| State: |
1. Does your procurement organization have a separate
dedicated unit for policy making? If so, describe its
staffing and duties. If not briefly describe how you
make statewide procurement policy. |
2. Does your centralized procurement organization have a
dedicated oversight (review and approval) unit that is
separate from the buying unit and/or policy making
functions? If so, describe its staffing and duties. If not,
briefly describe how oversight is performed. |
| Alaska |
In Alaska, it's all combined in one small operation - no
separation of duties at all. Statewide policy is developed by
the Chief Procurement Officer (the CPO also acts as
Director here) with the help of buyer staff (contracting
officers) and input by a user group consisting of lead buyers
from each customer agency. Oversight is by CPO with
assistance from the same contracting officer staff. |
|
| Arkansas |
No. Our management team: 2 procurement managers, the
director, state procurement and our legal counsel have the
primary responsibility. The team requests input from State
agencies and Colleges and Universities prior to the final
decision. |
No. Oversight is accomplished through monitoring of agency
and college and university buying practices on an as needed
basis.. We also have the legislative auditors who do an audit of
procurement practices every few years. |
| Indiana |
No separate unit for policy making. The administrative staff
of the Director, and two Deputies are responsible for
recommending policy to Deputy Commissioner. |
No separate unit. There is a separate section of the
Department that does periodic reviews to make sure agencies
are purchasing within the policies of their streamline authority.
Hope this helps. |
| Kentucky |
We do not have a separate agency. However, we publish
policies and procedures from the central procurement
organization that are approved by a legislative committee
and are incorporated by reference into our regulations,
which makes them have the impact of law. All policy
proposals are reviewed by our general counsel and our
internal auditor prior to being forwarded to the legislature,
and we are required to post a notice of public hearing so
that all interested parties can discuss the changes prior to
legislative review. |
All contracts are reviewed and approved by a branch manager
and director. These two people do not normally function as
buyers, but limit their activities to review and approval. While
the director is in a policy-making position, all official policies are
reviewed and approved through the process described above. |
| Louisiana |
Louisiana does not have separate dedicated units for policy
making, review and/or approval. |
|
| Massachusetts |
Procurement Policies are established by the Executive
Office for Administration and Finance (EOAF) and the
Operational Services Division (OSD). At OSD, senior staff
which consists of the State Purchasing Agent and two
Deputy State Purchasing Agents establish and approve new
policies with assistance from procurement directors, other
departments (if necessary) and EOAF. In 1998 we
implemented procurement Reform which was spearheaded
by EOAF that essentially changed procurement as we knew
it back then.
Today, EOAF under a new administration wants to make
drastic procurement policy changes and put more control
back to Central Purchasing. We are still in that process.
The Procurement Policy team consists of the State
Purchasing Agent, Two Deputies, Assistance Secretary for
Administration and Finance, the Budget Director for the
Commonwealth, budget analysts and an economists. Other
departments will be included once we establish the
framework. |
We have a Quality Assurance Unit which consists of staff from
OSD and the Comptroller's Office who review procurement
folders by department on a post audit basis. They assist when
needed and provide training when necessary (procurement
101) and may also take the departments' procurement
delegation away if they see no improvement in following
procurement rules, regulations and policies.
Procurement Team Leaders review and approve procurements
that are over a department's delegation. They actually have to
go on-line and apply approvals before the encumbrance is
consummated and the vendor is notified of the purchase. Any
procurement within a department's delegation will go through
automatically and are reviewed on a post audit basis by QA. |
| Missouri |
No |
We did, however it has been decimated in budget cuts. This
section also was the main group that detailed the policy
decisions with Director approval. In the past, we used to create
a transaction list of agency procurements within their authority
and secured a random sample to audit the agencies
compliance with the procurement delegation. Several agencies
were found to have bypassed purchasing delegations and were
trained and given oversight for a period of time. (Basically
penalized us and not the agency though). |
| New York |
New York does not. |
|
| Oklahoma |
We have an audit team that assists me in setting policy and
writing rules which have the force and effect of law. They
report directly to me. By statute, they review and submit to
me for approval all the agencies internal purchasing
procedures. They also conduct audits, reviews and
investigative reviews of any agency, announced or
unannounced. The auditors are trained and seasoned
auditors with formal training in procurement. They also
conduct formal certification of State procurement staff from
other agencies.
The review and approval process starts with the Contracting
Officer with review and sign off by a designated peer. It is
then submitted to the supervisor in charge of that branch. It
is then forwarded to me for approval. The process has been
streamlined and there is no hold up in the contract process
and has worked quite well. I review all of the contracts over
250,000 dollars. |
|
| Pennsylvania |
The PA Department of General Services is, by PA law, the
Procurement agency for the Commonwealth. All policies
are made by the Director of the Bureau of Purchases,
Deputy Secretary for Procurement, the Secretary of General
Services and Legal Counsel for the Department. These
policies are discussed with other agencies prior to
enforcement. |
South Dakota No separate dedicated unit for policy making. The
purchasing administrator recommends policy to the
Commissioner of the Bureau of Administration. Some policy
can be established by the Commissioner, other policy must
be established through rulemaking authority granted by the
legislature, and the rest is set in state law.
No separate unit dedicated for oversight. The central
procurement office does not do audits of state purchases. The
state auditor reviews state purchases, and returns questionable
transactions to the agency and requires them to work through
the Central Procurement Office to "clean up" the problem.
|
| Tennessee |
Our division is governed by the Board of Standards
(Comptroller of Treasury, Commissioner of Finance and
Administration, and Commissioner of General Services). All
policies, procedures, and statutes must be approved by the
board. |
The Board of Standards implemented a Board of Standards
Staff which is made up of members from the respective
departments. They review and approval purchases and report
to the board.
12-3-401. Board of standards created - Members and officers -
Expenses. There is created a board of standards, which shall
consist of the commissioners of general services and finance
and administration, and the comptroller of the treasury. The
commissioner of finance and administration shall be the chair
of this board, and the commissioner of general services shall
be the secretary and as such shall be responsible for the
keeping of all records of the board of standards. The members
of this board shall serve without additional compensation. All
reimbursement for travel expenses shall be in accordance with
the provisions of the comprehensive travel regulations as
promulgated by the department of finance and administration
and approved by the attorney general and reporter
12-3-402. Duties of board. It is the duty of the board of
standards to develop policy and criteria under which
specifications will be established and to examine and approve
the rules and regulations governing the operation of the
department of general services as hereinafter provided.
12-3-403. Procedural rules - Records. The board of standards
shall adopt rules governing its proceedings, and shall keep a
permanent and accurate record of all its proceedings. |
| Utah |
Utah has by statute a Procurement Policy Board. It adopts
the state's procurement rules. The chief procurement officer
(me) is the non-voting secretary to the board. The board
meets only a few times a year to consider rule changes. |
Utah has, by statute, a Procurement Appeals Board. The
board is comprised of three non-state employees (attorneys).
The board only meets to consider legally filed appeals. |
| Washington |
Washington has one position who is a policy and protest
manager who Drafts policy |
We rely on the state auditor for reviews of compliance with
purchasing policy. We do not participate in the review and
approval of requisitions, Our central purchasing either does the
bid process, or coaches the agencies but does not process any
orders. For contract work that has been delegated to agencies,
we do not perform a compliance/oversight review. |
