Rep. Hays Signs on as Chief Co-Sponsor of Procurement Reform Bill that Maximizes Efficiency, Saves Taxpayers $500 Million

State Representative Chad Hays (R-Catlin) joined other lawmakers from the House and Senate today to introduce pivotal legislation that will reform the state’s procurement practices and result in significant savings for Illinois taxpayers.

“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

“While improving the efficiency and value, this legislative solution maintains important ethics and transparency safeguards while streamlining bureaucracy,” said Hays. “Strong oversight will be preserved, and taxpayers have the ability to realize $500 million in savings. It is good, common sense legislation that I hope every lawmaker will support.”

To hear Rep. Hays talk more about this bill, click here.