Senate Bill 20, filed by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, will implement new reporting requirements for agencies contracting with private businesses in the wake of controversy surrounding a no-bid, Medicaid anti-fraud deal with Austin tech company 21CT.
Among the reforms, is the lofty goal of centralizing contracting data across state government, an endeavor that is likely to take several years, according to the Texas comptroller’s office.
“We have a responsibility to the Texans who rely on state services to ensure that contracts deliver those services and that they’re awarded fairly and transparently,” Nelson told Senators Tuesday.
The passage of the bill came a day after a scathing 92-page report, ordered by Abbott, highlighted weakness in state contracting, particularly with the Health and Human Services Commission.
That report, along with investigations by the FBI and state authorities, followed an American-Statesman investigation last year that exposed how the 21CT deal avoided competitive bidding and skirted purchasing laws, among other findings. State officials canceled a pending $90 million contract extension with 21CT in December amid questions raised by the Statesman.
The bill limits state agency purchasing through the Department of Information Resources, whose so-called cooperative contracts were used by state officials to purchase 21CT software and services while avoiding oversight and scrutiny.
That department, which pre-approves technology vendors who can then sell to agencies without competitive bidding, was blasted by the Abbott report, which criticized the agency for its lax oversight of purchasing through its programs. The bill would limit such purchases to no more than $1 million and require agencies to solicit multiple vendors.
The measure also calls for top officials at a state agency to sign off on contracts exceeding $1 million, written verification that contracts over $5 million followed the law and new public reporting requirements and rules to prevent conflicts of interest.
The bill also increases auditing of major projects following approval of an amendment by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown.
“This bill speaks to accountability and transparency and hopefully will restore some of the confidence that we’ve lost — confidence from our citizens, ” Schwertner said. “We need to be ever vigilant on our contracts.”
©2015 Austin American-Statesman, Texas. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
