Responsibility for printing.

The clerk of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives are custodians of the documents in possession of the senate or house of representatives, and are responsible for the printing of a document when its printing becomes necessary in the course of the proceedings or operations of the clerk's respective house. The clerk shall discharge this responsibility for printing, whether for a particular document or for a particular class of documents, by printing the document internally in the clerk's office, by contracting with a private printer outside the clerk's office, by participating in the public printing services provided by the department of administrative services, or by requesting the director of administrative services to let a contract for the printing. In choosing among these methods of printing a document or class of documents, the clerk shall not select a method unless it reasonably appears under the circumstances that the method will enable the clerk successfully and efficiently to discharge the clerk's responsibility for printing the document or class of documents.