Norton Relay Center

Item 282 #1s

Language
Page 232, line 33, strike "$11,865,626" and insert "$16,865,533".
Page 232, line 33, strike "$6,865,719" and insert "$11,865,626".
Page 233, after line 12, insert:
"D.  The Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing shall locate the relay center in Norton, Virginia.  Any request for proposals issued for basic relay services shall require an employment level of 85 at the center unless, during the previous contract period, the employment level has been reduced to less than 85 through attrition, voluntary separation, transfers, voluntary retirements, and disability retirement, in which case the employment level of the subsequent contract may reflect the employment level at the end of the previous contract period, but may not be less than that level.  The center is also prohibited from filling vacant positions, unless employment at the center drops below 75 positions.  The department may issue a new request for proposal that allows for a reduction in required staffing by 50 percent in the event that no bids are received for the new contract."

Explanation
(This amendment restores $5.0 million NGF each year and language from the previous year's budget that required any request for proposal issued for basic relay services to require minimum employment levels. Proposed budget language allows the department to rebid the contract at a lower employment level in the event that no bids are received for the contract. The introduced budget assumed savings of $5.0 million NGF from renegotiating the contract without the employment level requirement.)