Sec. 24.3. Procedures and criteria for selecting and retaining experts

(a) The department, or other State entity pursuant to agreement with the department, shall solicit and retain experts pursuant to contracting procedures applicable to the department or to such other State entity. Any agreement between the department and an expert selected shall include, among other provisions, an affirmation by the firm to be served regarding the approval of the expert, the scope of the services and terms of the firm's participation.

(b) In circumstances where the department or other State entity does not retain the expert, industrial firms assisted may select and retain experts consistent with guidelines established by the commissioner governing competitive bidding requirements, sole source contracts, and justifi cation for selection, as will best promote the public interest, taking into consideration the reliability of the expert, the expert's understanding of the scope of work, the nature of the services to be supplied, the conformity of the proposal with the solicitation, the experience and expertise of the principals, the costs, and the time required to perform.

(1) As a condition of State assistance, an expert selected by a firm shall be approved by the department based upon a written explanation by the firm of the selection process, justification for consultant selected, the scope of work, rate of payment and completion schedule, and a certification that no potential conflict of interest exists between the firm and the expert.

(2) The contract between the firm and the expert shall provide for supervision of consultant services by the department and for termination of State acceptance in the event that the expert does not fulfill its contractual obligations to the firm.