09/07 Pay to Play
(Political Contributions for Government
Contracts)
In
the waning hours of the 126th General Assembly, a bill was passed
that impacts local governments.
The
bill extends to most local governments statutory provisions intended to
discourage pay to play contracts between authorities and vendors.
Under the
new law, any bid or undid contract, including purchase orders, for goods
and services with a value of more than $500 will require the
vendor to certify to the contracting authority in an amount that exceeds
the limits provided by law. While the bill was designed to deal
with
state agencies, the local government provisions were added in the Ohio