The Mandate: The state-mandated procedure for entering into purchase and public works contracts is burdensome. Adding to this Byzantine and costly process is the requirement that local governments purchase commodities and services from Preferred Source Vendors, even if the Preferred Source's price exceeds the prevailing market price by as much as 15%. This price preference is in effect a requirement for local taxpayers to pay for a state created subsidy.

The Mandate: Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 103, local governments are required to follow complex and cumbersome procedures to purchase goods exceeding $20,000 and to enter into public works contracts exceeding $35,000.  In November 2009, the public works contract threshold was raised from $20,000 to $35,000, while the threshold for purchases was raised from $10,000 to $20,000 in April 2010.  While these increases are a step in the right direction, further reform is still needed.  The thresholds impose rigid requirements on essentially every project local governments engage in, as the total cost of all but the most minor of procurements exceed the current statutory parameters.

The Mandate: The Wicks Law - a construction mandate dating back to 1912 - was put into place to promote competition and protect workers' rights. Named for Senator Arthur Wicks who sponsored a bill to expand the law in 1946, the Wicks Law requires that, under General Municipal Law § 101, state and local government construction projects (including school district construction projects) costing more than $3 million in New York City, $1.5 million in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, and $500,000 in the rest of the state are subject to separate plumbing, heating/ventilation/air conditioning and electrical contracts. This requirement has proven to be one of the most onerous mandates facing local governments.