Governor Hassan's Statement on Allowing SB 86 to Become Law Without Signature
Statement
Governor Maggie Hassan issued the following statement after allowing SB 86 to become law without signature:
"On June 29, 2015, I chose to allow Senate Bill 86, relative to state procurement of goods and services, to become law without my signature. While I am in favor of Senate Bill 86's goals and the efficiency measures it strives to achieve, including the extension of the State Procurement Study Committee, it also could be perceived as unintentionally changing some timeframes that could release contracts before they have been reviewed by the Department of Justice and potentially open up the state to litigation. This legal issue was first raised to both the Legislature and myself too late in the legislative process to make the necessary amendment to address this issue this session.
"As the law presently exists, no information relative to a submission to a public bid shall be made available to the public until the bid is actually awarded. This allows the State sufficient time to negotiate with a selected vendor, have a proposed contract reviewed by the New Hampshire Department of Justice as required by law, and execute a contract to be approved by Governor and Council. Senate Bill 86 could be perceived as shortening that timeframe and not allowing the New Hampshire Department of Justice to perform its necessary legal review before the release of information. In speaking with members of the Legislature and the Department of Administrative Services, I am confident this was not the intent of Senate Bill 86.
"Senate Bill 86 is the culmination of a lot of hard and thoughtful work by a number of individuals, including Senator Sharon Carson, other members of the General Court and executive branch agencies. Senator Carson, the bill's prime sponsor, has assured me that she will work to amend the law as necessary early in the next legislative session to ensure that it does not impede the contract process of the State and potentially subject the State to unintended lawsuits and liability. Given Senator Carson's commitment to making those changes and my support for the bill's goals, the efficiency measures it strives to achieve, and the State Procurement Study Committee, I have chosen to allow Senate Bill 86 to become law without my signature."
Source