Text of VT H 702 (2012)

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 1 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 H.702 1 Introduced by Representatives Lorber of Burlington, Campion of Bennington, 2 Lippert of Hinesburg, Russell of Rutland City, Trieber of 3 Rockingham and Wizowaty of Burlington 4 Referred to Committee on 5 Date: 6 Subject: Government contracting; nondiscrimination 7 Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to prohibit, with certain exceptions, 8 government contracts with contractors that discriminate against same-sex 9 couples in the provision of employee benefits. 10 An act relating to prohibiting discrimination in government contracting 11 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12 Sec. 1. 3 V.S.A. § 345 is added to read: 13 § 345. NONDISCRIMINATION IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS 14 (a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no 15 agency may enter into a contract for goods or services in the amount of 16 $100,000.00 or more with a contractor who in the provision of benefits 17 discriminates between employees with opposite-sex spouses and employees 18 with same-sex spouses or civil union partners, or discriminates between the 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 2 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 same-sex spouses or civil union partners and opposite-sex spouses of those 1 employees. 2 (2) In this section: 3 (A) “Civil union partner” means one of two persons who established 4 a civil union pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 23 or a legal union of two persons 5 of the same sex, other than a marriage, that was validly established in another 6 jurisdiction, and that is substantially equivalent to a civil union under 7 15 V.S.A. chapter 23. 8 (B) “Contract” includes all contracts with a cumulative amount of 9 $100,000.00 or more per contractor in each fiscal year. 10 (3)(A) Subject to subdivision (B) of this subdivision (3), this section 11 does not apply to any contracts executed or amended prior to January 1, 2013, 12 or to bid packages advertised and made available to the public, or any 13 competitive or sealed bids received by the state, prior to January 1, 2013, 14 unless and until those contracts or property contracts are amended after 15 December 31, 2012, and would otherwise be subject to this section. 16 (B) If the duration of a contract executed or amended prior to 17 January 1, 2013 is for more than one year going beyond January 1, 2014, this 18 section shall apply to the contract on January 1, 2014. 19 (4) The requirements of this section shall apply only to those portions of 20 a contractor’s operations that occur under any of the following conditions: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 3 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 (A) Within the state. 1 (B) On real property outside the state if the property is owned by the 2 state or if the state has a right to occupy the property, and if the contractor’s 3 presence at that location is connected to a contract with the state. 4 (C) Elsewhere in the United States where work related to a state 5 contract is being performed. 6 (b) A contractor shall treat as confidential, to the maximum extent allowed 7 by law or by the requirement of the contractor’s insurance provider, any 8 request by an employee or applicant for employment for civil union partner or 9 spousal benefits or any documentation of eligibility for civil union partner or 10 spousal benefits submitted by an employee or applicant for employment. 11 (c) After taking all reasonable measures to find a contractor that complies 12 with this section, as determined by the agency, the requirements of this section 13 may be waived under any of the following circumstances: 14 (1) Whenever there is only one prospective contractor willing to enter 15 into a specific contract with the agency. 16 (2) If the contract is necessary to respond to an emergency, as 17 determined by the agency, that endangers the public health, welfare, or safety, 18 or the contract is necessary for the provision of essential services, and no entity 19 that complies with the requirements of this section capable of responding to the 20 emergency is immediately available. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 4 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 (3) If the requirements of this section violate, or are inconsistent with, 1 the terms or conditions of a grant, subvention, or agreement, provided that a 2 good faith attempt has been made by the agency to change the terms or 3 conditions of any grant, subvention, or agreement to authorize application of 4 this section. 5 (4) If the contractor is providing wholesale or bulk water, power, or 6 natural gas, the conveyance or transmission of the same, or ancillary services, 7 as required for assuring reliable services in accordance with good utility 8 practice, provided that the purchase of the same may not practically be 9 accomplished through the standard competitive bidding procedures, and further 10 provided that this exemption does not apply to contractors providing direct 11 retail services to end users. 12 (d)(1) If there is a difference in the cost to provide a certain benefit to a 13 same-sex spouse, civil union partner, or opposite-sex spouse, the contractor is 14 not deemed to be in violation of this section so long as it permits the employee 15 to pay any excess costs. 16 (2) The contractor is not deemed to discriminate in the provision of 17 benefits if the contractor, in providing the benefits, pays the actual costs 18 incurred in obtaining the benefit. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 5 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 (3) In the event a contractor is unable to provide a certain benefit, 1 despite taking reasonable measures to do so, the contractor may not be deemed 2 to discriminate in the provision of benefits. 3 (4) For any contracts executed or amended prior to January 1, 2013, and 4 to bid packages advertised and made available to the public, or any competitive 5 or sealed bids received by the state prior to January 1, 2013, unless and until 6 those contracts or bid packages are amended on or after January 1, 2013, and 7 would otherwise be subject to this section, a contractor may require an 8 employee to pay the costs of providing additional benefits that are offered to 9 comply with this section if an employee elects to have the additional benefits. 10 This subdivision shall not be construed to permit a contractor to require an 11 employee to cover the costs of providing any benefits that have otherwise been 12 provided to all employees regardless of marital or civil union status. 13 (e) A contractor is not deemed to be in violation of this section if the 14 contractor does any of the following: 15 (1) Offers the same benefits to employees with same-sex spouses or 16 civil union partners and employees with opposite-sex spouses and offers the 17 same benefits to same-sex spouses, civil union partners, and opposite-sex 18 spouses of employees. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 6 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 (2) Elects to provide the same benefits to individuals that are provided 1 to employees’ opposite-sex spouses, employees’ same-sex spouses, and 2 employees’ civil union partners. 3 (3) Elects to provide benefits on a basis unrelated to an employee’s 4 marital status or civil union status, including allowing each employee to 5 designate a legally domiciled member of the employee’s household as being 6 eligible for benefits. 7 (4) Elects not to provide benefits to employees based on their marital 8 status or civil unions status, or elects not to provide benefits to employees’ 9 opposite-sex spouses, employees’ same-sex spouses, and to employees’ civil 10 union partners. 11 (f)(1) Every contract subject to this chapter shall contain a statement by 12 which the contractor certifies that the contractor is in compliance with this 13 section. 14 (2) The agency shall enforce this section pursuant to its existing 15 enforcement powers. 16 (3) A contractor who falsely certifies that it is in compliance with this 17 section shall be subject to any penalties included in the contract in addition to 18 any existing remedies otherwise available to the agency by law unless, within a 19 time period specified by the agency, the contractor provides to the agency 20 proof that it has complied, or is in the process of complying, with this section. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 7 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 (g) Nothing in this section is intended to regulate the contracting practices 1 of any local jurisdiction. 2 (h) This section shall be construed so as not to conflict with applicable 3 federal laws, rules, or regulations. In the event that a court or agency of 4 competent jurisdiction holds that federal law, rule, or regulation invalidates 5 any subdivision, sentence, or subsection of this section of this code or the 6 application thereof to any person or circumstances, it is the intent of the state 7 that the court or agency sever that subdivision, sentence, or subsection of this 8 section so that the remainder of this section shall remain in effect. 9 Sec. 2. 3 V.S.A. § 341 is amended to read: 10 § 341. DEFINITIONS 11 As used in this chapter: 12 (1) “Agency” means any agency, board, department, commission, 13 committee or authority of the executive branch of state government. 14 (2) “Personal services contract” or “contract” means an agreement or 15 combination or series of agreements, by which an entity or individual who is 16 not a state employee agrees with an agency to provide services, valued at 17 $10,000.00 or more per year. 18 (3) “Privatization contract” means a personal services contract by which 19 an entity or an individual who is not a state employee agrees with an agency to 20 provide services, valued at $20,000.00 or more per year, which are the same or 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.702 2012 Page 8 of 8 VT LEG 275351.1 substantially similar to and in lieu of services previously provided, in whole or 1 in part, by permanent, classified state employees, and which result in a 2 reduction in force of at least one permanent, classified employee, or the 3 elimination of a vacant position of an employee covered by a collective 4 bargaining agreement. 5 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 6 This act shall take effect on passage. 7