Select panel to probe state contracting

Democrats say they want to know how pacts are doled out

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 6, 2006 at midnight

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The state spends about $3.7 billion a year on private contracting and outsourcing, and Democrats said Thursday that they want more information on how the contracts are doled out and managed.

When the legislative session convenes next week, the Senate leadership will appoint a five-member select committee to investigate private contracting in the state.

The select committee will have subpoena power to force members of Gov. Bill Owens' administration to testify during hearings, said Senate President Pro-Tem Peter Groff, D-Denver.

"Recent developments show we need to tighten the contracting process," Groff said. "We need to monitor what's going on in the state, and we feel that there needs to be some transparency and accountability."

The move comes as lawmakers have become increasingly alarmed over several large-scale computer projects that have run aground in recent months, prompting the Department of Labor and Employment and Colorado Secretary of State to dump contracts that totaled $51 million with global technology giant Accenture.

Dan Hopkins, spokesman for Owens, said the governor's office welcomes the committee's suggestions, only if Democrats aren't using the recent contract problems to grandstand during an election year.

"If they don't try to play politics with this and make a sincere effort at making suggestions for the procurement process, than we would welcome that," Hopkins said. "Our concern is that they'll try turn this into a political football."

The recent high-profile blunders and trail of troubled deals with private contractors has brought criticism from lawmakers, with some questioning whether the state has the expertise in place to properly manage massive outsourcing projects.

Others have complained that the state's contracts with outside firms are too difficult to track.

"I want more transparency," said state Sen. Deanna Hanna, D-Lakewood. "It's like a deep, dark hole and no one know what's going on."

Groff and Hanna complained that the governor refused last summer to allow agency heads to provide information about state contracts, and allowed only one member of his Cabinet to testify before an interim committee on how state agencies choose private contractors such as Accenture.

"We want to open up the process so the public can see how the system works," Groff said. "We owe it to taxpayers, given the billions of dollars flowing through the state."

Hopkins said that the process in which the state awards contracts to private contractors is already an open book.

Where money goes

• $14 billion: Colorado state budget, 2003-04

• 26 percent, or $3.7 billion: Portion of annual state budget spent on private contracts and outsourcing

• Of this $3.7 billion, $2.6 billion was spent on "purchase service contracts," mainly for health care.

• The remaining $1.1 billion was spent on other categories broadly defined as professional- technical, nonprofessional- support, and "personal service contracts" (which encompasses architecture, engineering, construction services and equipment maintenance and repair.)**All Numbers Are Approximate. Source: Office Of Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, Based On Information Supplied By The Department Of Personnel And Admin ...

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