Report 2014-301 Recommendation 14 Responses

Report 2014-301: Judicial Branch Procurement: Five Superior Courts Did Not Consistently Follow Judicial Branch Contracting Practices (Release Date: November 2014)

Recommendation #14 To: Superior Court of California, County of San Luis Obispo

To improve its procurement practices and comply with the judicial contracting manual, the San Luis Obispo court should solicit competitive bids for procurements of $5,000 or more when required to do so.

60-Day Agency Response

The San Luis Obispo court has fully implemented policies and procedures regarding the solicitation of competitive bids of $5,000 or more as of November 1, 2014. A work document entitled Procurement Summary has been created to aid staff in determining the specifics of all procurements and to confirm all required steps are performed. This new document prompts staff to determine the type of procurement process required, whether a formal RFP, informal RFP or whether the product is available under an existing Master or Leverage Purchasing Agreement and directs them to the appropriate local procurement procedure document.

This new procedure ensures that all competitive procurements of $5,000 or more are properly assessed, documented and awarded. Additional training and materials have been provided to procurement staff to ensure that this process is followed as established in the Judicial Branch Contracting Manual and in the Local Contracting Manual.

Please contact Patsy Glenn, Court Accountant II, at (805) 781-5622 or via email patsy.glenn@slo.courts.ca.gov for further questions or assistance.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2014-301

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.