Section 27-115-69 - Purchase, lease or lease-purchase of goods, services necessary to effectuate lottery; investigation of prospective lottery system vendors; requisite vendor disclosures; prohibited contracts; posting of performance bond or letter of credit by vendor; contract to include provision for payment of liquidated damages; contracts to be governed by Mississippi law(1) The corporation may purchase, lease or lease-purchase such goods or services as are necessary for effectuating the purposes of this chapter. The corporation shall not contract with any person or entity for the total operation and administration of the lottery, but it may make procurements which integrate such functions as lottery game design, lottery ticket distribution to retailers, supply of goods and services and advertising. In all procurement decisions, the corporation shall take into account the particularly sensitive nature of the lottery and shall act to promote and ensure security, honesty, fairness and integrity in the operation and administration of the lottery and the objectives of raising net proceeds for the benefit of the public.(2) The corporation shall investigate the financial responsibility, security and integrity of any lottery system vendor who submits a bid, proposal or offer. At the time of submitting such bid, proposal or offer to the corporation, the corporation shall require the following items: (a) A disclosure of the vendor's name and address and, as applicable, the name and address of the following: (i) If the vendor is a corporation, the officers, directors and each stockholder in such corporation; however, in the case of owners of equity securities of a publicly traded corporation, only the names and addresses of those known to the corporation to own five percent (5%) or more of such securities need be disclosed.(ii) If the vendor is a trust, the trustee and all persons entitled to receive income or benefits from the trust.(iii) If the vendor is an association, the members, officers and directors.(iv) If the vendor is a partnership or joint venture, all of the general partners, limited partners, or joint venturers.(b) A disclosure of all the states and jurisdictions in which the vendor does business, and the nature of the business for each such state or jurisdiction.(c) A disclosure of all the states and jurisdictions in which the vendor has contracts to supply gaming goods or services, including, but not limited to, lottery goods and services, and the nature of the goods or services involved for each such state or jurisdiction.(d) A disclosure of all the states and jurisdictions in which the vendor has applied for, has sought renewal of, has received, has been denied, has pending, or has had revoked a gaming license of any kind, or had fines or penalties assessed on their license, contract, or operation, and the disposition of such in each such state or jurisdiction. If any lottery license or contract has been revoked or has not been renewed or any lottery license or application has remained pending for more than six (6) months, then it shall be disclosed.(e) A disclosure of the details of any finding of a plea, conviction or adjudication for guilt, in a state or federal court, of the vendor for any felony or any other criminal offense other than a traffic violation.(f) A disclosure of the details of any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, corporate or individual purchase or takeover of another corporation, including bonded indebtedness, or any pending litigation of the vendor.(g) Such additional disclosures and information as the corporation may determine to be appropriate for the procurement involved. If the vendor subcontracts any substantial portion of the work to be performed under the contract to a subcontractor, the vendor shall disclose all of the information required by this subsection for the subcontractor as if the subcontractor were itself a vendor.(3) In no case shall the corporation enter into a contract for a procurement of any video lottery or video lottery terminal or any other illegal lottery device, and shall only enter into a contract for a procurement for any lottery system with a vendor who has complied with the disclosures required by the corporation and described in subsection (2) of this section, and any contract with such a vendor is void and unenforceable. Any contract with a vendor who does not comply with such requirements for periodically updating such disclosures during the tenure of a contract as may be specified in such contract is voidable and may be terminated by the corporation. The provisions of this section shall be construed broadly and liberally to achieve the ends of full disclosure of all information necessary to allow for a full and complete evaluation by the corporation of the competence, integrity, background and character of vendors.(4)(a) A contract shall not be entered into with any vendor who has been found guilty of a felony related to the security or integrity of the lottery in this or any other jurisdiction or with any vendor who is found to be in possession of any illegal lottery device.(b) A contract shall not be entered into with any vendor who has not first obtained a signed tax clearance from the Commissioner of Revenue indicating that the vendor is current in filing all applicable tax returns and in payment of all taxes, interest and penalties owed to the State of Mississippi, excluding items under formal appeal pursuant to applicable statutes.(5) The corporation may require that each vendor shall, at the execution of the contract with the corporation, post a performance bond or letter of credit from a bank acceptable to the corporation, in an amount established by the corporation subject to the provisions of Section 27-115-61. In lieu of the bond, a vendor may, to assure the faithful performance of its obligations, deposit and maintain with the corporation securities that are interest-bearing or accruing and that are rated in one (1) of the three (3) highest classifications by an established nationally recognized investment rating service. Securities eligible under this subsection are limited to: (a) Certificates of deposit issued by solvent banks or savings associations approved by the corporation and which are organized and existing under the laws of this state or under the laws of the United States.(b) United States bonds, notes, and bills for which the full faith and credit of the government of the United States is pledged for the payment of principal and interest.(c) Corporate bonds approved by the corporation. The corporation which issued the bonds shall not be an affiliate or subsidiary of the depositor. Such securities shall be held in trust.(6) Every contract entered into by the corporation pursuant to this section shall contain a provision for payment of liquidated damages to the corporation for any breach of contract by the vendor.(7) Each vendor shall be qualified to do business in this state and shall file appropriate tax returns as provided by the laws of this state. All contracts under this section shall be governed by the laws of this state.Added by Laws, 2018EX1, ch. 2, SB 2001,§ 35, eff. 9/1/2018.