3 - Powers and duties of commissioner.
§ 3. Powers and duties of commissioner. 1. The commissioner of general services shall have general supervision over the letting of all contracts for public printing provided to be made herein. In addition, the commissioner shall exercise such further supervision and control over all contracts for department printing as herein defined that he has heretofore exercised or may hereafter deem appropriate including, but not limited to, the establishment of standard sizes and grades of paper and specifications for paper; provided, however, that such specifications shall be in accordance with those established pursuant to section one hundred sixty-four of the state finance law. 2. The commissioner may appoint an expert printer and such assistants and employees as shall be authorized by appropriations made by the legislature therefor, and such employees shall receive such salaries as shall be fixed by the legislature in such appropriation. 3. It shall be the duty of said commissioner, in accordance with rules and regulations to be prescribed by him, to let to the lowest responsible bidder, as hereinafter provided, and as will best promote the public interest, all contracts for the work embraced in the legislative printing and department printing as those terms are in this chapter defined, except printing done pursuant to law in the correctional facilities of the state, in the state charitable and benevolent institutions for the benefit of such institutions, or by the board or commission having fiscal control of such institutions, the printing of examination question papers or printing done for the education department or the schools under its jurisdiction in the rooms of the university of the state of New York by its employees, the stationery used by the legislature, briefs and cases on appeal and the bulletins issued by the Geneva and Ithaca experimental stations. No contract for department printing shall be let to a bidder who, in the opinion of the commissioner, does not have satisfactory facilities and equipment which are ample and sufficient to insure proper performance of the contract or who has failed to give adequate security in an amount which may be required by the commissioner. Provided further, however, that no contract shall be let to a bidder other than the lowest responsible bidder without the written approval of the comptroller. 4. The said commissioner shall adopt and promulgate appropriate rules and regulations touching the manner of the performance of his work and prescribing the form and manner of advertisement for bids and all requisitions made upon him for printing, except that said commissioner shall make no rule or regulation inconsistent with or in violation of the provisions of this chapter. 5. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this section, or of any general or special act, the commissioner may contract for printing to an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars without competitive bidding, and may by rule prescribing the amount, not exceeding five thousand dollars, authorize other state departments and agencies to let contracts, without competitive bidding, for printing required by them. Such rule shall prescribe the form, manner and content of the notice to be given to prospective vendors, the form of specifications and proposals for such printing, and the method used in making an award, except that as such specifications relate to the paper required for printing they shall be in accordance with those established pursuant to section one hundred sixty-four of the state finance law. Multiple purchases of identical items of printing and printing supplies, made by such other department or agency without competitive bidding within a period of sixty days, shall not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars.