§1604.4. Preference for goods manufactured, or services performed, by sheltered workshops; definitions; coordinating council

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

C. There is hereby created within the Louisiana Department of Health a council whose function shall be to coordinate and facilitate the carrying out of provisions of this Section. The membership of this council shall be determined by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health. It shall have authority to designate and contract with a central nonprofit agency to assist sheltered workshops in submitting applications for the selection of suitable goods and services, to facilitate the allocation of orders among qualified sheltered workshops, and otherwise to assist the council in performing its functions.

D. The Louisiana Department of Health may adopt, promulgate, and enforce such rules and regulations as are necessary and appropriate to implement the provisions of this Section. The regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq.

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) "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.

(4) "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.

(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.

Acts 1984, No. 109, §1; Acts 2010, No. 939, §6, eff. July 1, 2010, and Subsections (C) and (D) eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 811, §21, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2014, No. 864, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2015.