Routing of State Contracts and Grants

Policy

This policy is a State Controller Contract, Grant, and Purchase Order Policy under the State Fiscal Rules. State Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) shall submit State Contracts and Grants that require approval from the Office of the State Controller (OSC) in the following manner.  For the purposes of this policy State Contracts and Grants and any modifications thereto shall be referred to as “Agreements”. 

What to Include with the Agreement

Agreement packets routed to the Central Contracts Unit (CCU) for approval shall contain the items listed below. The Agreement to be signed must be in paper form containing handwritten, ink signatures unless the State Agency or IHE uses electronic signatures in accordance with the State Controller Contract, Grant, and Purchase Order Policy entitled “Electronic Signatures on State Contracts and Grants.” All other items may be presented in paper or digital form. When in digital form, such items may be delivered (1) on a flash drive, (2) as an attachment to CMS, (3) in an email to a CCU approver who agrees beforehand to accept email delivery of the Agreement package documentation (in order to ensure that the approver will be available to receive the documents), or (4) in the case where the Agreement will use electronic signatures in accordance with Electronic Signatures on State Contracts and Grants Policy, all items may be included as attachments in the electronic signature system with the Agreement.

• The Agreement to be signed.
  • Complete copies of the Agreement action, including:
    • The main body of the Agreement to be approved.
    • All exhibits, attachments, schedules, tables, and other parts that the main body of the Agreement references. If the document will be signed with a handwritten signature, the main body of the Agreement shall be printed, but if exhibits are oversized or the number of pages makes printing the exhibits too cumbersome or costly, the exhibits may be included in the Agreement packet in digital form, so long as either of the following are true:
      • The original document that the Contractor or Grantee signed contained all of the exhibits, attachments, schedules, tables, and other parts of the document in hard copy form; the State Agency or IHE still has those hard copy documents in the official Agreement file and they were only omitted from the Agreement packet to reduce the amount of paper sent to the CCU; and a digital copy of the complete Agreement, including all of those exhibits, attachments, schedules, tables, and other parts of the document, is saved either on CMS or on a flash drive delivered to the CCU.
      • The original document that the Contractor or Grantee signed contained a specific reference to any exhibits, attachments, schedules, tables, and other parts of the document that were not included in hard copy in the document signed by the Contractor or Grantee;  a digital copy of the complete Agreement, including all of those exhibits, attachments, schedules, tables, and other parts of the document, is saved either on CMS or on a flash drive delivered to the CCU; and the CCU provided prior approval for the State Agency or IHE to reference digital documents and the Agreement properly references those documents.  The State Agency or IHE shall notify the CCU approver when the Agreement is only partially printed in these instances.
      • The intent of this section is to allow for administrative efficiency while still ensuring that the Agreements signed by all parties are the same.  The CCU may require additional information or a hard copy of any documents to be included with the Agreement to ensure that all parties signed the same Agreement.
  • If an Agreement will be signed with a handwritten signature, include one copy of the Agreement bearing original signatures for the State Agency, unless additional signed originals are requested by the Contractor or Grantee or any other signatory to the Agreement, such as the Office of the State Architect or the Office of Attorney General (OAG). If an Agreement will be signed electronically, include a digital copy of the Agreement in the State’s electronic signature system in accordance with the Electronic Signatures Policy.
  • If the Agreement is a modification, the following are required:
    • A copy of the original Agreement.
    • Copies of all executed prior amendments, option letters and other modifications. 
    • If a task order Agreement, copies of all prior executed task orders if requested by CCU. 
    • If there are more than 3 prior modifications, a spreadsheet with a short summary of each prior modification, including dates and extensions, the amount of each modification and the cumulative total amount of all modifications.
  • Approvals. The signature page of the Agreement shall contain signatures of all Agreement parties and required approvers. Unless the State Agency or IHE has received the prior written approval from the CCU to use electronic signatures, all Agreements shall bear the original handwritten signature of the Contractor or Grantee and of the State Agency or IHE authorized executive. Those Agreements that also require central approver signatures (e.g., OIT, Risk Management for real estate Agreements, OAG for IHE Agreements) shall bear those required handwritten signatures. Unless the State Agency or IHE has received the prior written approval from the CCU, the State Controller or a proper delegate is always the final approver.
• CMS. The CMS number on the face of the document, if CMS is required by statute for the Agreement action.  If any other required documentation will be provided on the CMS entry, the specific information contained on that entry should be noted along with the CMS number on a document included with the file.
• Fair and Reasonable Documentation. Any documentation supporting a “fair and reasonable” price determination. Examples include: an appraisal for purchase of an interest in real property; or a reference to a competitive solicitation for the work.
• SOS Registration. A copy of the Colorado Secretary of State web page information showing that the Contractor or Grantee is in good standing. If the Contractor or Grantee is an entity that is not required to be registered with the Secretary of State (e.g., individuals, governmental entities, or general partnerships), include documentation or explanation concerning that fact. 
• Central Approver Documents. Evidence of approval by any other required central approver, such as:
  • OIT approvals for IT Agreements (e.g., Gate 1 approvals, and the signature of the Chief Information Officer or a delegate for Major Information Technology Projects),
  • Human Resources personal services review or certification form or waiver for personal services Agreements that are not IGAs or IAs,
  • The Chief Procurement Officer’s approval if the Agreement term extends beyond five years (not applicable to IGAs or IAs) or beyond the term of the original solicitation, 
  • The Chief Procurement Officer’s or delegate’s Sole Source approval if the Agreement is sole source (not applicable to IGAs or IAs), and
  • Any other approvals from central approvers as required.
• Encumbrance. A reference to the encumbrance number (either on the face of the document, on CMS, or included digitally) or screen shot of the encumbrance ready for level 10 approval in CORE.  If there is no encumbrance, then include documentation of why there is no encumbrance or a copy of the fiscal rule waiver allowing an Agreement without an encumbrance.
• Risk Analysis. A copy of any risk analysis performed in accordance with fiscal rule or policy requirements. 
• Other Relevant Documentation. All pertinent documentation such as explanations (emails, letters, etc.) regarding Agreement issues, unusual Agreement situations, extenuating circumstances, Statutory Violations, and late Agreements. 
• Template Deviations.  A list or an Agreement copy with markings showing any deviations from template language. If the deviations are the result of pre-review comments or Agreement negotiations that a CCU approver approved, please state so, as the pre-reviewing approver and the signing approver may be different CCU team members.

Where to Route the Agreement Package  

• Order of Routing. State Agencies and IHEs shall obtain all other necessary approvals and Agreement signatures before sending the Agreement package to the State Controller for approval, unless the CCU or OSC instructs otherwise. The OSC is always the final approver. See Fiscal Rule 3-3 §8 for more information on pre-approval requirements.
• OSC Internal Routing. Route all Agreements, including those with statutory violation waiver requests, to CC. Do not route Agreements directly to the OAG unless the OSC so directs, as the OSC has ultimate discretion regarding the necessity of OAG review and approval.

How the Agreement Package Returns to The State Agency or IHE

If the Agreement was signed with a handwritten signature, the OSC will hold approved Agreements for pick up by the State Agency or IHE. If the State Agency or IHE wishes to receive the approved Agreement back by interagency mail, USPS mail or through any other mailing or courier service, the State Agency or IHE shall include a pre-addressed interagency mailing label or pre-addressed and prepaid label as required by the chosen mail delivery service (e.g., FedEx or UPS label or sufficiently stamped envelope). The CCU does not pay for mailing expenses.  If the Agreement was signed electronically through an electronic signature system, then the Agreement will be available to all signatories through that system.

How to Request Emergency (Rush) Processing

• The CCU may accommodate requests for same-day, next-day, or impending deadline (e.g., fiscal year end) review and processing depending on the situation and capacity. Packages requiring expedited handling shall bear a conspicuous mark or stamp identifying it as a “RUSH” request. Because the State Agency or IHE requesting the Rush is responsible for making sure the request is received by CCU and that a CCU approver is aware of the expedited deadline, the State Agency or IHE shall call or email beforehand to arrange for the details of the RUSH process with the appropriate approver.

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