§ 902. Duties of Commissioner of Buildings and General Services
(a) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall contract for and make all
purchases, including all fuel, supplies, materials, equipment, for all departments,
offices, institutions, and other agencies of the State and counties. However, he or
she may delegate authority to those governmental agencies to purchase directly individually
approved types and classes of items when the interests of the State are best served
thereby. He or she shall also contract for and purchase materials for the repair and
for the construction and equipment of new buildings to be erected by the State, unless
otherwise provided. He or she may purchase such supplies, materials, and equipment
as are requisitioned by the supervisors of the natural resources conservation districts.
He or she may also cooperate with and advise officials of any political subdivision
of the State or any institution of higher education chartered in Vermont and accredited
or holding a certificate of approval from the State Board of Education in their purchase
of any of the supplies, materials, and equipment needed by the political subdivision
or institution of higher education, and may act as the agent of the political subdivision
at the request of the authorized officials or agent thereof in the purchase of supplies,
materials, and equipment.
(b) [Repealed.]
(c) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may establish, in consultation
with the heads of the governmental agencies, quality standards for all items specified
in subsection (a) of this section.
(d) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may prescribe forms to be used
in all purchasing, warehousing, and inventory functions set forth in this section;
and when he or she so prescribes, the forms shall be used by all departments and agencies
affected by this section.
(e) [Repealed.]
(f) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may also:
(1) establish and supervise inventory methods to be used by all government agencies;
(2) [Repealed.]
(3) maintain and operate the office supply service;
(4) receive, warehouse, manage, and distribute all State property and commodities, except
alcoholic beverages purchased by the Board of Liquor and Lottery; and all surplus
federal property and commodities;
(5) maintain central inventory of all State property and equipment other than lands and
buildings; and
(6) maintain and operate the State’s Fleet Management System.
(g) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may establish substitute practices
and exceptions from practices in requisitioning and purchasing that do not violate
the spirit and intent of the general procedures; and he or she may direct, subject
to the right of appeal by the head of the governmental agency to the Governor, the
purchase of specified items to be made under the substitute practices and exceptions
from practices.
(h) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may employ a standards and specifications
engineer who shall under the supervision and direction of the Commissioner of Buildings
and General Services:
(1) develop standards;
(2) assist the buyers and requisitioning agencies in formulating specifications;
(3) work on the continued expansion of the testing program;
(4) cooperate with departments and other agencies in the improvement of inspection practices;
(5) perform such other duties relative to the duties of the Commissioner of Buildings
and General Services as the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services may direct.
(i) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, all alcoholic beverages sold by the
Board of Liquor and Lottery shall be purchased by the Board as set forth in 7 V.S.A. §§ 104 and 107. (Added 1959, No. 328 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; amended 1961, No. 31, § 1; 1963, No. 79, § 1(b), eff. May 7, 1963; 1965, No. 125, § 16, eff. July 2, 1965; 1967, No. 303 (Adj. Sess.), § 15(b); 1987, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 38, eff. June 13, 1988; 1991, No. 87, § 3; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(a), eff. May 6, 1996; 2005, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. May 15, 2006; 2013, No. 50, § E.101.8; 2017, No. 83, § 158; 2018, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 88.)