Governor Phil Bryant issued the following statement and executive orders:
Governor Bryant Orders State Contracting Reforms
JACKSON—Gov. Phil Bryant has issued two executive orders to reform the public contracting process in Mississippi. The actions are based on recommendations from the Task Force on Contracting and Procurement that Gov. Bryant established in November 2014.
Executive Order 1361 requires the Mississippi Department of Corrections to become a Certified Purchasing Office as determined by the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration.
Achieving the certification requires at least 50 percent of the purchasing agents at MDOC to earn a national purchasing certification from the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council or other nationally recognized purchasing organization. All MDOC purchasing agents must also hold a certification from Mississippi’s Basic or Advanced Purchasing Certification Program.
“This training will benefit MDOC employees by equipping them with additional skills and will protect taxpayers by ensuring that the people who oversee public contracts are certified to high standards,” Gov. Bryant said.
Building on the Mississippi Transparency Act of 2008 and on contracting reforms passed in the 2015 legislative session, Executive Order 1362 requires agencies posting contracts online to also post an analysis describing why a personal or professional services contract was awarded, renewed, or amended.
The order also requires agencies to provide all employees with information about the fraud and abuse hotline maintained by the Office of the State Auditor.
“This order brings additional transparency to the contracting process and provides hardworking taxpayers with additional information about how their dollars are spent,” Gov. Bryant said. “We will continue to reform and improve Mississippi’s contracting processes.
Additional recommendations from the Task Force on Contracting and Procurement will be considered for legislative action.
14 comments:
What will the justification analysis say on the Telesouth Contracts?
Very noble sentiments, but none of these measures would have prevented the determined looting and theft by the prior MDOC administration.
I don't know how much money was lost due to incompetence, but the public outrage was over the blatant theft from the taxpayers.
Yup, certifications always stop corruption.
Phil, got any pine tree debris you want to turn into oil?
Write me up some shit to sign that makes it look like I'm on top of this issue. Have it on my desk by Wednesday.
P.Bryant
This sounds suspiciously like over regulation.
Signed
A Rand, Tea Party of MS
It's time to put some actual stop gap measures in place to insure credibility and stop this crap rather than just throwing up smoke screens. We've seen enough smoke and mirrors from this administration. Show us what you are going to do - talk is cheap!
@9:16
PS.
Put it on some of that fancy rich paper with one of them there gold stars on it. Yep, make it all official. Call it a demand letter...no, call it a caught your arse letter...no, call it an Order!!! That'll scare all dem crooked people. They'll see dis and start a runnin. Put my fancy name on it. Call me de honorable Gubner Feellll Bry-ant.
Why have executive orders that apply only to one department of state government? Why not have it apply universally, to include the State Treasurer's personal Office. Nobody in any branch of state government ought to be able to loot the cookie jar for personal satisfaction.
I agree, 5:47. Optimistically, let's hope that this runs as a test program that can be adopted by other agencies.
Test programs are a waste of time. Another half-measure from the big talkin' establishment Republicans.
".....adopted by other agencies." Right. Like 'other agencies' are going to slap their own cookie-jar-raiding-hand! Nobody 'adopts' a rule that affects their power in a negative way. Very simply any law that affects the contracting of ONE agency ought to apply across the board. If not, why not?
We all know how serious the Republicans are about reform when they gutted legislation last session to little more than feel-good talking points.
This discussion seems one sided. I agree that changes should be made. But there is real cost associated with too many regulations. For instance if a contractor is working for the state, finds an unknown condition and needs a change order. If the state is going to take four or six weeks to approved the change order the contractor may have to charge several times more than the cost of the work due to the cost of the delay. The goal should be to make fraud difficult without forcing vendors to charge more money due to excess regulations.
In other words, @8:02PM urges everyone to encourage error on the side of corruption because to do otherwise is may be too onerous for "vendors". An all too typical establishment Republican argument if I've ever heard one.
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