Model Contract Terms to Reform the Cooperative Procurement Process

The AREP advocates for the following provisions to be included in all public procurement contracts:

• Prohibit anyone to pay or receive any sort of remuneration in exchange for contracts including any “administrative” fee; this is similar to the Federal “anti-kickback” law used for state and federal health care programs.
• Ensure that pricing analysis is done on an apples-to-apples basis.
• Prohibit the use of proprietary and exclusionary bid specifications.
• Where applicable, require the use of professional services for specification development and contract administration.
• Offer a minimum bid notification period of three weeks for both pre-bid and bid selections.
• Ensure that pre-bid and bid notifications are well-publicized and available for public inspection.
• Allow an arena for disqualified or excluded bidders to challenge the decision.
• Ensure that procurement procedures adhere to applicable state building codes.

In summary, AREP is not opposed to cooperative procurement; however, AREP would like to see reform in its use. The proposed reform solutions will increase healthy competition, increase transparency in the system, and ultimately save taxpayer’s dollars.