Authorizes municipalities to contract for services through contracts let by any other governmental entity

BILL NUMBER:S1682 REVISED MEMO 02/25/2015

Title of bill

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing municipalities to contract for services through any other governmental entity

Purpose

Authorizes municipalities and districts to contract for services jointly with federal and any state or other municipality.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 - Subdivision 16 of Section 103 of general municipal law as amended by chapter 497 of the laws of 2013 to allow for municipalities and districts to contract for services jointly with federal and any state or other municipality.

Section 2 - Contains the effective date.

Existing law

Chapter 308 of 2012 and Chapter 487 authorizes municipalities and districts to contract for goods jointly with federal and any state or other municipality.

Justification

Cooperative purchasing, also commonly referred to as piggy-backing, is a procurement method whereby if a government agency has already gone through the procurement process and awarded a contract to one or more venders for a particular product or service, the contract can be utilized by other government agencies on the same terms and conditions. Piggy-backing has been proven to reduce administrative and product cost, increase efficiencies and stretch shrinking budgets during difficult times.

Forty-eight states have either explicitly authorized cooperative purchasing or they have enacted a general joint powers statute or intergovernmental cooperation law that permits local public agencies to purchase from cooperative contracts that were solicited by another public agency. New York authorizes cooperative purchasing between New York's local governments and the federal, state or local governments elsewhere in the United States for goods but does not include provisions for cooperative purchasing for services. This bill would amend the General Municipal Law to allow for such cooperative purchasing.

Legislative history

2014: S. 6520 Committed to Rules; A. 9138 Referred to Local Governments

Fiscal implications

This legislation would provide savings to municipalities through expanding access to cooperative purchasing of services.

Local fiscal implications

This legislation would provide savings to municipalities through expanding access to cooperative purchasing of services.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately; provided, that the amendments to subdivision 16 of section 103 of the general municipal law, made by section one of this act, shall not affect the repeal of such subdivision and shall be deemed repealed therewith.