                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

HIGH-RISK CONTRACTS; DEFINITION; REVIEW (§ 2.2-4303.01)

A. For the purposes of this section, &#8220;high-risk contract&#8221; means any
public contract with a state public body for the procurement of goods, services,
insurance, or construction that is anticipated to either (i) cost in excess of
$10 million over the initial term of the contract or (ii) cost in excess of $5
million over the initial term of the contract and meet at least one of the
following criteria: (a) the goods, services, insurance, or construction that is
the subject of the contract is being procured by two or more state public
bodies; (b) the anticipated term of the initial contract, excluding renewals, is
greater than five years; or (c) the state public body procuring the goods,
services, insurance, or construction has not procured similar goods, services,
insurance, or construction within the last five years.

B. Prior to issuing a solicitation for a high-risk contract, a state public body
shall submit such solicitation for review by (i) the Office of the Attorney
General, (ii) the Department of General Services for solicitations for goods and
nonprofessional and professional services that are not for (a) information
technology or (b) road or rail construction or design, and (iii) the Virginia
Information Technologies Agency for solicitations for goods and services related
to information technology. Such reviews shall be completed within 30 business
days and include an evaluation of the extent to which the solicitation complies
with applicable state law and policy, as well as an evaluation of the
appropriateness of the solicitation&#8217;s terms and conditions. In addition,
the review shall ensure that such solicitations for high-risk contracts contain
distinct and measurable performance metrics and clear enforcement provisions,
including penalties or incentives, to be used in the event that contract
performance metrics or other provisions are not met.

C. Prior to awarding a high-risk contract, a state public body shall submit such
contract for review by (i) the Office of the Attorney General, (ii) the
Department of General Services for contracts for goods and nonprofessional and
professional services that are not for (a) information technology or (b) road or
rail construction or design, and (iii) the Virginia Information Technologies
Agency for contracts for goods and services related to information technology.
Such reviews shall be completed within 30 business days and include an
evaluation of the extent to which the contract complies with applicable state
law and policy, as well as an evaluation of the legality and appropriateness of
the contract&#8217;s terms and conditions. In addition, the review shall ensure
that such high-risk contracts contain distinct and measurable performance
metrics and clear enforcement provisions, including penalties or incentives, to
be used in the event that contract performance metrics or other provisions are
not met.

D. The Department of General Services&#8217; central electronic procurement
system shall serve as a centralized resource for all state public bodies on
information related to the performance of high-risk contracts. All state public
bodies shall submit information on high-risk contracts for inclusion in the
system. Such information shall include, but not be limited to, the following
information on each high-risk contract:

   1. Scheduled contract performance dates and actual contract completion dates;

   2. Contract award value and actual contract expenditures; and

   3. Information on vendor performance, including any cure letters, formal
   complaints, and end-of-contract evaluations.

HISTORY: 2019, c. 601; 2020, c. 431.