Legislative Alert - SB 94 Passes

Thanks in no small measure to a strong last minute grass roots push by our members, SB 94 – An Act Concerning Reform Of The State Contracting Process – just passed the state House of Representatives 133-14.(The Senate had previously passed it 34-1.) This bill will be transmitted to Gov. Rell, who is expected to sign it into law.

SB 94 puts a moratorium on privatization by state and quasi-public agencies until the state legislature develops a procurement code to include clear-cut standards, such as requiring agencies to perform a cost benefit analysis before privatizing services and programs. Should the governor veto that procurement code language next year (or the year after), the moratorium on privatization will extend another four years.

This is a significant victory made possible by countless phone calls, e-mails, letters and visits to legislators, as well as the state employee union coalition’s television, radio and print ads in support of SB 94 – an ad campaign that was inspired by Council 4’s own ‘Privatization Equals Corruption’ campaign.

There is still work to be done to ensure passage of acceptable procurement language, but our efforts sent a strong message to the legislature and Gov. Rell that corrupt privatization must stop. The lawmakers, in turn, heard us loud and clear.

Larry Dorman
Council 4 Public Affairs
(860) 612-3855
ldorman@council4.org