Proposed new bills to fight outsourcing
9:46 AM - March 26, 2010
Transparency & elimination of loopholes
Local 1000 is sponsoring two bills that will enhance monitoring
the state’s 13,600 personal services and consultant contracts. By
our estimates, the state could save approximately $350 million
annually by utilizing state workers to cut unnecessary and
wasteful outsourcing in IT, medical services and architectural
and engineering contracts.
Assembly Member Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) has introduced AB 1899
that will increase government transparency by putting all state
vendor contracts on a searchable internet database. For the past
two years, Governor Schwarzenegger has fought similar legislation
and last year vetoed a government transparency bill (AB 756) by
Assembly Member Eng.
“The state has been unwilling to collect information on private
contracts and make it publicly available,” said Marie Harder, a
senior information systems analyst and member of Local 1000’s
Outsourcing Task Force. “We need to hold the state accountable to
how much tax payer money they waste each year on outsourcing
projects that could be done better and cheaper by state
employees.”
Another proposed bill will close a loophole by restricting
departments from renewing contracts disapproved by the State
Personnel Board. AB 2494 was introduced by Assembly Member Bob
Blumenfeld (D-Van Nuys).
Specifically, if a contract is disapproved by the State Personnel
Board, the state agency must immediately discontinue that
contract unless ordered otherwise by the board. The state agency
can not circumvent or disregard the SPB’s actions by entering
into a new contract for the same or similar services with the
same vendor.
Ask your legislator to support AB 1899 and AB 2494. Find your
legislator and contact information here, and read
the Ask Nancy page for tips on writing a letter to your
legislator.