Brief (1)
SB 558 expands the type of contracts covered by the state ethics law governing actions of state officers and employees to include contracts that have both elements of negotiation and competitive bidding. The law prohibits state officers and employees from substantially participating in the making of these contracts with business entities in which they or their immediate family have a substantial interest. Further, the state law prohibits the officer or employee who has substantially participated in the making of a contract from being employed by the business entity as an employee, independent contractor, or subcontractor for two years after performance of the contract is completed or until two years after the person leaves state employment.
Background
The bill was supported by the Governmental Ethics Commission.
In 1999, the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission was asked to determine whether these competitively bid/negotiated contracts were exempt from the prohibitions contained in KSA 46-233(a) and (b).
KSA 46-233(d) contains two elements which must be met in order for the exemption to apply. The contract must be (1) let after a competitive bid procedure and (2) advertised for by published notice. Because these contracts meet both elements of the exemption as the statute is currently written, the Commission determined that competitively bid/negotiated contracts were exempt from the prohibitions listed in KSA 46-233(a) and (b).
Therefore, as the law currently reads, a state employee would be permitted to participate in the making of a contract which contains elements of negotiation, even if that employee has a substantial interest in the business receiving the contract. In addition, if a state employee is involved in the making of a competitively bid/negotiated contract, that state employee may immediately accept employment with the business that received the contract.
The bill has no fiscal impact.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html