Submissions for Prior Approval
Required Vendor Responsibility Certification
Documenting a Vendor Responsibility Review
Identifying Transactions Requiring Vendor Responsibility Documentation
Required Vendor Responsibility Certification
Identifying Significant Subcontractors
Transactions Exempt for Vendor Responsibility Documentation Requirements
New Eligible and Exempt Contracts for Filing
A complete copy of the contract including completed signature pages, all attachments and documents incorporated by reference, must be submitted, except where the Comptroller has determined that a complete copy is not required. A copy of the complete procurement record does not need to be submitted for Eligible or Exempt Contracts for filing unless specifically requested by OSC.
Generally, CSS can accept files up to 50MB. The OSC Help Desk can assist users in managing file sizes, when necessary. If the State authority believes the complete eligible contract is too voluminous and would otherwise cause an undue administrative burden, the State authority may contact the OSC Help Desk to request a waiver. Note: Per PAL §2879a, the entire exempt contract or exempt contract amendment must be filed and there is no provision for the Comptroller to issue waivers.
Eligible and Exempt Contract Amendments for Filing
A complete copy of the contract amendment including completed signature pages, all attachments and documents incorporated by reference (including the original contract or previous contract amendment), must be submitted. Where the original contract or previous contract amendment was previously submitted to the Comptroller for filing or approval pursuant to PAL §2879a or NYCRR Part 206, it is not necessary to submit it again. The requirement to submit documents incorporated by reference may be waived when the Comptroller determines that a complete copy is not required. A copy of the complete procurement record does not need to be submitted for eligible or exempt contract amendments for filing unless specifically requested by OSC.
Transactions submitted for filing are reviewed by OSC to ensure that the CSS data entered by the authority matches the contract documents (e.g. vendor name, transaction amount) and to assure that a complete contract document as described above is provided. If OSC finds that a CSS data field doesn’t match the documents provided, or if the attached contract appears incomplete, the transaction will be systematically non-approved. Along with an email notification, a nonapproval letter providing the nonapproval reason will available in the CSS documents list and the CSS status will change to Withdrawn. To resubmit a Withdrawn transaction, the authority will re-enter the entire record in CSS with corrected data, re-upload all documents and submit using the same contract number.
OSC does not typically perform a detailed contract pre-review on submissions for filing but may do so on a post-filing basis.
Generally, CSS can accept files up to 50MB. The OSC Help Desk can assist users in managing file sizes when necessary. If the State authority believes the complete eligible contract amendment is too voluminous and would otherwise cause an undue administrative burden, the State authority may contact the OSC Helpdesk to request a waiver. Note: per PAL §2879a, the entire exempt contract or exempt contract amendment must be filed and there is no provision for the Comptroller to issue waivers.
Submissions for Prior Approval
A complete copy of any eligible contract or eligible contract amendment identified in a Written Notice including signature pages, all attachments and documents incorporated by reference therein, and a complete Procurement Record must be submitted. All contracts for prior approval must show proper acknowledgement of the contractor’s signature.
The Guide to Financial Operations provides examples of acceptable acknowledgements.
Generally, CSS can accept files up to 50MB. The OSC Help Desk can assist users in managing file sizes when necessary. If the State authority believes the complete eligible contract or eligible contract amendment is too voluminous and would otherwise cause an undue administrative burden, the State authority may contact the OSC Help Desk to request a waiver.
A Procurement Record is the documentation of the decisions made and the approaches taken in the procurement process and serves as the basis of OSC’s contract review. A Procurement Record must be maintained for all procurements.
The Procurement Record includes, but is not limited to: a clear statement of need; a description of the required specifications governing performance and related factors; documentation of a reasonable process for ensuring a competitive field; documentation that demonstrates fair and equal opportunity for offerers to submit responsive offers; a balanced and fair method of award (one which is rational and objective and awards the contract based on a quantified scoring system predicated upon price, a combination of price and qualifications, or a determination of the most qualified bidder at a reasonable price); a determination of vendor responsibility; and other decisions made by the authority during the procurement process.
Procurement Record components necessary to support the decisions made by the authority will depend upon the type and complexity of the procurement. A listing of common Procurement Record components is provided in this document. OSC reserves the right to require additional documents to support the contract review process.
Vendor Responsibility generally means that a vendor or contractor has the integrity to justify the award of public dollars and the capacity to perform the requirements of the contract fully. A responsibility determination, wherein the contracting authority assesses all relevant, available information and determines that it has reasonable assurances that a contractor or significant subcontractor is responsible, is an important part of the procurement process, promoting fairness in contracting, helping to mitigate contract issues, and protecting a contracting authority and the State against failed contracts. An assessment of the adequacy of the contracting authority’s responsibility review process and the reasonableness of its determination will be a factor in OSC’s contract review.
Documenting a Vendor Responsibility Review
State authorities must include in the procurement record for every eligible contract and contract amendment submitted for the Comptroller’s approval documentation of a vendor responsibility review, except as described below.
A vendor responsibility determination must, at a minimum, evaluate a potential vendor's responsibility with respect to four factors:
The Comptroller’s website provides links to useful Internet Resources that will assist contracting authorities in evaluating the responsibility of a vendor.
OSC recognizes that some State authorities currently utilize processes consistent with those prescribed for State agencies and the New York State Council of Contracting Agencies, or adhere to New York City VENDEX requirements. At this time, OSC has not prescribed the format for documenting a State authority’s vendor responsibility review. However, the documentation provided must describe, in sufficient detail, the method used to assess responsibility, any potentially cautionary information discovered, and steps taken by the vendor or the authority to mitigate the risk posed by such information.
State authorities may utilize the Vendor Responsibility Profile form developed for State agencies to document a vendor responsibility determination, (see Instructions). If the authority chooses to use this form, it must show the contracting authority name in the field labeled “Department Name,” and other fields may be left blank, i.e., Business Unit, Department ID #, Amendment Sequence #, etc. Where the contracting authority has required self-disclosure of potential responsibility issues by questionnaire or other form, such disclosure must be provided to OSC with the vendor responsibility documentation. However, if the State authority is using the NYS VendRep System, there is no need to print this information.
Required Vendor Responsibility Certification
NYCRR 206.5 requires that the procurement record for each eligible contract or eligible contract amendment subject to the Comptroller’s approval include a “certification” that the authority has undertaken an affirmative review of the responsibility of the contractor and significant subcontractors known at the time of the award. The review should be designed to provide reasonable assurance that the contractor and significant subcontractors are responsible. The determination must be documented in the procurement record. The authority may choose to use the standard Vendor Responsibility Certification form for this purpose or may otherwise incorporate the form’s text into the procurement record.
Many State authorities already have processes in place to evaluate the responsibility of potential contractors and subcontractors.
Identifying Transactions Requiring Vendor Responsibility Documentation
State Authorities are expected to have reasonable assurance they enter or continue business relationships with responsible vendors in all instances. Vendor Responsibility Certification is required for every contract transaction submitted for Comptroller’s approval. However, OSC requires documentation of a responsibility review only for the following types of eligible contracts and contract amendments that have been identified for the Comptroller’s approval:
Identifying Significant Subcontractors
Per NYCRR 206.5, a subcontractor that is known at the time of award is considered significant for the purposes of documenting a vendor responsibility review when:
Examples of when the subcontractor’s qualifications are a material factor in the award include, but are not limited to, when the subcontractor's qualifications receive points in the evaluation for award or when the subcontractor will be performing the majority of the work.
Additionally, when the value of the subcontract exceeds 25 percent the value of the total contract, the subcontractor is deemed significant.
Transactions Exempt From Vendor Responsibility Documentation Requirements
A list of specific vendors and contract transactions which are exempt from Vendor Responsibility documentation requirements is provided in this document.
Waiver of Vendor Responsibility Documentation Requirements
If a State authority believes a subcontractor is not significant, the State authority must request for a waiver of the vendor responsibility documentation requirement in advance of contract submission or include such request with the submission. The request must describe the reasons for the authority’s belief. If OSC agrees with the State authority, OSC will waive the Vendor Responsibility documentation for the subcontractor. Alternatively, if OSC denies the State authority’s request, such documentation will be required prior to approving the contract, which may result in a delay in contract approval or a determination to non-approve the contract.
A fair procurement process facilitates the authority’s mission, protects the interests of the State and its taxpayers, and promotes fairness in the contracting community. To this end, it is imperative that interested parties be provided an opportunity to raise their concerns with respect to the legal and/or factual basis of a State authority’s contract award. Two types of bid protests may be filed with the Comptroller for contracts subject to the Comptroller’s approval: an appeal of a protest decision made by the contracting authority; and a direct protest to the Comptroller. Copies of every bid protest and the authority’s response must be included in the procurement record submitted with every eligible contract and contract amendment for prior approval. The OSC Guide to Financial Operations provides Bid Protest Procedures.
State Finance Law sections 139-j and 139-k regulate attempts to influence procurement contracts and impose procurement record requirements relating to lobbying on procurement contracts. The OSC Guide to Financial Operations describes procurement record requirements related to Procurement Lobbying Act provisions.
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