Contract Procurement Committee Budget Update
April 3, 2012
The 2012-2013 budget signed by the governor last week included many changes to the way New York State procures commodities and services. These changes also revamped the roles of different state agencies and departments, specifically the role of the Office of General Services and the commissioner thereof. These procedural changes come while the state is still in the process of implementing the administration’s strategic sourcing initiative which began last June.
Many of the new provisions contained in the budget are geared to altering the role of the commissioner of OGS, giving new power and authority over state purchasing. The commissioner will be able to:
- Create centralized contracts for services and these centralized service contracts will be given 2nd preference that agencies, whose head was appointed by the governor, must utilize.
- Will have authority to set printing standards and develop a centralized contract for printing.
- OGS contracts, and subsequent transactions through OGS contracts, will not be subject to the Comptroller’s pre-contract review.
- Electronic bid submission is expanded to allow commodities and services, but agencies will only be allowed to use electronic bid submission 85 times before March 31, 2015. They are also allowed to administer 20 reverse auctions before March 31, 2015 when the commissioner of OGS must make a report on its use and a recommendation for future use.
The budget also contains other changes such as allowing municipalities and “authorized users” more options for piggybacking off of OGS contracts, increasing the threshold for contracts and agencies’ projected purchasing that must be advertised in the state’s procurement opportunities newsletter and extending the Procurement Stewardship Act to June 30, 2016. For a detailed list of changes affecting the state’s procurement process, please click here.
While the state implements these new provisions and continues with their strategic sourcing initiative, vendors are still trying to figure out the “rules of engagement” and many are in “contract limbo” as the state re-negotiates contracts. The Business Council is in discussion with the Division of Budget and the Commissioner of General Services’ office to schedule a meeting with our Contract Procurement committee to discuss these new changes and get feedback from the vendor community. We will send the committee notice as soon as a date has been scheduled, in the mean time please reach out to me with any questions and concerns.