History
Detailed Analysis
History
Act 57 of 1998 contains two parts. Part I is the Commonwealth Procurement Code, which is modeled after the Model Procurement Code drafted by the American Bar Association over a five year period in the mid-1970s. Part II is comprised of more general provisions, which are special purchasing laws and requirements already enacted in Pennsylvania.
Model Procurement Code
In drafting the Model Procurement Code, the American Bar Association saw the need for legislation to modernize the public purchasing processes of state and local governments to provide more efficient purchasing systems which would result in an increased return on tax dollars. The drafters of the Model Procurement Code created a highly flexible statutory framework which was easily adaptable to the needs of particular states and local governments. They created a model procurement code and not a uniform procurement code realizing that all governments need to respond to unique concerns. Hundreds of state and local officials, legislators, purchasing experts, accountants, attorneys, and members of the academic community across the country participated in the development of the Model Procurement Code. To date, 18 states (including Pennsylvania) and numerous local governments have adopted a form of the Model Procurement Code.
The Model Procurement Code also delineates a set of ethical standards which would govern all participants in the public purchasing process, both public and private. By setting out strict, but workable, ethical policy and standards it was hoped that the Model Procurement Code would significantly reduce the opportunities for unethical behavior sometimes associated with the pu ...