“Today’s procurement practices are bad for vendors, bad for providers, and ultimately bad for taxpayers,” said Hays. “A 2009 law, as well-intentioned as it may have been, actually more than tripled the amount of time it takes to complete a Request for Proposal, adding more than $500 in costs to the process. HB 4644 would completely overhaul our procurement system, and deliver better outcomes and better value for taxpayers.”
According to Hays, HB 4644 would:
- Increase flexibility and efficiency by:
- Allowing state agencies to create a pre-qualified pool of vendors
- Allowing cooperative purchasing, enabling the state to “piggyback” on the procurements of other states and services from Illinois businesses
- Create a “Buy Illinois” preference for buying supplies and services from Illinois businesses
- Revise the current, burdensome Chief Procurement Officer structure
- Require an audit of procurement every two years by the Auditor General while allowing the AG to perform surprise audits on the agencies to ensure laws and statutes are being followed
To hear Rep. Hays talk more about this bill, click here.