The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) Contracts Oversight and Technology Team (COT2) in their February newsletter includes further details on SB 20 and communication with vendors. SB 20, effective on September 1, 2015, pertains to ethics, state contracting practices, and enhancing contract oversight. Since its passage, state procurement staff have raised several questions about that law’s ethics requirements, and any potential limitations on communicating with vendors. Senator Jane Nelson, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and author of the Bill, and Representative Four Price, Sponsor of the Bill, recently published a statement to clarify their intent in that regard explaining that “it was not the legislative intent of Senate Bill 20 to limit the ability of agency employees to ethically interact with vendors outside of a formal procurement period.”
