As the fight against the coronavirus wages on, local government purchasing officers, clerks, department heads, and others who handle procurements are scouring every vendor and supplier they can think of to find everything from surgical masks and gloves to rental equipment to sanitizing and cleaning supplies to telework devices, and yes, even the ever-elusive toilet […]
Posts Tagged ‘purchasing’
School of Government COVID-19 Procurement Resources – We’re Here to Help!
Thursday, April 16th, 2020New School Construction Lease Authority
Monday, July 9th, 2018The 2018 legislative session brought about several significant changes to public school funding, including school capital projects funded with lottery proceeds. Section 5.3(e2) of the 2018 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2018-5) authorizes counties (not local school boards) that receive Needs-Based Public School Building Grant funds from the Department of Public Instruction [DPI] to enter into a […]
Iran Divestment Act Changes – No Certification Required Anymore!
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017In 2015, the General Assembly enacted the Iran Divestment Act (IDA) which prohibits state agencies and local governments from contracting with a company that the NC State Treasurer has determined invests more than $20 million dollars in the Iranian energy sector (for more information on the IDA, see this blog post). The Treasurer is required […]
HB2 Reset Beyond Bathrooms . . . Local Government Contracting Limitations Repealed
Thursday, March 30th, 2017Earlier today the General Assembly passed H142 (S.L. 2017-4), Reset of S.L. 2016 repealing HB2 (S.L. 2016-3), the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which was enacted during a special session held in March 2016. In repealing HB2, H142 enacts a new statute preempting state agency and local governments from regulating access to multiple occupancy […]
Beyond Bathrooms – Special Session Legislation Impacts City and County Contracts
Thursday, March 24th, 2016UPDATE March 2017: See this post for a discussion of the impact of HB2’s repeal on city and county contracting authority. UPDATED April 2016: See Trey Allen’s blog post update for information on a recent 4th Circuit ruling that has bearing on HB2 (Title IX discrimination claim involving a transgender student’s use of bathrooms in […]
2011 Purchasing and Contracting Legislative Wrap-Up
Friday, July 1st, 2011The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on June 18, 2011 and will reconvene next month on July 13th. When it reconvenes in July, the legislature will only consider a narrow list of bills, namely redistricting, election laws, legislative appointments to boards and commissions, bills vetoed by the governor, and bills already in conference (Res. 2011-9). So, unless the […]
Emergency Procurement – When is an emergency really an emergency?
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011A tornado has ripped through Coatesville, damaging its water and sewer system, tearing the roof off of town hall, destroying the police department’s vehicles, and leaving tons of debris in its wake. The town declares a state of emergency and immediately begins mobilizing to recover from the disaster. Citizens are without water and sewer, town […]
Rejecting Bids – Who Can and When Can They?
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011Pauline Purchaser has advertised a contract and is pleased by the number of bids she’s received. When she opens the bids, much to her dismay, she discovers that all are way over budget. As Pauline regroups to figure out what went wrong, she realizes there was a flaw in the specifications. She decides to reject […]
Taking (Personal) Advantage of Public Contracts
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011Carolina County has just awarded a contract for uPad tablet computers. Bill Goats, the purchasing officer for Carolina County, is having lunch with his friend in the public works department, Steve Jabs. Bill mentions the contract to Steve. “My daughter won’t stop talking about those uPads,” Steve says. “She really wants one.” “Yeah, my son […]
Local Preferences in Public Contracting, Part 1
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010Hard times have come to Emerald City, North Carolina. People are out of work, no one is buying or building anything, and it doesn’t look like things will get better anytime soon. The Emerald City Council has decided that they need to take action to help out their local businesses, so they decide to pass […]
Executive Order 50 and Local Governments
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010Many of you are aware that Governor Bev Purdue recently signed an executive order to give North Carolina businesses the opportunity to match the lowest bid when bidding on state contracts for the purchase of goods. You can find Executive Order 50 here. This post addresses the questions that I’ve received about this Order.
Before You Start Recycling Your Bid Files, Read This!
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Your local government has just awarded a contract. Now what are you supposed to do with all of the bids, bid tabulations, paperwork, and email generated by the bidding process? Can you throw any of it away? Do you have to keep any of it, and, if so, for how long?
Buying Without Bidding: Limits on Three Common Exceptions to the Bidding Laws
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009Your county needs to buy 5 new law enforcement vehicles costing $30,000 each, and the sheriff tells you that he prefers a specific make and model with certain options. The sheriff also tells you that he knows that a neighboring county recently bought 10 law enforcement vehicles of the same make and model, with the […]
To Bid or Not to Bid? How to Buy Hardware and Software
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect changes enacted by the General Assembly in 2015. Is your local government still using 10-year-old desktop computers? Do you need to buy new anti-spyware software? Or do you need to update your phone system? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, and you decide […]