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Departments

“Department” is a term that is used to refer to a variety of City bodies. It can be an officeholder’s office, a City agency, or a branch of City government that is organized around a specific issue, such as planning or transportation.

CONTRACT SOLICITATIONS

Form 50

Every City department is required to include a Form 50 (Bidder Certification) in its solicitations for the following types of contracts:

  • Goods and services contracts worth at least $25,000 and lasting at least three months.
  • Financial assistance contracts worth at least $100,000 and lasting any length of time.
  • Construction contracts, leases, and licenses of any value and any duration.

Departments must retain the original of each Form 50 that is submitted to them and are not required to provide copies to the Ethics Commission.

A bidder who does not submit a completed Form 50 may be deemed nonresponsive. Departments should consult the City Attorney’s office regarding incomplete or missing forms.

Form 55

Every City department is also required to include a Form 55 [Prohibited Contributors (Bidders)] in its solicitations for contracts that have an anticipated value of $100,000 or more and must be approved by an officeholder.

Departments must retain the original of each Form 55 that is submitted to them and submit a PDF copy to the Ethics Commission.

A bidder who does not submit a completed Form 55 may be deemed nonresponsive. Departments should consult the City Attorney’s office regarding incomplete or missing forms.

Form 56

The proprietary departments (Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles World Airports, and Los Angeles Harbor Department) are required to include a Form 56 (Prohibited Contributors (Underwriters)) in their solicitations for underwriting firms and syndicates of underwriting firms in noncompetitive sales of revenue bonds, including solicitations for pre-qualified and on-call lists.

Departments must retain the original of each Form 56 that is submitted to them and submit a PDF copy to the Ethics Commission.

A bidder who does not submit a completed Form 56 may be deemed nonresponsive. Departments should consult the City Attorney’s office regarding incomplete or missing forms.

QUARTERLY REPORTS

On a quarterly basis, every department is required to disclose its active bidders, procurement processes, contracts, and contractors. Reports are filed electronically through the Department Contract Filing System (DCFS). Each officeholder and department head, and at least one other employee in the department (typically the department contract coordinator), must submit a Form 62 (Application for DCFS Login ID) to obtain a DCFS identification and password.

Quarterly reports are due by April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 of each year. Information disclosed through DCFS may be searched and viewed through the Public Data Portal.

LIMITATIONS

Gifts

Bidders and contractors are restricted sources to all officeholders and to any City officials in the department that solicited the bid or awarded the contract. As a result, officeholders cannot solicit gifts from any bidder or contractor, and City officials cannot solicit gifts from their departments’ bidders or contractors. In addition, those individuals cannot accept unsolicited gifts totaling more than $100 in a calendar year from a single bidder or contractor. If a bidder or contractor is also a lobbyist or lobbying firm, those individuals cannot accept a gift of any value from the bidder or contractor.

Contributions and Fundraising

For contracts with a value of $100,000 or more, campaign contributions and certain fundraising activity may be prohibited for bidders and contractors, their principals, their subcontractors of $100,000 or more, and the principals of those subcontractors. Details are discussed in the “Limitations” sections for bidders and contractors.

DEBARMENT

If the Ethics Commission members determine that a person violated a law regarding Form 55, Form 56, or the limitations on contributions and fundraising—and determine that mitigating circumstances do not exist—that person may not bid on or be considered for any City contract, extension, or amendment.

Debarment lasts one year for the first violation, two years, for a second violation, three years for a third violation, and four years for all subsequent violations.

If the Ethics Commission members determine that a person with whom a department has an existing contract should be debarred, the department may determine that terminating the existing contract is in the City’s best interests. The Debarment Regulations provide more details.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For questions regarding specific scenarios, please contact us prior to taking action.

  • How often do departments report their contracts?

    Departments are required to disclose their bidders and contractors on a quarterly basis. Reports are due by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. Filed reports may be accessed through the Public Data Portal.

  • One of my department’s contractors dropped off a holiday gift basket for the staff. Can we keep it?

    Possibly. A contractor is a restricted source to all officeholders and any City officials who work in your department, and they cannot accept gifts from a contractor that are valued at more than $100 per calendar year. For a gift that is addressed and given to the entire department, such as a holiday basket, the per-person value is determined by dividing the total value of the gift by the number of individuals on the staff. As long as the per-person value of the gift basket is $100 or less, then it is permitted. However, if the contractor also qualifies as a lobbyist or lobbying firm, then it cannot give gifts of any value to officeholders or City officials, and the gift basket is prohibited for those individuals.

  • My department head just made me the contract coordinator for our department. How do I file the quarterly report?

    Quarterly contract reports are filed through the Department Contract Filing System (DCFS). To access the system and file reports, you must have a DCFS identification and password. You may obtain those by submitting Form 62. Your department head must also submit Form 62 to obtain a separate DCFS identification and password.

PUBLIC DATA PORTAL

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CONTRACT SOLICITATIONS

Form 50

Every City department is required to include a Form 50 (Bidder Certification) in its solicitations for the following types of contracts:

  • Goods and services contracts worth at least $25,000 and lasting at least three months.
  • Financial assistance contracts worth at least $100,000 and lasting any length of time.
  • Construction contracts, leases, and licenses of any value and any duration.

Departments must retain the original of each Form 50 that is submitted to them and are not required to provide copies to the Ethics Commission.

A bidder who does not submit a completed Form 50 may be deemed nonresponsive. Departments should consult the City Attorney’s office regarding incomplete or missing forms.

Form 55

Every City department is also required to include a Form 55 [Prohibited Contributors (Bidders)] in its solicitations for contracts that have an anticipated value of $100,000 or more and must be approved by an officeholder.

Departments must retain the original of each Form 55 that is submitted to them and submit a PDF copy to the Ethics Commission.

A bidder who does not submit a completed Form 55 may be deemed nonresponsive. Departments should consult the City Attorney’s office regarding incomplete or missing forms.

Form 56

The proprietary departments (Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles World Airports, and Los Angeles Harbor Department) are required to include a Form 56 (Prohibited Contributors (Underwriters)) in their solicitations for underwriting firms and syndicates of underwriting firms in noncompetitive sales of revenue bonds, including solicitations for pre-qualified and on-call lists.

Departments must retain the original of each Form 56 that is submitted to them and submit a PDF copy to the Ethics Commission.

A bidder who does not submit a completed Form 56 may be deemed nonresponsive. Departments should consult the City Attorney’s office regarding incomplete or missing forms.

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QUARTERLY REPORTS

On a quarterly basis, every department is required to disclose its active bidders, procurement processes, contracts, and contractors. Reports are filed electronically through the Department Contract Filing System (DCFS). Each officeholder and department head, and at least one other employee in the department (typically the department contract coordinator), must submit a Form 62 (Application for DCFS Login ID) to obtain a DCFS identification and password.

Quarterly reports are due by April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 of each year. Information disclosed through DCFS may be searched and viewed through the Public Data Portal.

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LIMITATIONS

Gifts

Bidders and contractors are restricted sources to all officeholders and to any City officials in the department that solicited the bid or awarded the contract. As a result, officeholders cannot solicit gifts from any bidder or contractor, and City officials cannot solicit gifts from their departments’ bidders or contractors. In addition, those individuals cannot accept unsolicited gifts totaling more than $100 in a calendar year from a single bidder or contractor. If a bidder or contractor is also a lobbyist or lobbying firm, those individuals cannot accept a gift of any value from the bidder or contractor.

Contributions and Fundraising

For contracts with a value of $100,000 or more, campaign contributions and certain fundraising activity may be prohibited for bidders and contractors, their principals, their subcontractors of $100,000 or more, and the principals of those subcontractors. Details are discussed in the “Limitations” sections for bidders and contractors.

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DEBARMENT

If the Ethics Commission members determine that a person violated a law regarding Form 55, Form 56, or the limitations on contributions and fundraising—and determine that mitigating circumstances do not exist—that person may not bid on or be considered for any City contract, extension, or amendment.

Debarment lasts one year for the first violation, two years, for a second violation, three years for a third violation, and four years for all subsequent violations.

If the Ethics Commission members determine that a person with whom a department has an existing contract should be debarred, the department may determine that terminating the existing contract is in the City’s best interests. The Debarment Regulations provide more details.

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WHAT DO I FILE?

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For questions regarding specific scenarios, please contact us prior to taking action.

  • How often do departments report their contracts?

    Departments are required to disclose their bidders and contractors on a quarterly basis. Reports are due by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. Filed reports may be accessed through the Public Data Portal.

  • One of my department’s contractors dropped off a holiday gift basket for the staff. Can we keep it?

    Possibly. A contractor is a restricted source to all officeholders and any City officials who work in your department, and they cannot accept gifts from a contractor that are valued at more than $100 per calendar year. For a gift that is addressed and given to the entire department, such as a holiday basket, the per-person value is determined by dividing the total value of the gift by the number of individuals on the staff. As long as the per-person value of the gift basket is $100 or less, then it is permitted. However, if the contractor also qualifies as a lobbyist or lobbying firm, then it cannot give gifts of any value to officeholders or City officials, and the gift basket is prohibited for those individuals.

  • My department head just made me the contract coordinator for our department. How do I file the quarterly report?

    Quarterly contract reports are filed through the Department Contract Filing System (DCFS). To access the system and file reports, you must have a DCFS identification and password. You may obtain those by submitting Form 62. Your department head must also submit Form 62 to obtain a separate DCFS identification and password.

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PUBLIC DATA PORTAL

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