COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS FOR EACH PROPOSED CONTRACT FOR LEGAL REPRESENTATION, AND TO REQUIRE APPROVAL FROM THE STATE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD OF EACH PROPOSED CONTRACT FOR LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF THE STATE BY A PRIVATE LAW FIRM OR SOLE PRACTITIONER OF LAW.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Chapter 7 of Title 1 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 1-7-85.    (A)    The Attorney General may not enter into a contract with a private law firm or private sole practitioner of law for the legal representation of this State, or any of its agencies, departments, divisions, or institutions, in a matter on behalf of this State without first obtaining competitive bids pursuant to subsection (B) and approval from the State Budget and Control Board pursuant to subsection (C).

    (B)    There is created a Board of Review for purposes of establishing a roster of private law firms and private sole practitioners of law who are preapproved as eligible competitive bidders for contracts for legal representation of the State and for developing and implementing the competitive bid process for each proposed contract for legal representation of the State.

        (1)    The board must be composed of five nonlegislative members, one each to be appointed by the South Carolina Bar Association, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Black Lawyers Association, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The appointees of the three state legal associations must be attorneys licensed to practice law in this State. The appointees of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate must have backgrounds in finance or business. The members shall serve for terms of three years or until their successors are appointed.

        (2)    The board shall:

            (a)    solicit applications from private law firms and private sole practitioners of law for preapproval by the board as potential providers of legal representation of this State;

            (b)    establish a list of eligible attorneys and law firms appropriate to each type of anticipated case and the type of representation required, and update each list annually following a once-yearly solicitation of additional applications for preapproval;

            (c)    develop and implement a competitive bid process, requiring solicitation of at least three competitive bids from preapproved attorneys or law firms listed on the roster of eligible competitive bidders for each proposed contract for legal representation of this State and rotation of the names of the eligible competitive bidders to the end of the list following participation in a competitive bid. Solicitation of bids from a preapproved attorney or law firm outside of the rotation must be justified in writing;

            (d)    recommend or not recommend to the State Budget and Control Board the letting of the contract for legal representation to a particular private law firm or sole practitioner of law upon the terms proposed; and

            (e)    conduct a review after the first year of the implementation of the competitive bid process so as to evaluate the effectiveness of the process and to implement changes in the process, subject to the provisions of this section.

    (C)    The Attorney General may not enter into the proposed contract for private legal representation of the State, or any of its agencies, departments, divisions, or institutions, in a matter on behalf of this State, without first obtaining the approval of the State Budget and Control Board, which approval may not be withheld unreasonably."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.