PRINTER'S NO. 149
No. 41 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY WONDERLING, PILEGGI, PICCOLA, BOSCOLA, ROBBINS,
FOLMER, GORDNER, BRUBAKER, ERICKSON, WAUGH, RHOADES, BROWNE,
EARLL, ARMSTRONG, VANCE, BAKER AND REGOLA, MARCH 5, 2007
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 5, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
2 investigate the Department of General Services strategic
3 sourcing initiative for State and local government
4 procurement; to accurately measure actual savings and costs
5 of strategic sourcing; to review alternative plans examined
6 by the department; to examine the department's development
7 and implementation of strategic sourcing, especially with
8 regard to the impact on Pennsylvania small business; and to
9 analyze procurement spending data.
10 WHEREAS, The people of this Commonwealth deserve the highest-
11 quality programs to enhance education, protect public health and
12 safety and foster economic development; and
13 WHEREAS, State officials have a responsibility to ensure that
14 State tax dollars allocated to these programs are being utilized
15 efficiently; and
16 WHEREAS, Government procurement practices offer significant
17 opportunities to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of
18 government operations; and
19 WHEREAS, The Senate believes that improving government
20 procurement can produce significant benefits for Pennsylvania's
21 citizens and communities and that more competition, not less, is
1 the most effective manner to reduce costs for goods and
2 services; and
3 WHEREAS, Small businesses employ more than one-half of
4 Pennsylvania's work force and account for nearly 80% of all new
5 jobs created; and
6 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has a responsibility to create an
7 environment in the State where small businesses can grow and
8 thrive; and
9 WHEREAS, The Department of General Services reported that it
10 had incomplete procurement data when it began implementing its
11 strategic sourcing initiative and admittedly failed to measure
12 the impact of strategic sourcing on Pennsylvania's small
13 businesses; and
14 WHEREAS, The Senate is concerned that the true impact of both
15 the savings and costs of strategic sourcing cannot be fully and
16 accurately measured without more complete data; therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
18 Finance Committee to investigate the Department of General
19 Services strategic sourcing initiative for State and local
20 government procurement to analyze procurement spending data to
21 accurately measure actual savings and costs of strategic
22 sourcing, including government operational costs, economic
23 development costs and any decrease in revenue to the
24 Commonwealth from a possible loss of corporate and related
25 personal income tax revenue; and be it further
26 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
27 Finance Committee to review all other alternative cost-saving
28 methods in addition to strategic sourcing examined by the
29 department; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
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1 Finance Committee to investigate the department's development
2 and implementation of strategic sourcing, especially with regard
3 to the impact on Pennsylvania small business; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
5 Finance Committee to collect data about State procurement prior
6 to the State's implementation of strategic sourcing, including,
7 but not limited to, determining the number of small businesses
8 and women-owned and minority-owned businesses previously serving
9 as prime contractors, the dollar value of those contracts and
10 the number of these firms which served as subcontractors; and be
11 it further
12 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
13 Finance Committee to collect data about contracts awarded as of
14 April 1, 2004, through the new strategic sourcing process,
15 including, but not limited to, the number of strategic-sourced
16 contracts awarded to small businesses, women-owned and minority-
17 owned businesses, the number of subcontracts delivered to small
18 businesses and women-owned and minority-owned businesses and the
19 dollar amounts delivered to these subcontractors; and be it
20 further
21 RESOLVED, That the study include an examination of the amount
22 paid to the contractors that assisted the Department of General
23 Services with developing strategic sourcing and determine
24 whether all payments to the contractors were justified by
25 conducting an analysis of how any initial projected cost savings
26 were created, how the historical costs were measured and whether
27 projected savings were attained; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
29 review the procurement and vendor selection process for each of
30 the contract awards to ensure that they were consistent with
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1 current procurement policies and statutes; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That the study examine whether the contracts
3 awarded have met the business needs of State agencies, whether
4 quality has suffered from lower cost provisioning and whether
5 certain items were bundled in with the contract that were
6 required to be purchased but were not needed or not frequently
7 used, thereby increasing what could have been even lower costs
8 for some commodities; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
10 consult with local governments and school districts to determine
11 whether these contracts have been an advantage to them; and be
12 it further
13 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
14 evaluate the implementation of COSTARS contracts to determine
15 the utilization and costs associated with maintaining such
16 duplicative contracts; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
18 evaluate other contracting vehicles such as Federal GSA and
19 State consortium contracts to determine if significant savings
20 could have been achieved from leveraging those contracts; and be
21 it further
22 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
23 evaluate other contracting methodologies that seek to reduce
24 spending on key primary commodities without bundling, forcing
25 purchases through one entity which may result in offsetting
26 costs savings from large volume items to low volume items; and
27 be it further
28 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
29 hold hearings, take testimony and make its investigations at
30 such places as it deems necessary in this Commonwealth and have
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1 the power to administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses
2 appearing before it; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
4 issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Senate
5 no later than October 31, 2007.
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