(a) Except in cases of emergency where immediate purchase of goods without bid is necessary for the protection of the public health, welfare, or safety, whenever the department contracts for goods in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or a higher amount as established by the director, the department shall advertise in the California State Contracts Register the availability of its solicitation, and interested suppliers, upon request, shall be furnished with copies of the solicitation. In addition to advertising in the California State Contracts Register, the department shall post in a public place a copy of the solicitation, which shall remain posted until seven days after an award has been made. Whenever a contract in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or a higher amount as established by the director, is made pursuant to this section or Section 10301 without the taking of bids, the department shall prepare a written document stating the fact of the contract together with the facts requiring the contract of the goods without the taking of bids. This document shall be maintained by the department and shall be available as a public record.

(b) (1) Every solicitation shall contain the following statement:

“It is unlawful for any person engaged in business within this state to sell or use any article or product as a “loss leader” as defined in Section 17030 of the Business and Professions Code.”

(2) On and after March 31, 2010, and until December 31, 2011, if a solicitation does not contain the statement required by paragraph (1), the awarding agency shall report this error to the department within 30 days of the date the awarding agency discovers this error.

(3) The department shall post in the State Contracting Manual instructions for including the statement required by paragraph (1) in all affected contracts.

(4) The statement required by paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be part of a solicitation even if the statement is inadvertently omitted from the solicitation.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 490, Sec. 4. (AB 926) Effective January 1, 2010.)