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CITY OF BOSTON CODE OF ORDINANCES
THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF BOSTON
CHAPTER I: GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER II: FORM OF GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER III: ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY
CHAPTER IV: CONTRACTS
CHAPTER V: ADMINISTRATION
CHAPTER VI: GENERAL SERVICES
CHAPTER VII: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
CHAPTER VIII: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER IX: BUILDING REGULATIONS
CHAPTER X: HOUSING SERVICES
CHAPTER XI: PUBLIC SERVICES
CHAPTER XII: PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
CHAPTER XIII: NATURAL GAS
CHAPTER XIV: LICENSING AND CONSUMER BOARDS, COMMITTEES AND OFFICERS
CHAPTER XV: DIVISIONS OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE
CHAPTER XVI: PROHIBITIONS, PENALTIES AND PERMITS
CHAPTER XVII: LICENSES AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING CERTAIN TRADES
CHAPTER XVIII: FEES AND CHARGES
CHAPTER XIX: SCHOOLS
CHAPTER XX: CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
CHAPTER XXI: MISCELLANEOUS PUBLIC BUILDINGS
CHAPTER XXII: SUFFOLK COUNTY
CHAPTER XXIII: TRASH AND REFUSE DISPOSAL
CHAPTER XXIV: BOSTON JOBS, LIVING WAGE AND PREVAILING WAGE ORDINANCE
PARALLEL REFERENCES
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4-8.8   Conformity with Existing Commonwealth and Federal Law.
   This Section shall be implemented in conformity with commonwealth and federal law.
(CBC 1985 4-8.8; Ord. 2014 c. 14)
4-8.9   Severability.
   The provisions of this Section are severable and if any provision, or portion thereof, should be held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions, which shall remain in full force and effect.
(CBC 1985 4-8.9; Ord. 2014 c. 14)
4-8.10   Effective Date.
   (A)   This Section shall take effect 180 days after passage and shall apply to all new contracts awarded and to all renewal terms of existing contracts executed after that date.
   (B)   City of Boston fleet vehicles purchased after July 1, 2014 that are large vehicles as defined herein will be required to comply with the provisions of this Section.
   (C)   The Inspectional Services Department, Boston Police Department and the Transportation Department shall issue rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Section within 90 days of the date it takes effect.
(CBC 1985 4-8.10; Ord. 2014 c. 14)
4-9   REQUIRING CITY DEPARTMENTS AND VENDORS TO ADOPT GOOD FOOD PURCHASING STANDARDS.
4-9.1   Purpose.
   (A)   In order to leverage city purchasing and procurement to improve public health, sustainability, fair working conditions and local opportunity across the city and the commonwealth, the city embraces the Good Food Purchasing Program (“GFPP”) as a strategy to help improve our region’s food system through the adoption and implementation of Good Food Purchasing Standards, which emphasize values that would:
      (1)   Support small- and mid-sized agricultural and food processing operations within the local area or region;
      (2)   Support producers that employ sustainable production systems that reduce or eliminate synthetic pesticides and fertilizers; avoid the use of hormones, antibiotics and genetic engineering; conserve soil and water; protect and enhance wildlife habitat and biodiversity; and reduce on-farm energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions;
      (3)   Protect workers’ rights to freedom of association, to organize a union and collectively bargain in order to better ensure safe and healthy working conditions, fair compensation and access to health insurance and affordable child care for all food chain workers;
      (4)   Ensure farmers a fair price for their products that covers the cost of production and fair remuneration for their management and labor;
      (5)   Provide healthy and humane care for farm animals; and
      (6)   Promote health and well-being by offering generous portions of vegetables, fruit and whole grains; reducing salt, added sugars, fats and oils; and by eliminating artificial additives.
   (B)   Additionally, in support of the State of Equity in Metro Boston Policy Agenda 2017 (including Metro Future Goals #22, 38, 39), the following goal is also adopted and implemented to address ongoing inequities and issues caused by unequal access to resources: Encourage prospective food vendors to invest in our disadvantaged and minority communities by including in procurement requests preferences for prospective vendors who demonstrate a track record of hiring and investing in local disadvantaged communities; provide living wages to all their employees, including frontline food workers; are local minority, disabled and/or women owned businesses; and are local producers and processors operating in low-income communities and employing nontoxic, environmentally sustainable methods.
(CBC 1985 4-9.1; Ord. 2019 c. 1 § 1)
4-9.2   Requirements for Departments and Agencies.
   (A)   City Departments and Agencies requiring procurement or service contracting of foods shall adopt Good Food Purchasing Standards as a framework for guiding values driven purchasing.
   (B)   City Departments and Agencies that purchase or procure food or food services shall take the following steps in support of Good Food Purchasing:
      (1)   Within 12 months of the passage of this Section, or in the case of a newly created Department or Agency or new procurement responsibilities for an existing Department or Agency, within 12 months of the start of new repeated procurement practices, communicate Good Food Purchasing Standards to appropriate and selected suppliers, including distributors and food service companies, and request them to share data that will help the Department or Agency complete a baseline Good Food Purchasing assessment of food procurement practices;
      (2)   Within six months after the baseline assessment has been completed, develop and adopt a multi-year action plan with benchmarks to measure success towards Good Food Purchasing Standards, including accountability systems with appropriate vendors or distributors to verify sourcing commitments and assess current food procurement practices;
      (3)   To the extent permitted by law, within one year after the baseline assessment has been completed, incorporate Good Food Purchasing Standards into new procurement requests and contracts; and
      (4)   Commit to reasonable public review, robust analysis and full transparency during implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Standards, which shall include, but not be limited to:
         (a)   The release of the baseline assessment by each respective Department or Agency for public comment at least 30 days prior to the public hearing provided for in Subsection 4-9.3; and
         (b)   Hold a public hearing to receive public testimony on the baseline no later than 90 days after completion of the assessment.
(CBC 1985 4-9.2; Ord. 2019 c. 1 § 1)
4-9.3   Transparency.
   Good Food Purchasing Policy reflects multiple values of diverse stakeholders. Therefore, maximum transparency, along with adequate time for public review and comments, are essential to ensure the best possible outcomes for Department and Agency procurement decisions to reflect GFPP values to the greatest degree possible, and to charter an ever-improving path towards greater sustainability in Boston food procurement. Departments and Agencies must therefore balance the legitimate confidentiality needed for maintaining the integrity of a fair, competitive process with the right of the public to have adequate time with and access to all relevant information, in order to provide meaningful comments to the Departments and Agencies and their respective final decision-makers for the purpose of improving the implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Policy in the future.
   (A)   A representative from the Office of Neighborhood Services, as a representative of city constituents, shall serve as a member of the Departmental or Agency team evaluating responses to procurement requests.
   (B)   Within 60 days of final approval and acceptance of responses to procurement requests, the Department or Agency shall hold a public hearing on the final response chosen.
      (1)   At least 30 days prior to the public hearing, the Department or Agency shall make available for public comment on an Agency website:
         (a)   The Department or Agency’s evaluation process and rationale for selection of the final response;
         (b)   All successful and unsuccessful responses to procurement requests, along with all supporting information, including, but not limited to, the GFPP scoring method, for all responses; and
         (c)   Except that no confidential business information protected by the commonwealth will be included in the release of the information required in these Subsections.
      (2)   The Agency shall compile and forward all public comments, along with the public hearing record, to the Community Advisory Council created in Subsection 4-9.4.
(CBC 1985 4-9.3; Ord. 2019 c. 1 § 1)
4-9.4   Community Advisory Council.
   The head of the respective Department or Agency shall convene a Community Advisory Council comprised of community stakeholders, including a minimum of one representative from each of the GFPP value categories, including those as delineated in Subsection 4-9.1 to support Departments and Agencies in the process of implementation as laid out in this Section and ongoing as requested by Departments and Agencies.
(CBC 1985 4-9.4; Ord. 2019 c. 1 § 1)
4-9.5   Reporting.
   (A)   Participating City Departments and Agencies shall provide annual progress reports, including compliance data, to the City Council. Such progress reports shall be made readily available to the public online and in print by request.
   (B)   Within two years of completion of the baseline assessments, each participating Department and Agency will begin requesting an annual assessment from the Center for Good Food Purchasing. The Departments and Agencies will hold public annual hearings where they will present their GFPP assessment, to receive public comment on the progress made by each respective Department or Agency, and associated suppliers, toward more sustainable procurement under the Good Food Purchasing Program. Community stakeholders will have sufficient time to ask questions and make public comment. All Department or Agency assessments will be made publicly available online and at Boston Public Libraries in print form at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
(CBC 1985 4-9.5; Ord. 2019 c. 1 § 1)
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