Update Court Publication Contracts

The measure is necessary to recognize the predominant role that technology now fills in the publication process.

Under present law, contracts for publication of the Official Reports are let under the direction of the State Reporter (Judiciary Law § 434(2)) for periods of five years (id., § 434(7)). In each year preceding expiration of a contract, the State Reporter is required, at least once in June, July and August, to commence the bidding process for a successor contract by publishing notice in newspapers in New York, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo that a new contract will be let, and that, on or before September first, sealed proposals for the successor contract may be submitted. Thereafter, the contract must be let between October 16th and November 1s1 and commence on January 1st of the next year.

This timetable was instituted many years ago - when the Official Reports were only published in a print version. Today, it is insufficient to permit an orderly transition of both print and electronic publication processes in the event a successor contract is to be awarded to a new publisher. Thus, this measure proposes amendments to the Judiciary Law: (1) to allow for additional transition time by moving commencement of the bidding process from the first week of June to the first week of January in the year immediately preceding the expiration of the contract, and (2) to save the cost of classified newspaper advertisements for bid notices by requiring that the request for bids on a new contract be published exclusively in the State's Procurement Opportunities Newsletter.

To maintain the current quality and timeliness of the Official Reports, the Law Reporting Bureau publishing process relies heavily on automation and computer programming. Transition to a new publisher for the Official Reports would require acquisition, programming and installation of a new office-wide computer system, re-writing essential computer programs to accommodate the new publisher's production system and tests of the equipment and programs sufficiently in advance of the January first effective date of a new contract{2}. Even if an award is made and all necessary contract approvals are obtained from the Attorney General and the Office of the State Comptroller at the earliest possible time, transition under the current time frames established by the Judiciary Law would disrupt the Law Reporting Bureau's operations for several months, result in overtime costs for technology and other personnel during the transition period and pose a significant risk to uninterrupted production of the online version of the Official Reports and the Official Reports advance sheets and bound volumes in accordance with weekly publication schedules established to comply with the Judiciary Law.

Under the current procurement time frame and deadlines for the publishing contract, in the year in which bids for a successor contract are to be received, the contract cannot practicably be let any earlier than October 16 nor any later than November first. In the period of 61 to 77 days between these dates and January first, when the successor contract must take effect, that contract must be signed by the parties and the Chief Judge, and then approved by the Attorney General and the Office of the State Comptroller. The time required by these oversight agencies to approve can be considerable, and, as the State Reporter has advised, the entire process is usually not completed before late November. Accordingly, we recommend that the relevant statutory provisions be amended to commence the bid process during the first week of January of the year immediately preceding the expiration of the contract and the remaining date provisions be adjusted to reflect the new commencement date. This should facilitate a more efficient and timely completion of the bid letting process and implementation of the successor contract. And, with elimination of an antiquated requirement for publication of advertisements for bid notices in newspapers, it would save the State the costs associated therewith{3}.

This act, which would take effect immediately, would produce some small savings for the State.

Legislative history

None. New proposal.

{1} The State Reporter is appointed by the Court of Appeals. He or she heads the State's Law Reporting Bureau. See Judiciary Law § 430.

{2} In connection with the bidding process for the 2016-2020 contract, representatives of a major legal publisher acknowledged that a publisher transition under the current statutory timetable would be exceedingly difficult, and stated that a six-month period would best allow for the necessary preparation and testing and best assure uninterrupted publication during a transition.

{3} Article 4-C of the State's Economic Development Law already requires notice of bids to be published in the State's Procurement Opportunities Newsletter. There is no cost for this publication.