By Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau: The Senate majority leader today advanced a bill intended to make state and local government contracts more efficient and transparent to benefit both taxpayers and consumers was reviewed by a legislative subcommittee on Friday.
Among other provisions, Senate Bill 359 would require government contracts to be put out to bid rather than rolled over year after year to the same contractor. It would require all fees charged to the public in government contracts to be disclosed by the contractor. It would also require an annual report to the state on sole source contracting by agencies, which would then be provided to the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee.
State agencies and local governments would have to report this information to the state Purchasing Division, which would compile the data and forward it to lawmakers.
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, one of the sponsors of the bill, said the measure could result in savings to state and local governments because contracts would be subjected to competition.
“This is a bill that goes to the heart of one of the things that we’ve been trying to accomplish this entire session: good government and government efficiency,” he said. “As we address the critical need for new revenue to support education and vital social services in this state, we also must face head-on the question of whether government is delivering services as efficiently as possible.
“Every dollar we save through efficiency measures is a dollar in new revenue we don’t have to raise,” Horsford said.
In a hearing earlier this session, Horsford expressed concern that recipients of jobless benefits and temporary assistance grants are being charged banking fees to withdraw funds from these government funded programs.
Evidence was also presented of sole-source contracts renewed year after year with no competitive bidding, he said.
Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, a primary sponsor of the bill, said the legislation would also ensure fairness and opportunity for Nevadans seeking to provide contract services to the state and local governments.
A number of other lawmakers spoke in support of the legislation, as did speakers in both Las Vegas and Carson City.
A section of the bill that received a lot of favorable testimony would require more reporting regarding race, ethnicity and gender on public works projects let to bid by the state and local governments. The information would be made public and reported to the Legislature.
Assemblywoman Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said the data collection required in the bill could provide a foundation to establish contracting opportunities for minorities and women. Neal is pursuing a related measure that was heard today the Government Affairs Committee.
Audio clips:
Sen. Steven Horsford says the bill goes to the heart of good government and government efficiency:
032511Horsford1 :10 and government efficiency.”
Horsford says every dollar saved is a dollar in new revenue that does not have to be raised:
032511Horsford2 :21 have to raise.”
Horsford says the bill is about saving taxpayer dollars, but also about consumer protections:
