2004 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
CONTRACT PROCUREMENT

Staff Contact: Ken Pokalsky

Following is The Business Council's 2004 Legislative Program. It identifies priority issues to be addressed by the Committees and Councils during 2004.

Mission Statement

The Contract Procurement Committee will support policy, legislation and regulation which will ensure economic growth and stability within New York State through open, and equal competition to all interested parties.

Contracting Out (Privatization)/Competitive Bidding/Preferential Bidding

• Support legislation which would decrease the incidence of government agencies, authorities, and prison industries competing with the private sector. In specific we would oppose the growing trend of those entities to obtain goods, services, or construction with public dollars.



• Support legislation which would establish an objective review process which determines whether a good, service or public work project should be contracted out or provided by the public entity, including mandated and preferred source goods and services.



• Support legislation which would create consistent enforcement of municipal contracts, similar to the manner in which state contracts are enforced.



• Support legislation, regulation or administrative action which would institute an electronic transfer of both contract documents, and of funds for payment, wherever feasible.



• Oppose legislation which creates a preference of one class of bidder over another.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Support legislation which would establish an independent contract dispute resolution mechanism which would render decisions in an objective and expedient manner.
  
  (Legislation should also require that a written explanation of award to both winner and loser be submitted after award. Allow unsuccessful bidders to be debriefed, confidentially, as to why their bid was unsuccessful. This allows a continual learning process for both contracting agency and bidder.

Speedy Award Process (Service and Commodity Contracts

• Support legislation which would create a timely process for the award of a contract using specified deadlines.



• Emergency construction contracts.

Vendor Responsibility

• Oppose legislation which would create a "vendor responsibility" file and/or establish a pre-qualified bidder's list for commodity and service contracts.

Other

• Support Qualification Based selection for design professional services for all state and local public works projects.



• Support "Hold Harmless" legislation which would allow contracts to be paid during budget delays.

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