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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 21, 2015 10:11 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Tim Krieger |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Request for Cosponsorship - Procurement Code Contingency Fee Services (TiPAC - prior HB1236) |
| The Commonwealth has entered into contingency fee legal services contracts on a number of occasions, including in situations in which it has lacked internal legal expertise on a particular subject matter. While there is often a good reason for states to hire private outside lawyers in specific cases, the lack of uniform policies to govern such arrangements has the potential for abuse and conflict of interest Accordingly, I will be reintroducing the Transparency in Private Attorney Contracting Act (TiPAC) - prior HB1236. This legislation, which amends the Procurement Code, is necessary to ensure that support for government transparency and accountability transcends an individual’s tenure in office. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to create transparency, encourage reasonable contingency fees and preserve due process by ensuring that the State remains in control of litigation when it hires contingency fee counsel. The bill establishes various parameters applicable to contingency fee legal services contracts. The process for entering into such a contract will be transparent in that it will require the agency entering into the contract to disclose the following: · The written determination indicating that a contingency fee contract is necessary · A copy of the executed contingency fee contract · Detailed expense and financial records regarding the contract Also, each agency that enters into a contingency fee legal contract during a given year will be required to report information regarding any such contract to the General Assembly. In addition to these disclosure requirements, the bill limits the size of contingency fee payments that are permissible under any Commonwealth contingency fee legal services contract. The bill establishes an overall cap of $50 million on contingency fees that may be received under a Commonwealth contract and a sliding scale of additional limits based on the size of the recovery under a particular contract. I should also note that, under each contingency fee legal services contract, the Commonwealth’s attorneys must retain control over the course and conduct of the case and retain veto power over a decision made by outside counsel. The Commonwealth’s attorneys and the Commonwealth will maintain the exclusive power to accept a settlement. The reforms that I am proposing will preserve the ability of state attorneys general to contract with outside contingency fee counsel while insulating themselves from political pressure, ensuring maximum benefit to taxpayers. My legislation will focus on common sense good government principles including transparency and accountability. Prior Cosponsors of HB1236: METCALFE , SWANGER , TURZAI , KAUFFMAN , DAY, DeLUCA , EVERETT , JAMES, CUTLER , SAYLOR , R. MILLER , GINGRICH , MOUL , GROVE, SACCONE, ENGLISH, LAWRENCE, COX , TALLMAN, RAPP , SIMMONS, PYLE , MUSTIO , ROAE , ROCK , DUNBAR, GABLER, BLOOM, REESE, BROOKS , DENLINGER and CALTAGIRONE |
Introduced as HB841