Negotiations on the 2016 – 2017 budget between New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) and legislative leaders in the Assembly and Senate came down to the wire with the framework of a deal being announced just hours before the state began its new fiscal year on April 1. In addition to outlining the Empire State’s spending for the year, the budget is filled with numerous policy provisions. CompTIA provided the IT industry’s position on several measures impacting IT procurement which were in play during the final budget negotiations on the Public Protection and General Government (PPG) budget bill (the final version can be found here). Governor Cuomo is expected to sign the bill.
The final PPG bill included language to clarify communications during restricted periods during a procurement, a priority of the IT industry and the broader business community. Vendors have been frustrated over the confusion as to when the restricted period begins as state agencies have interpreted this differently, and the final language will hopefully lead to better communications between the state and the business community.
Additionally, the final PPG bill included language supported by CompTIA to standardize debriefing procedures for unsuccessful bidders on state contracts. Currently, state agencies are inconsistent with their debriefing procedures, and the budget language will give companies an opportunity to better understand how their bids were evaluated, helping them to better compete on future contracts.
A “Buy American” mandate was again considered during the budget negotiations and, similar to last year, was left out of the final bill. Proponents had sought to require certain capital infrastructure projects to only use iron, steel, and “manufactured goods” which are produced in the United States. Among other reasons, CompTIA opposed the enactment of this requirement as it would have limited New York’s ability to acquire many essential technologies not manufactured in the United States, increases costs for taxpayers, and threatened the ability of New York businesses to compete globally.
