Press Releases
DAS TAKING STEPS TO STREAMLINE, AUTOMATE STATE CONTRACTING PROCESS
As part of an effort led by Governor Dannel P. Malloy to make doing business with the state easier and more efficient, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) announced today that the agency's contracting process has been streamlined and automated. Following two business-centered focus groups conducted by DAS last February, several "business friendly" improvements to the state contracting process were proposed by Governor Malloy, enacted into law this summer and became effective October 1.
Up until now, requirements for the state's contracting process included the following forms for each contract that a company might bid on or enter into:
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A consulting affidavit attesting as to whether a company has entered into a consulting agreement in connection with the contract that is being awarded.
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A gift certification attesting that no gifts were made to any public official in connection with the contract award.
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An ethics summary that affirms that the company has read and understood the ethics laws governing award of contracts by the state and agree to comply with them.
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A nondiscrimination certificate that demonstrates the contractor's commitment to nondiscrimination and to comply with state laws against discrimination.
This led to voluminous paper filings that added to the companies' and the state's administrative overhead. The new changes provide for electronic filing and for less frequent filing, depending on the form. It also expands the number of people who are authorized to file the forms, making it easier for companies to comply and the forms will be accessible to state administrators and the public, further increasing transparency.
Donald DeFronzo, Commissioner of DAS, said these changes simplify and streamline the bidding and contracting process while maintaining the high level of integrity. It is anticipated that productivity gains resulting from these improvements will be significant and public access to required filings will be improved.
"No one would suggest that we should make the contracting process less transparent, but we must make it more efficient," said Commissioner DeFronzo. "I believe these commonsense changes strike that balance."
Under the new changes, the ethics summary and the consulting affidavit will have to be filed once and will be updated only if any information on the form changes. The gift and nondiscrimination certifications will be filed once per year, with any updates required only upon changes to information.
DAS completed staff training for implementation of these changes last week. As of October 1st, all of the affidavits, certifications and nondiscrimination forms were completely automated and able to be uploaded and reviewed online. The vendor training documents and staff training documents have been produced and are being disseminated. Anticipating questions, DAS staff has been trained to assist vendors and agencies.
DAS expects to begin work soon on a process to more fully automate the state contracting process by allowing for completely online bid applications and responses.
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For Immediate Release: October 6, 2011
Contact: Jeffrey R. Beckham
Department of Administrative Services
Jeffrey.Beckham@ct.gov
860-713-5195
Department of Administrative Services
Jeffrey.Beckham@ct.gov
860-713-5195
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