Just as corporate lobbying corrupts
the legislative process,
the scramble for government contracts corrupts the executive branch and
its
agencies. Ohio has seen multiple pay-to-play scandals in
recent years
where campaign contributors illicitly received unbid special counsel
work from
the attorney
general's office, no-bid contracts from the secretary
of state's office, and control of workers’
compensation investments in the notorious
Coingate scandal. Similar
scandals
have enveloped public officials in New
York, California,
South
Carolina, Illinois
and other states across the country.
A number of states have taken action
to assure greater
accountability in the public contracting system through common-sense
solutions:
Campaign Contributions by Contractors: Seven
states
currently
have some form of pay-to-play contracting law to bar
companies bidding
on contracts from making campaign contributions to government
officials, and in
2005, New Jersey passed the nation’s most
far-reaching pay-to-play
law
in the wake of local contracting scandals.
Tightening
Contracting Standards: The tighter the
standards for the
bidding processes and the work done, the less likely incompetent or
corrupt
companies can buy contracts with campaign contributions.
Public Citizen — Pay
to Play and State Governments
Public Citizen — State
Pay
to Play Laws
AFSCME — Legislative
Approaches to Responsible Contracting
New
Jersey Pay
to Play Law
