Purchasing, duties
Wis. Stat. § 16.72
in effect(1) The department of administration shall check or have checked, as to quantity and quality, the delivery to agencies of all purchases made under s. 16.71.
(2)
(a) The department shall prepare standard specifications, as far as possible, for all state purchases. By “standard specifications” is meant a specification, either chemical or physical or both, prepared to describe in detail the article which the state desires to purchase, and trade names shall not be used. On the formulation, adoption and modification of any standard specifications, the department of administration shall also seek and be accorded without cost, the assistance, advice and cooperation of other agencies and officers. Each specification adopted for any commodity shall, insofar as possible, satisfy the requirements of any and all agencies which use it in common.
(b) Except as provided in ss. 16.25 (4) (b), 16.751, and 565.25 (2) (a) 4., the department shall prepare or review specifications for all materials, supplies, equipment, other permanent personal property and contractual services not purchased under standard specifications. Such “nonstandard specifications” may be generic or performance specifications, or both, prepared to describe in detail the article which the state desires to purchase either by its physical properties or by its programmatic utility. When appropriate for such nonstandard items or services, trade names may be used to identify what the state requires, but wherever possible 2 or more trade names shall be designated and the trade name of any Wisconsin producer, distributor or supplier shall appear first.
(c) To the extent possible, the department shall write specifications so as to permit the purchase of materials manufactured in the United States, as defined in s. 16.754 (1).
(e) In writing the specifications under this subsection, the department and any other designated purchasing agent under s. 16.71 (1) shall incorporate requirements for the purchase of products made from recycled materials and recovered materials if their use is technically and economically feasible. Each authority other than the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and the Lower Fox River Remediation Authority, in writing specifications for purchasing by the authority, shall incorporate requirements for the purchase of products made from recycled materials and recovered materials if their use is technically and economically feasible. The specifications shall include requirements for the purchase of the following materials:
1. Paper and paper products.
2. Plastic and plastic products.
3. Glass and glass products.
4. Motor oil and lubricants.
5. Construction materials, including insulating materials.
6. Furnishings, including rugs, carpets and furniture.
7. Highway equipment, including signs, signposts, reflectors, guardrails, lane dividers and barricades.
(f) In writing specifications under this subsection, the department, any other designated purchasing agent under s. 16.71 (1), and each authority other than the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and the Lower Fox River Remediation Authority shall incorporate requirements relating to the recyclability and ultimate disposition of products and, wherever possible, shall write the specifications so as to minimize the amount of solid waste generated by the state, consistent with the priorities established under s. 287.05 (12). All specifications under this subsection shall discourage the purchase of single-use, disposable products and require, whenever practical, the purchase of multiple-use, durable products.
(4)
(a) Except as provided in ss. 16.71 and 16.74 or as otherwise provided in this subchapter and the rules promulgated under s. 16.74 and this subchapter, all supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services shall be purchased for and furnished to any agency only upon requisition to the department. The department shall prescribe the form, contents, number and disposition of requisitions and shall promulgate rules as to time and manner of submitting such requisitions for processing. No agency or officer may engage any person to perform contractual services without the specific prior approval of the department for each such engagement. Purchases of supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services by the legislature, the courts or legislative service or judicial branch agencies do not require approval under this paragraph.
(b) The department shall promulgate rules for the declaration as surplus of supplies, materials and equipment in any agency and for the transfer to other agencies or for the disposal by private or public sale of supplies, materials and equipment. Except as provided in s. 51.06 (6), in either case, the department shall deposit the net proceeds in the budget stabilization fund, except that the department shall transfer any supplies, materials or equipment declared to be surplus to the department of tourism, upon request of the department of tourism, at no cost, if the transfer is permitted by the agency having possession of the supplies, materials or equipment.
(4m) The department shall provide the department of revenue with a copy of each contract for a major procurement, as defined in s. 565.01 (4), for the department of revenue.
(5)
(a) In this subsection, “materials” has the meaning given in s. 16.754 (1) (c).
(b) The department and the historical society jointly shall promulgate rules identifying types of historically significant materials.
(c) Before an agency may dispose of surplus materials that are of a type identified in rules promulgated under par. (b), the agency shall provide an opportunity for the historical society to inspect and obtain historically significant surplus materials for its collections. The historical society may not be required to compensate an agency for releasing historically significant surplus materials to the historical society under this paragraph.
(8) The department may purchase educational technology materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services from orders placed with the department by school districts, cooperative educational service agencies, technical college districts, the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(9) The department shall ensure that every agency includes on all stationery utilized by the agency for correspondence outside the agency at least one telephone number where the agency may be contacted, at least one facsimile transmission number for the agency, if the agency has such a number, and at least one electronic mail address for the agency, if the agency has such an address.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/16.72Fetched: 10/7/2026