Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sponsor says bill will void certain contract clauses and speed school system purchasing
Summary
Delegate Ken Kerr and a witness from MABE told the committee HB 1604 will make impermissible contract provisions void for local public school systems to reduce repetitive contract negotiations and save staff time; they said a senate amendment carving out collective bargaining agreements is acceptable.
Delegate Ken Kerr presented House Bill 1604 March 18, saying the measure would codify into COMAR that certain contract provisions — for example broad indemnification clauses, out-of-state choice-of-law provisions and mandatory arbitration — are void for local public school system contracts.
“I am Delegate Ken Kerr. I’m here today to present House Bill 1604,” Kerr said, describing how school system staff currently spend time negotiating to remove boilerplate clauses that public entities cannot accept. Kerr said the bill “will put into COMAR a line in code that we can refer to on these contracts so that it will streamline this process.”
Sam Mathias, representing the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), testified that the bill would eliminate repetitive negotiations and allow routine transactions to proceed “without unnecessary delay or expense.” Mathias noted stakeholders on the senate side developed a narrow amendment to carve out collective bargaining agreements; Mathias said MABE would support such an amendment and urged a favorable report.
Committee questioning focused on whether the bill would unintentionally interfere with collective bargaining; Delegate Miller asked for clarification and Mathias confirmed MABE supports the senate amendment that clarifies the bill does not affect collective bargaining agreements.
The hearing closed with no committee vote recorded in the transcript. The sponsor and witness asked the committee for a favorable report and identified the change as formalizing existing practice rather than creating new restrictions on vendors.
