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Sponsor Testimony on HB 275 — Representative Brian Lampton (House Commerce and Labor Committee, 12 May 2021)

Summary

Sponsor testimony on House Bill 275 from State Representative Brian Lampton, District 73, to the House Commerce and Labor Committee, dated 12 May 2021. It states the bill clarifies the ability of political subdivisions to procure construction services within the scope of the joint purchasing law, ORC 9.48. The testimony says a recent Attorney General Opinion (2019-28) concluded that this section does not expressly include construction services. It says Greene County continues to use joint and cooperative purchasing for approximately $8 million in local construction projects. It states HB 275 does not seek to change the current process and does not require political subdivisions to use joint purchasing contracts.

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“Sponsor Testimony on HB 275 — Representative Brian Lampton (House Commerce and Labor Committee, 12 May 2021).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-05-12-commerce-labor-testimony-hb275sponsor-b3e6eca926/, SHA-256 8916bd8638c153f4b903ce8bfd9530fab13c12d4e09f838fbcb77c0e185b2afc.

Full text

                          State Representative Brian Lampton
                                      District 73
                              HB 275 – Sponsor Testimony
                          House Commerce & Labor Committee
                                     12 May 2021
_____________________________________________________________________________________


Chair Stein, Vice Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members of the House
Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on House Bill 275.
This legislation clarifies the ability of political subdivisions to procure construction services
within the scope of the joint purchasing law, ORC 9.48. Currently, political subdivisions may
utilize joint purchasing contracts held by other governments to buy equipment, materials,
supplies or services. Many political subdivisions utilize joint purchasing agreements for
construction services for local projects. Construction services includes the physical construction
work undertaken by a contractor to construct a project. However, a recent Attorney General
Opinion (2019-28) has concluded that this section of the Ohio Revised Code does not expressly
include “construction” services. The Ohio Attorney General Opinion 2019-28 states:
R.C. 9.48(B) does not authorize a political subdivision to acquire construction services through
participation in a contract entered into by another political subdivision.
The General Assembly authorized joint purchasing for counties and townships in 1997, and for
all political subdivisions in 2008. This attorney general opinion has created ambiguity for our
local governments that utilize Ohio’s joint purchasing law to procure construction services.
While an attorney general opinion is not law, it calls into question the ability of local
governments to procure construction services for local projects. Specifically, it has created fear
of legal action against the political subdivisions by the state for procuring construction services
with joint purchasing agreements.
Joint purchasing promotes local control and allows local governments flexibility to make
purchasing decisions in the best interest of taxpayers and the community. Joint and cooperative
purchasing is an established procurement tool allowing local governments to use competitively
awarded contracts established by other governments. Using these contracts allows local
governments to maximize staff resources and leverage pooled buying power to attain lower
prices on goods and services.
Joint and cooperative contracts directly benefit taxpayers by streamlining the procurement
process, resulting in administrative time and cost savings, along with lower prices. Contracts are
awarded based on a full, open, and transparent competitive public procurement process
conducted by a government agency.

In recent years, Greene County has utilized joint and cooperative purchasing to procure
construction services. Despite the Ohio Attorney General’s opinion, Greene County continues
to utilize this process for construction services for approximately $8 million in local construction
projects. Many local governments continue to utilize joint and cooperative purchasing;
however, many worry that the state will go after them with a “finding for recovery” based on
the Attorney General’s opinion. This ambiguity is not only bad for local governments, but it
negatively affects the local contractors and construction companies hired to complete these
projects. This opinion calls into question their ability to provide their services to political
subdivisions that utilize this efficient and transparent process.

HB 275 does not seek to change the current joint and cooperative purchasing process nor does
this bill require political subdivisions to utilize joint purchasing contracts. This legislation simply
seeks to clarify that political subdivisions may utilize the established process for procuring
construction services.
Chair Stein, Vice Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members of the House
Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on HB
275. I would be happy to answer questions from committee members at this time.

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