Bill > S3849

Introduced Session

This bill amends the "Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.), to increase, from $17,500 to $22,000, the statutory, maximum contract amount at which the governing body of a local contracting unit may designate an employee to award a contract without public advertising for bids, regardless of whether the designated employee possesses a qualified purchasing agent certificate. Under the bill, if a contracting unit has established a bid threshold in excess of $22,000, and has designated a person possessing a qualified purchasing agent certificate to serve as the contracting unit's purchasing agent, then the contracting unit is not required to award the contract itself, and may delegate the power to award contracts in an amount between $22,000 and the bid threshold to the holder of the qualified purchasing agent certificate. Current law authorizes the governing body of a contracting unit that has designated a purchasing agent to establish a bid threshold of up to $25,000 or the threshold amount set by the Governor, which amount is currently set at $44,000. Therefore, under the bill, a contracting unit would be able to delegate the award of a contract below $22,000, or all contracts below $22,000, to a purchasing agent or other employee, without publicly advertising for bids. If a contracting unit designates a purchasing agent and sets a bid threshold in excess of $22,000, the contracting unit may delegate the power to award contracts between $22,000 and the public bid threshold to the purchasing agent.

Committee Categories

Renee Burgess (D)*,  Patrick Diegnan (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 10/28/2024)

Official Document