§2261. Preference for goods manufactured, or services performed, by sheltered workshops; non-applicability of competitive bidding requirements; coordinating council

A. Every agency, board, commission, department, or other instrumentality of the state shall give a preference in its purchasing practices to goods manufactured and services performed by individuals with severe disabilities in state-operated and state-supported sheltered workshops.

B. The requirements for competitive bidding contained in Part II of this Chapter shall be inapplicable to cases in which an agency, board, commission, department, or other instrumentality of the state can utilize goods manufactured, or services performed, by individuals with severe disabilities in state-operated and state-supported sheltered workshops.

C. The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to limit or otherwise affect the provisions of R.S. 23:3024 and 23:3025 regarding the sheltered industries program for individuals who are blind.

D. There is created within the Louisiana Department of Health a council whose function shall be to coordinate and facilitate the carrying out of the provisions of this Section. The membership of this council shall be determined by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health .

E. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms are defined as follows:

(1) "Direct labor" means all labor involved in the manufacture of goods or the performance of services except for supervision, instruction, administration, and shipping.

(2) "Goods manufactured and services performed by individuals with severe disabilities" means goods and services for which not less than seventy-five percent of the man-hours of direct labor required for manufacture or performance is provided by individuals with severe disabilities.

(3) "Individuals with severe disabilities" means individuals with a physical, mental, or substance abuse disability which constitutes a substantial obstacle to their employment and is of such a nature as to prevent an individual from engaging in normal competitive employment.

(4) "Qualified nonprofit agency for individuals with severe disabilities" means an agency that:

(a) Is incorporated under the Louisiana Nonprofit Corporation Law and operated in the interests of individuals with severe disabilities, and the income of which does not inure in whole or in part to the benefit of any shareholder or other private individual.

(b) Complies with any applicable occupational health and safety standards provided by the statutes or regulations of this state or of the United States.

(5) "Sheltered workshop" means a facility designed to provide gainful employment for individuals with severe disabilities who cannot be absorbed into the competitive labor market or to provide interim employment for such individuals when employment opportunities for them in the competitive labor market do not exist.

(6) "State-operated sheltered workshop" means a sheltered workshop staffed by state agency personnel.

(7) "State-supported sheltered workshop" means a sheltered workshop funded in whole or in part by the state and staffed by personnel from a qualified nonprofit agency for individuals with severe disabilities.

Added by Acts 1983, No. 363, §1; Acts 2010, No. 939, §5, eff. July 1, 2010 (Subsection C), and Jan. 1, 2011 (Subsection D); Acts 2014, No. 811, §20, eff. June 23, 2014.