AI-assisted research summary: The department must carry out several maintenance, purchasing, staffing, recycling, reporting, and fleet-purchase duties, with some exceptions and percentage targets.
1. The department shall: a. Provide for the proper maintenance and protection of the grounds, buildings, and equipment of the department, in cooperation with the department of administrative services. b. Establish, supervise, and maintain a system of centralized electronic data processing for the department, in cooperation with the department of management. c. Prepare the departmental budget. d. Provide centralized purchasing services for the department, if authorized by the department of administrative services. The department shall, when the price is reasonably competitive and the quality as intended, purchase soybean-based inks and plastic products with recycled content, including but not limited to plastic garbage can liners, and shall purchase these items in accordance with the schedule established in section 8A.315. However, the department need not purchase garbage can liners in accordance with the schedule if the liners are utilized by a facility approved by the environmental protection commission created under section 455A.6, for purposes of recycling. For purposes of this section, “recycled content” means that the content of the product contains a minimum of thirty percent postconsumer material. e. Employ the professional, technical, clerical, and secretarial staff for the department and maintain employee records, in cooperation with the department of administrative services and provide personnel services, including but not limited to training, safety education, and employee counseling. f. Coordinate the responsibilities and duties of the various divisions within the department. g. Carry out all other general administrative duties for the department. h. Perform such other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the director. 2. When performing the duty of providing centralized purchasing services under subsection 1, the department shall do all of the following: a. Purchase and use recycled printing and writing paper in accordance with the schedule established in section 8A.315. b. Establish a wastepaper recycling program in accordance with recommendations made by the department of natural resources and the requirements of section 8A.329. c. Require in accordance with section 8A.311 product content statements and compliance with requirements regarding procurement specifications. d. Comply with the requirements for the purchase of lubricating oils, industrial oils, greases, and hydraulic fluids as established pursuant to section 8A.316. e. Give preference to purchasing designated biobased products in the same manner as provided in section 8A.317. 3. The department shall report to the general assembly by February 1 of each year, the following: a. A listing of plastic products which are regularly purchased by the board for which recycled content product alternatives are available, including the cost of the plastic products purchased and the cost of the recycled content product alternatives. b. Information relating to soybean-based inks and plastic garbage can liners with recycled content regularly purchased by the department, including the cost of purchasing soybean-based inks and plastic garbage can liners with recycled content and the percentages of soybean-based inks and plastic garbage can liners with recycled content that have been purchased. 4. The department shall provide for the purchase of qualified renewable fuels to power internal combustion engines that are used to operate motor vehicles and for the purchase of motor vehicles operating using engines powered by qualified renewable fuels in the same manner required for the director of the department of administrative services pursuant to section 8A.368. The department of transportation shall compile information regarding compliance with the provisions of this subsection in the same manner as the department of administrative services pursuant to section 8A.369. The department of transportation shall cooperate with the department of administrative services in preparing the annual state fleet qualified renewable fuels compliance report regarding compliance with this subsection as provided in section 8A.369. 5. a. Of all new passenger vehicles and light pickup trucks purchased by the department, a minimum of ten percent of all such vehicles and trucks purchased shall be equipped with engines which utilize alternative methods of propulsion, including but not limited to any of the following: (1) A flexible fuel which is any of the following: (a) E-85 gasoline as provided in section 214A.2. (b) B-20 biodiesel blended fuel as provided in section 214A.2. (c) A renewable fuel approved by the office of renewable fuels and coproducts pursuant to section 159A.3. (2) Compressed or liquefied natural gas. (3) Propane gas. (4) Solar energy. (5) Electricity. b. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to vehicles and trucks purchased and directly used for law enforcement or off-road maintenance work. 6. The department shall, whenever technically feasible, purchase and use degradable loose foam packing material manufactured from grain starches or other renewable resources, unless the cost of the packing material is more than ten percent greater than the cost of packing material made from nonrenewable resources. For the purposes of this subsection, “packing material” means material, other than an exterior packing shell, that is used to stabilize, protect, cushion, or brace the contents of a package. 7. The department may purchase items from the department of administrative services and may cooperate with the director of the department of administrative services by providing purchasing services for the department of administrative services. [C75, 77, 79, 81, §307.21] 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1910, 1911; 88 Acts, ch 1185, §3; 89 Acts, ch 272, §24; 90 Acts, ch 1237, §4; 91 Acts, ch 97, §42; 91 Acts, ch 254, §18; 92 Acts, ch 1095, §3; 93 Acts, ch 26, §6; 93 Acts, ch 176, §40; 94 Acts, ch 1119, §28; 95 Acts, ch 44, §3; 95 Acts, ch 62, §4; 98 Acts, ch 1082, §6; 99 Acts, ch 114, §17; 99 Acts, ch 121, §10; 2000 Acts, ch 1109, §6; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §241, 242, 286; 2006 Acts, ch 1142, §66, 67; 2007 Acts, ch 22, §68; 2008 Acts, ch 1104, §6; 2008 Acts, ch 1169, §39, 42; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §113; 2010 Acts, ch 1031, §75; 2015 Acts, ch 123, §7, 8; 2022 Acts, ch 1067, §40; 2024 Acts, ch 1182, §20 – 24 Referred to in §8A.369