Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Suncoast News

Florida stands to save more than $100 million a year with competitive bidding and other changes in the way it awards contracts, two state lawmakers from the area say.

State Rep. Tom Anderson, R-Dunedin, and state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, recently filed legislation to establish an advisory committee to evaluate the state procurement and contracting process.

Fasano is the Senate’s president pro tempore, and Anderson is chairman of the House Elder and Family Services Policy Committee.

Their proposed legislation calls for a top-to-bottom review, Anderson said in a press release. It will include examinations of state contract organization, planning, staffing, leadership, controlling and laws, policies, procedures, and practices.

“In today’s economic climate, taxpayers in Florida are faced with tough decisions of how to balance spending with diminishing financial resources,” Anderson said. “These same taxpayers expect their state and local governments to be prudent and diligent in ensuring that their hard-earned tax dollars are spent efficiently.”

The procurement process consumes about $25 billion of the state budget, Anderson explained. More competitive procurement and better negotiations could save about 20 percent of procurement costs, he thinks.

“It is imperative that we continue to comb through state expenditures to root out wasteful and impractical practices and procedures,” Anderson commented.

“Taxpayers deserve a government that works for them effectively and in these economically challenging times not only do we need to do more with less, but we must seize the opportunity to make government operate more efficiently,” said House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach. He believes Anderson’s bill will bring greater accountability.