Chief Patron: Louderback
Virginia Distribution Center (language only)

Item 82 #1h

Language
Page 58, line 46, before "The", insert "A."
Page 58, after line 49, insert:
"B.  The Auditor of Public Accounts shall perform a comparative analysis of the total costs associated with the procument, purchasing, warehousing, delivery, and maintenance of the food, janitorial, and other commodities required to operate a major correctional facility in the Commonwealth run by the Department of Corrections using the Virginia Distribution Center for the majority of its supply purchases and a correctional facility that uses a private contractor for the majority of its supply purchases.  The Department of General Services, and all other state agencies, shall assist the Auditor of Public Accounts as necessary and comply with all requests for information necessary to performing this review.  The Auditor of Public Accounts shall report the findings of this analysis to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by December 1, 2004.
C.  The Auditor of Public Accounts shall examine the total costs associated with the procurement, purchasing, warehousing, delivery, and maintenance of the food, janitorial, and other commodities maintained by the Virginia Distribution Center, its long-term viability given the Commonwealth's increasing use of electronic procurement technology, the outstanding debt remaining on the facility, the potential purchase price for this facility, the potential for the Virginia Distribution Center's use by another state agency, and the potential savings that might be achieved by outsourcing the operations of the Virginia Distribution Center to the private sector.  The Department of General Services, and all other state agencies, shall assist the Auditor of Public Accounts as necessary and comply with all requests for information necessary to completing this examination.  The Auditor of Public Accounts shall provide the findings of this analysis to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by December 1, 2004."

Explanation
(This amendment provides authorization for two examinations of the operations of the Virginia Distribution Center by the Auditor of Public Accounts. The first examination will analyze whether a correctional facility using the Virginia Distribution Center for the majority of its purchasing needs experiences lower costs than a comparable facility using a prime vendor for the majority of its purchasing needs. The second examination reviews the costs of the Virginia Distribution Center, the outstanding debt on the facility, the potential for the facility's sale, its potential use by other state agencies, and the potential savings that might be achieved if the operation of the facility were privatized.)