SENATE, No. 146

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

 

 

By Senators LaROSSA and INVERSO

 

 

An Act concerning certain State contracts or agreements and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. a. Prior to entering into any contract or agreement in excess of $100,000 with a private for-profit business entity for the performance of work usually performed by employees of a State department, the department shall prepare a cost analysis of the work to be performed. The cost analysis, which shall include a resource analysis of the department's finances and personnel, shall determine whether it is more cost effective to use employees of the private for-profit business entity than to use existing or additional departmental employees to perform the work required. The department shall apply that determination to the contract or agreement in the form of a certification. Except as provided in subsection d. of this section, no contract or agreement that decreases the amount of work assigned to State employees shall be entered into unless the cost analysis determines that the contract or agreement will result in a cost savings to the State. For a particular type of work that has not previously been performed by contract or agreement, the department shall be permitted to designate a contract or an agreement as a pilot project for the purpose of determining whether contracting a particular type of work can result in cost savings to the State.

    b. The cost analysis required by subsection a. of this section shall be filed with the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury and shall be available for inspection by the public during regular business hours upon request. At the time the cost analysis is filed with the Office of Management and Budget, a copy thereof shall be transmitted by the department to the Senate State Government Committee and the Assembly State Government Committee, or the respective successor committees, and the representatives of bargaining units whose employees would be affected by the contract or agreement.

    c. A representative of a bargaining unit receiving a copy of the cost analysis required by subsection a. of this section shall have not less than 10 nor more than 20 business days from receipt thereof to file a response in writing to the department and the Office of Management and Budget. The contract or agreement which is the subject of the analysis may not be entered into by the department until the expiration of the 20-day period or until the response is filed, whichever is first, unless the provisions of subsection d. of this section shall apply requiring the expiration of a 30-day period before a contract or agreement may be entered into.

    d. If the resource analysis of the department's finances and personnel concludes that fiscal or other constraints, including but not limited to departmental staffing levels or appropriations, prevent the work required by the proposed contract or agreement from being performed by existing or additional departmental employees even though the cost analysis indicates that it would be more cost effective to use departmental employees, the department may enter into a contract with a private for-profit business entity for the performance of the work. However, such a contract shall not be entered into until 30 business days after receipt of the copy of the cost analysis by the respective Senate and Assembly State Government committees. If during that time the Legislature acts to remove the constraints preventing the use of departmental employees, the contract or agreement shall not be entered into.

 

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

                                                STATEMENT

 

    This bill provides that prior to entering into any contract or agreement in excess of $100,000 with a private for-profit business entity for the performance of work usually performed by employees of a State department, the department shall prepare a cost analysis of the work to be performed. The cost analysis, which shall include a resource analysis of the department's finances and personnel, shall determine whether it is more cost effective to use employees of the private for-profit business entity than to use existing or additional departmental employees to perform the work required. The department shall apply that determination to the contract or agreement in the form of a certification. No contract or agreement that decreases the amount of work assigned to State employees shall be entered into unless the cost analysis determines that the contract or agreement will result in a cost savings to the State. For a particular type of work that has not previously been performed by contract or agreement, the department shall be permitted to designate a contract or an agreement as a pilot project for the purpose of determining whether contracting a particular type of work can result in cost savings to the State.

    The cost analysis shall be filed with the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury and shall be available for inspection by the public during regular business hours upon request. At the time the cost analysis is filed with the Office of Management and Budget, a copy thereof shall be transmitted by the department to the Senate State Government Committee and the Assembly State Government Committee, or the respective successor committees, and the representatives of bargaining units whose employees would be affected by the contract or agreement.

    A representative of a bargaining unit receiving a copy of the cost analysis shall have not less than 10 nor more than 20 business days from receipt thereof to file a response in writing to the department and the Office of Management and Budget. The contract or agreement which is the subject of the analysis may not be entered into by the department until the expiration of the 20-day period or until the response is filed, whichever is first.

    If the resource analysis of the department's finances and personnel concludes that fiscal or other constraints, including but not limited to departmental staffing levels or appropriations, prevent the work required by the proposed contract or agreement from being performed by existing or additional departmental employees even though the cost analysis indicates that it would be more cost effective to use departmental employees, the department may enter into a contract with a private for-profit business entity for the performance of the work. However, such a contract shall not be entered into until 30 business days after receipt of the copy of the cost analysis by the respective Senate and Assembly State Government committees. If during that time the Legislature acts to remove the constraints preventing the use of departmental employees, the contract or agreement shall not be entered into.

 

 

 

Requires a cost analysis in certain cases when a State department contracts out work.