SB2159

Report Title:

Playground Equipment

 

Description:

Exempts the DOE from the Hawaii public procurement code if the procurement is for playground equipment and surfacing, and if the amount of the procurement is less than $150,000.

 

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2159
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to the procurement of playground equipment and surfacing by the department of education.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that many public elementary schools in Hawaii have dismantled their playgrounds due to safety and liability concerns, leaving children with limited play experiences -- some for over two years -- during a period in their lives in which play is considered a developmentally critical activity.

The legislature finds that in the spring of 1999, many public schools were left without playground equipment after state officials recommended their removal for safety reasons. Reacting to the public outcry over the lack of play equipment at these schools, the legislature appropriated $4,500,000 over the next few years to spend on playground equipment and the installation of a soft surface underneath.

A total of eighty-five public schools originally submitted proposals for playground equipment in 2000. Thirty-nine of these schools were promised to have new playground equipment by December, 2001. However, only one of these thirty-nine schools -- Mililani Uka Elementary School -- will have equipment for their students to play on as of December. The remaining public schools are running four to six weeks behind schedule, according to the department of education.

Although education officials had originally believed that they would be able to complete all thirty-nine schools by the end of 2001, and install an additional thirty playgrounds by March, 2002, construction delays have pushed the projects back. State officials have been trying to determine how to obtain the best playground equipment at the best price and satisfy each school's needs. After questions from equipment vendors, bid specifications had to be rewritten, further delaying the process.

The legislature finds that the inability of state education officials to meet their own internally generated timelines for project construction and completion has resulted in two years of students who have not been able to have meaningful playground equipment.

The legislature finds that the cost of purchasing playground equipment that is safe and accessible, and of installing surfacing that will cushion falls from that equipment, easily exceeds $25,000. Consequently, the procurement of goods, services, and construction for playground equipment and surfacing is subject to the time-consuming and costly competitive sealed bidding requirements of the public procurement code.

In addition to initially not having enough money to replace condemned playground equipment, the department of education is now having to contend with the additional fiscal and labor burdens of complying with the procurement code. In this specific instance, the legislature believes that the department's limited resources should be used to purchase playground equipment and install surfacing, rather than comply with the procurement code.

The purpose of this Act is to exempt the department of education from the public procurement code if a procurement is for playground equipment and surfacing, and if the amount of the procurement is less than $150,000.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Playground equipment; exemption from Hawaii public procurement code. (a) Chapter 103D, including, without limitation, the requirement that vendors post contract performance and payment bonds pursuant to section 103D-324, shall not apply to the procurement of goods, services, and construction by the department if the procurement is for playground equipment and surfacing and if the amount of the procurement is less than $150,000; provided that:

(1) The superintendent shall develop internal policies and procedures for the procurement of goods, services, and construction for playground equipment and surfacing, consistent with the goals of public accountability and public procurement practices;

(2) Multiple expenditures shall not be created at the inception of a transaction or project so as to evade the requirements of chapter 103D; and

(3) Procurement requirements shall not be artificially divided or parceled so as to evade the requirements of chapter 103D.

(b) Schools shall account for funds expended for the procurement of goods, services, and construction under this section, and this accounting shall be available to the public."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________