Committee considers changes to procurement authority, contract-modification threshold and adopts apprenticeship language

The Budget and Taxation Committee took up amendments to a procurement bill, voting on language that would preserve Board of Public Works authority over bid cancellations and consider whether to statutorily set higher thresholds for contract modifications. The committee also approved a narrow amendment to clarify that regulations may be adopted to improve recruitment or skills of vendor employees in connection with apprenticeship provisions.

Committee discussion centered on two amendments the Treasurer's Office had proposed to strike sections of the bill that would transfer or define procurement authority in statute. One amendment targeted language that would move the authority to cancel or reject bids from the Board of Public Works to the Chief Procurement Officer; the Treasurer's Office asked the committee to strike that language so authority remains with BPW.…