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The Business Council of New York State, Inc. the State’s leading business advocacy organization, opposes the Executive Budget proposal to create the position of chief procurement officer, to be appointed by the governor and given principal oversight authority over all state procurements.
Based on input from Business Council members that contract with the state, we are concerned that the creation of this new office will not improve the state procurement process, but rather add another layer of bureaucracy to an already complicated procurement process, further delaying state procurements.
This position is duplicative of the Office of General Services (OGS) chief procurement officer, who chairs the New York State Procurement Council, which has representatives from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), the Executive Chamber and allows for eight legislative appointees, in addition to another by the Governor.
Any concerns with review or investigative authority over contracts is additionally duplicative of the State Comptroller and their audit authority of state agencies.
While there may be concerns regarding favoritism, fraud and corruption within the State Procurement system, they can be addressed through existing agencies and structures within the State Procurement process.
For these reasons, The Business Council opposes this legislative proposal.