PRINTING SERVICES EXEMPTIONS - 2811

SAM section 2800(B), Government Code Section 14850 and Penal Code Section 2807 require state agencies to obtain printing services from the Office of State Publishing (OSP) or the California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA), as directed by the California State Government Printing Services website: www.dgs.ca.gov/OSP/Resources/California-State-Government-Printing-Services. A state agency seeking to have print service work performed by a private sector printer or an in-plant (state agencies with in-house printing operations other than OSP or CALPIA) must obtain an exemption as specified in SAM Section 2811(B).

Exemption requests are granted when it is not feasible for OSP or CALPIA to provide the requested printing services due to production, equipment, or other operational constraints. The use of a private sector printer must be justified by the agency under the provisions of Government Code Section 19130.

Except for those products identified in SAM Section 2850(C), state agencies must obtain an exemption from OSP prior to purchasing any print work from a source other than OSP, CALPIA or the agency’s own in-plant pursuant to SAM Section 2875. To request an exemption, a state agency shall submit a Printing Services Exemption Request (PSER) to the Statewide In-Plant Operations Manager at inplantopsmanager@dgs.ca.gov with their agency’s designated OSP customer service representative copied (see SAM Section 2810(A) for customer service representative information). The agency must complete each section of the PSER in accordance with the provisions of the PSER Instructions document. (Electronic copies of the PSER and the PSER Instructions can be found on the California State Government Printing Services website: www.dgs.ca.gov/OSP/Resources/California-State-Government-Printing-Services).

The customer agency must allow OSP sufficient time to review the PSER, and, if the exemption is denied, to perform the print work. OSP will not consider exemption requests submitted less than thirty (30) calendar days before the due date identified on the PSER. However, OSP may waive this timeframe if an exemption is necessitated by extraordinary circumstances outside of an agency’s control, such as a response to a natural disaster.

The Statewide In-Plant Operations Manager will communicate the decision on the exemption request to the customer. If the exemption is approved, the PSER will be returned to the customer with an OSP exemption number. If the exemption is denied, the customer will be referred to OSP, CALPIA, or a designated in-plant to complete the print work. A copy of the proposed interagency agreement or private sector printing contract must be sent to the Statewide In-Plant Operations Manager at inplantopsmanager@dgs.ca.gov within thirty (30) days of the due date identified on the PSER.

No private sector contract or interagency agreement for printing services (between a state agency and an in-plant) may be executed without an OSP-approved PSER (see SAM Section 2812 for information on interagency agreements for printing services.)

For contracts requiring DGS Office of Legal Services (OLS) approval, a copy of the approved PSER must be submitted to DGS-OLS with the contract documents.  

Invoices for printing services submitted to the State Controller’s Office (SCO) without an OSP-approved PSER will not be processed.

CALPIA exclusive products identified in SAM Section 2850(C) do not require an OSP exemption. State agencies must obtain an exemption from CALPIA before procuring these products from a private sector vendor.

SAM Section 2850(C) lists certain print products that have been designated as exclusive to CALPIA and are not produced or offered by OSP. To obtain any of these products through a private sector vendor, a state agency must obtain an exemption from CALPIA prior to contracting for the print services.  Information about CALPIA’s exemption process can be found on the CALPIA website: https://www.calpia.ca.gov/about/doing-business-with-calpia/exemption-process/

Pay warrants and warrant-related printing produced by the State Controller’s Office (SCO) are not classified as print products subject to SAM Chapter 2800. SCO warrant printing does not require an OSP exemption nor rate approval by the State Printer (see SAM Section 2875(E)).