1. (1) The department may, without issuing a solicitation, directly purchase from, or contract with, another person for the following human services procurement items:

   1. (a) medical, dental, behavioral, psychological, psychiatric, or substance use evaluation and treatment for an individual;
   2. (b) assistance payments on behalf of an individual that are intended to keep the individual out of a higher level of care or prevent or reduce the need for additional department services;
   3. (c) services for which the individual receiving the services has the right to choose the person who provides the services;
   4. (d) services for which the department makes a written determination, made available to the public, that the individual's need to receive services from a particular provider outweigh the public interest in issuing a competitive procurement;
   5. (e) adoption subsidy and maintenance payments;
   6. (f) child placing services for an individual adoption;
   7. (g) death investigation services; or
   8. (h) residential treatment services for an individual after all providers under contract from a competitive procurement are exhausted.

2. (2) The department shall:

   1. (a) maintain a written record of the name of all persons who provide services under this section; and
   2. (b) annually publish on the department's website the total amount paid to each person under this section during the immediately preceding five-year period.

Enacted by Chapter 291, 2024 General Session