Proposed new bills to fight outsourcing
9:46 AM - March 26, 2010

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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.