(a) In any expenditure of public funds for software development, the use of Hawaii software development businesses shall be preferred. Where a package bid or response to a request for proposal contains both Hawaii and non-Hawaii software development businesses, then for the purpose of selecting the lowest bid or purchase price only, the bid or offer by a non-Hawaii software development business shall be increased by a preference percentage pursuant to rules adopted by the policy board.
(b) This section shall not apply when precluded by federal requirements for competitive bidding.