A law signed today by Gov. Jerry Brown that seeks oversight of the state IT contracts is opposed by the technology industry which says it could adversely impact personal services contracts, commonly by technology consultants.
TechAmerica, the nation’s largest technology trade association says the measure will create uncertainty in the procurement process and does not sufficiently protect the proprietary information of IT vendors.
Assembly Bill 906, authored by Assemblymember Richard Pan, requires that state agencies provide a full copy of contracts to employee organizations prior to the contract being executed.
“The new law now requires state agencies to provide a ‘full copy’ of the contract to employee organizations prior to contract execution. Having an impending award challenged — after state officials and the selected vendor have invested substantial time and resources – will hurt the State, the vendor community, and those dependent on the efficient delivery of government services. Not only could this deter some vendors from taking on the investment risk of bidding, but it will cause procurement cycles to further lengthen,” said a statement by TechAmerica.
Pan was not immediately available for comment, but he stated in a press release from his office, "The state spends billions on private contracts but it has no mechanism to determine the effectiveness of spending all of this money on outside vendors. This bill is designed to prod the state to operate more efficiently and ensure that taxpayer money is well spent."
In a Request for Veto letter sent to the governor on Sept. 24, TechAmerica said they have concerns on the privacy of bidding vendors, as contracts often contain proprietary information on the company. TechAmerica said that they will be "discussing strategy on a potential legislative ‘fix’ for 2014."
TechAmerica’s opposition letter can be found here.
