Connecticut Governor Rell Signs Clean Contracting Bill

Law Reforms Contracting Process, Brings Openness and Transparency to State Purchasing Procedures

October 10, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed a landmark bill into law that reforms the State purchasing process, creates a new state Contracting Standards Board with the power to review contracts and brings openness and transparency to the procedures by which State government buys goods and services.

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“From my first day in office I have worked to reform the state contracting process,” Governor Rell said. “I created a Task Force on Contracting Reform one week after taking office in 2004 in order to address issues of ethics, integrity and reform and we have been tremendously successful in bringing the highest ethical standards to Connecticut’s government.”

The Governor’s initiatives to reform state government have included:

* Executive Order No. 1 -- issued in July 2004 by Governor Rell, immediately upon taking office. The Order established tough standards on gifts, meals and dealings with lobbyists and set a tone for the future.

* On July 8, 2004, Governor Rell established the Task Force on Contracting Reform and charged it with reviewing and recommending improvements in the procedures used by the state of Connecticut to purchase goods and services.

* Executive Order No. 3 was issued in December 2004 and created a single-portal contracting and purchasing system to increase transparency and accessibility.

* In March 2005, the Governor demanded consultant disclosures on state contracts. One month later, Governor Rell established a panel to investigate the handling of UCONN 2000 contracting oversight.

* In July 2005, Governor Rell established a State Contracting Standards Board by Executive Order. The Order established the nation’s toughest standards for state contractors.

* Also in 2005, the Governor signed into law sweeping campaign finance reform. The legislation created a system for publicly financing campaigns, banned lobbyist and contractor contributions and sharply limited contributions from political action committees.

“This bill serves as a capstone to my ethics reform effort and it will continue to foster public confidence in the way Connecticut conducts its business, the Governor said. “Our citizens should be confident that state contracts are being awarded through a process that is open, honest and fair. Government must conduct its operations with the highest standards of integrity.”

Governor Rell vetoed three prior clean contracting bills because of provisions that would have jeopardized the services needed by hundreds of thousands of Connecticut’s most vulnerable citizens and their families, including mentally and physically disabled individuals, the elderly, victims of domestic violence and people battling addiction, as well as those who work with them in private homes, group homes, rehab centers and local clinics.

The Governor received scores of phone calls and e-mails from service providers – ranging from Catholic Charities to YMCA camps to the Connecticut Community Providers Association – urging her to veto the measures.

In July of this year, Governor Rell urged leaders of the General Assembly to broaden the call of the special session to include passage of clean contracting legislation. A clean contracting bill proposed during the 2007 regular session of the General Assembly failed to reach the Governor for signature. The bill signed Saturday is the result of a compromise forged over nearly a year of negotiations with the Governor and the legislature.

“This bill was too important and too necessary to simply be left behind, and I commend the General Assembly for getting it to my desk,” Governor Rell said. “I especially want to thank Senator Gayle Slossberg and Senator Andrew Roraback for their hard work on this legislation.”

Key provisions of the bill include:

* establishment of 14-member contracting standards board (Governor appoints eight members and the legislature appoints six)
* the board will hire a Chief Procurement Officer to establish a training program for all agency personnel who do procurement and to ensure uniform procurement practices throughout state government
* the board will work to establish a uniform procurement code
* the board will audit state agencies triennially to ensure compliance with procurement policies
* the board may recommend termination of an existing contract for cause
* the board shall review all new proposed privatization contracts to ensure that the state saves money without jeopardizing the quality of services. State agencies must prepare and submit to the board a cost-benefit analysis as well as a business case prior to board review. Unless there is a significant public policy reason to do so, the board shall not approve a privatization contract that does not achieve at least 10% cost savings.
* core governmental functions may not be privatized.
* the board may disqualify contractors for cause.

“This legislation is the product of one of my very first actions as Governor and I have led the fight for its passage in every year since,” Governor Rell said.

Governor Rell announced the Task Force on Contracting Reform a week after first taking office. The panel produced a report containing more than 130 specific recommendations, many of which led to legislative proposals including a bill to create a Contracting Standards Board. That board was initially established under Executive Order because legislation to establish it had not yet been passed and signed by the Governor.

Source: Connecticut Governor