Ballot Proposal 2

Reduce City Contractor Paperwork: Require Regular Meetings of Procurement Policy Board

What you will see on the ballot

Reduce paperwork for City contractors by authorizing Procurement Policy Board to simplify contractor questionnaire. Require quarterly meetings of the Procurement Policy Board. Remove mandatory hearing for required client services report. 

• A “yes” vote amends Procurement Policy Board authority, including simplifying contractor questionnaire. Authorizes Mayor to delegate certain contract approvals. 
• A “no” vote leaves law unchanged, with Mayor and Comptroller maintaining longer questionnaire. 

What this proposal says 

This proposal would change the City’s contracting process, which governs how the City hires businesses and nonprofits to provide goods and services. It would also require regular meetings of the Procurement Policy Board (PPB), which sets rules for City contracting. 

What this proposal means

• Currently, prospective contractors must fill out the same detailed questionnaire, maintained by the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) and the Comptroller, regardless of the value of the contract. Under this proposal, the PPB would determine the questionnaire’s contents and could reduce requirements for certain contractors, such as smaller contractors or lower-value contracts. For franchises and concessions, the Franchise and Concession Review Committee would have the same authority.  
• Agencies that award contracts for direct services like shelters, job training programs, and youth services must currently develop an annual plan for these contracts. Under this proposal, these agencies would no longer have to hold a public hearing on their draft plan but would still need to publish a final plan each year.  
• Currently, the Mayor’s Office can delegate contract approval authority to Agency Chief Contracting Officers, but not for certain contracts over $5 million. This proposal would allow the Mayor’s Office to delegate approval of those contracts as well, with the approval of the agency’s Commissioner. 
• Under State law, the City can currently accept public comments on certain higher value contracts instead of holding an in-person public hearing. Under the proposal, this option would become permanent in City law, and the PPB would decide the contract value at which a public comment period is required. 
• Lastly, the PPB is not currently required to meet on any regular schedule, and this proposal would require them to meet at least once every three months. 
• The PPB meeting schedule would go into effect January 1, 2027, and they would be allowed to decide the contract value at which a public comment period is required starting October 1, 2030. Everything else would go into effect immediately upon voter approval certification.