AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STATE CONTRACTING STANDARDS BOARD.

Senate
sSB469 / File No. 574 1

General Assembly File No. 574
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 469

Senate, April 9, 2026

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through SEN. FLEXER of the 29th Dist., Chairperson
of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute
bill ought to pass.

AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STATE
CONTRACTING STANDARDS BOARD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) (a) Notwithstanding any 1
provision of the general statutes, the appropriations recommended for 2
the State Contracting Standards Board shall be the estimates of 3
expenditure requirements transmitted to the Secretary of the Office of 4
Policy and Management by the executive director of the board and the 5
recommended adjustments and revisions of such estimates shall be the 6
recommended adjustments and revisions, if any, transmitted by said 7
executive director to the Office of Policy and Management. 8
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the 9
Governor shall not reduce allotment requisitions or allotments in force 10
concerning the State Contracting Standards Board. 11
Sec. 2. Subsection (h) of section 4e-2 of the general statutes is repealed 12
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and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 13
(h) The board may contract with consultants and professionals on a 14
temporary or project by project basis and [may] shall employ, subject to 15
the provisions of chapter 67, [such] not less than five full -time 16
employees and may employ such additional employees as may be 17
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 18
Sec. 3. Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 4e -5 of the general 19
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 20
(Effective July 1, 2026): 21
(2) The agency procurement officer shall be responsible for [assuring] 22
(A) ensuring that any invitation to bid, request for proposals or any 23
other solicitation for goods and services issued on or after July 1, 2026, 24
contains a notice of the rights of prospective bidders, proposers or 25
prospective contractors under section 4e -36, (B) ensuring that 26
contractors are properly screened prior to the award of a contract, (C) 27
ensuring that contractors are advised of their rights under section 4e-36, 28
prior to entering into a contract on or after July 1, 2026, (D) ensuring 29
that, upon the award of such a contract, unsuccessful bidders, proposers 30
or respondents are advised of their rights under section 4e -36, (E) 31
evaluating contractor performance during and at the conclusion of a 32
contract, (F) submitting written evaluations to a central data repository 33
to be designated by the board , and (G) creating a project management 34
plan for the agency with annual reports to the board pertaining to 35
procurement projects within the agency. 36
Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 4e -16 of the general statutes is 37
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 38
2026): 39
(d) [Any business case developed by a state contracting agency for 40
the purpose of complying with subsection (c) of this section shall 41
include: (1) The cost-benefit analysis as described in subsection (b) of 42
this section, (2) a detailed description of the service or activity that is the 43
subject of such business case, (3) a description and analysis of the state 44
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contracting agency's current performance of such service or activity, (4) 45
the goals to be achieved through the proposed privatization contract 46
and the rationale for such goals, (5) a description of available options for 47
achieving such goals, (6) an analysis of the advantages and 48
disadvantages of each option, including, at a minimum, potential 49
performance improvements and risks attendant to termination of the 50
contract or rescission of such contract, (7)] Each state contracting agency 51
proposing to enter into a privatization contract shall prepare a business 52
case that includes, at a minimum, the following: (1) A description of the 53
scope of services to be privatized; (2) a cost -benefit analysis comparing 54
the costs of providing the services by the state with the costs of 55
contracting for such services; (3) an analysis of the quality of services 56
expected under privatization; (4) a risk assessment, including potential 57
risks to service continuity and accountability; (5) a transition plan 58
addressing employee transition issues, including layoffs, transfers, 59
reassignments and retraining; (6) an analysis of the potential impact of 60
the proposed privatization contract on protected classes of workers, 61
including whether such privatization contract will lessen or increase 62
historical patterns that produce inequities between such workers and 63
other workers; (7) an analysis of the qualitative impact of the proposed 64
privatization contract on the existing state workforce; (8) a description 65
of the current market for the services or activities that are the subject of 66
such business case ; [, (8) ] (9) an analysis of the quality of services as 67
gauged by standardized measures and key performance requirements , 68
including compensation, turnover, and staffing ratios ; [, (9) ] (10) a 69
description of the specific results -based performance standards that 70
shall, at a minimum , be met, to ensure adequate performance by any 71
party performing such service or activity; [, (10)] (11) the projected time 72
frame for key events from the beginning of the procurement process 73
through the expiration of a contract, if applicable ; [, (11)] (12) a specific 74
and feasible contingency plan that addresses contractor 75
nonperformance and a description of the tasks involved in and costs 76
required for implementation of such plan; [,] and [(12)] (13) a transition 77
plan, if appropriate, for addressing changes in the number of agency 78
personnel, affected business processes, employee transition issues, and 79
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communications with affected stakeholders, such as agency clients and 80
members of the public, if applicable. Such transition plan shall contain 81
a reemployment and retraining assistance plan for employees who are 82
not retained by the state or employed by the contractor. If the primary 83
purpose of the proposed privatization contract is to provide a core 84
governmental function, such business case shall also include 85
information sufficient to rebut the presumption that such core 86
governmental function should not be privatized. Such presumption 87
shall not be construed to prohibit a state contracting agency from 88
contracting for specialized technical expertise not available within such 89
agency, provided such agency shall retain responsibility for such core 90
governmental function. For the purposes of this section, "core 91
governmental function" means a function for which the primary 92
purpose is (A) the inspection for adherence to health and safety 93
standards because public health or safety may be jeopardized if such 94
inspection is not done or is not done in a timely or proper manner, (B) 95
the establishment of statutory, regulatory or contractual standards to 96
which a regulated person, entity or state contractor shall be held, (C) the 97
enforcement of statutory, regulatory or contractual requirements 98
governing public health or safety, or (D) criminal or civil law 99
enforcement. If any part of such business case is based upon evidence 100
that the state contracting agency is not sufficiently staffed to provide the 101
core governmental function required by the privatization contract, the 102
state contracting agency shall also include within such business case a 103
plan for remediation of the understaffing to allow such services to be 104
provided directly by the state contracting agency in the future. 105
Sec. 5. Section 4e -21 of the general statutes is repealed and the 106
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 107
(a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the State Contracting Standards 108
Board, in consultation with the Department of Administrative Services, 109
shall adopt regulations to establish small purchase procedures for 110
procurements that do not exceed fifty thousand dollars. Such 111
regulations shall include a prohibition on the artificial division of a 112
procurement in order to make use of such small procurement 113
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procedures. 114
(b) The State Contracting Standards Board, in consultation with the 115
Commissioner of Administrative Services, may determine that a state 116
contracting agency has artificially divided procurement requirements so 117
as to constitute a small purchase under this section and, upon such 118
determination shall prohibit the state contracting agency from utilizing 119
such small purchase procedures. 120
(c) The State Contracting Standards Board, in consultation with the 121
Commissioner of Administrative Services, may waive the requirement 122
of competitive bidding or competitive negotiation in the case of minor, 123
nonrecurring or emergency purchases of ten thousand dollars or less in 124
amount. 125
(d) The Commissioner of Administrative Services shall document 126
any waiver granted under subsection (c) of this section in writing and 127
post such documentation on the State Contracting Portal not later than 128
five business days after the waiver was granted. 129
Sec. 6. Section 4e -34 of the general statutes is amended by adding 130
subsections (d) to (g), inclusive, as follows (Effective July 1, 2026): 131
(NEW) (d) As used in this section, "substantially the same entity" 132
means any business that, despite any change in name, structure or form, 133
is substantially the same as the disqualified contractor and shares 134
meaningful continuity with a disqualified contractor, including 135
continuity following bankruptcy or following a conviction under the 136
laws of this state or any other jurisdiction for conduct that, if committed 137
in this state, would constitute grounds for disqualification. 138
(NEW) (e) Evidence of an entity being substantially the same entity 139
includes, but is not limited to: (1) Continuity of ownership, beneficial 140
interest, or controlling individuals; (2) continuity of officers, directors, 141
members, partners, or managers; (3) continuity of key personnel 142
responsible for contract performance or oversight; (4) continuity of 143
operations, assets, inventory, equipment, business purpose or service 144
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lines; (5) continuity of contracts, clients or customers; (6) continuity of 145
workforce; (7) use of the same or substantially similar facilities, 146
addresses, telephone numbers, Internet web sites, electronic mail 147
domains or taxpayer identification numbers; (8) transfer or assignment 148
of assets, contracts or operations to a related or affiliated entity during 149
the disqualification period; and (9) formation or re -formation of an 150
entity by a principal, owner or controlling individual following a 151
conviction under the laws of this state or any other jurisdiction for 152
conduct that, if committed in this state, would constitute grounds for 153
disqualification. The presence of two or more factors in subdivisions (1) 154
to (9), inclusive, of this subsection creates a rebuttable presumption that 155
the entity is substantially the same entity as the disqualified contractor. 156
(NEW) (f) (1) A contractor disqualified under this section shall not 157
avoid or diminish the effect of such disqualification by altering the legal 158
identity or structure of such contractor's business, including, but not 159
limited to, changing the name, trade name, doing -business-as 160
designation, ownership, corporate form, taxpayer identification number 161
or other identifying information, including through bankruptcy 162
reorganization or by forming, re -forming or reorganizing a business 163
entity following a conviction under the laws of this state or any other 164
jurisdiction for conduct that, if committed in this state, would constitute 165
grounds for disqualification. 166
(2) The State Contracting Standards Board may initiate proceedings 167
under this section if it has reason to believe that a contractor, principal 168
or affiliated entity has attempted to evade disqualification through 169
restructuring, asset transfers, bankruptcy, rebranding or any act 170
reasonably expected to obscure or misrepresent identity or continuity, 171
including reorganization following a conviction under the laws of this 172
state or any other jurisdiction for conduct that, if committed in this state, 173
would constitute grounds for disqualification. 174
(NEW) (g) (1) Before awarding any contract, each state contracting 175
agency shall determine whether a bidder or proposer is (A) disqualified 176
under this section, or (B) a successor contractor who is substantially the 177
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same entity as a disqualified contractor. Each state contracting agency 178
shall screen potential contractors by making a reasonable inquiry into 179
changes in identity, ownership or structure, including changes arising 180
from bankruptcy or from re -formation following conviction under the 181
laws of this state or any other jurisdiction for conduct that, if committed 182
in this state, would constitute grounds for disqualification. 183
(2) When issuing or evaluating a solicitation, each state contracting 184
agency shall treat a disqualified contractor, and any successor entity 185
with substantially the same controlling individuals, ownership, 186
management or operations, as disqualified for the full disqualification 187
period, regardless of whether such contractor has reorganized, relocated 188
or re-formed following a conviction under the laws of this state or any 189
other jurisdiction for conduct that, if committed in this state, would 190
constitute grounds for disqualification, or through bankruptcy. 191
(3) If an agency identifies possible continuity with a disqualified 192
contractor, it shall refer the matter to the State Contracting Standards 193
Board before awarding the contract. 194
(4) No state contracting agency may award a contract to a contractor 195
or successor contractor determined to be substantially the same entity 196
as a disqualified contractor during the disqualification period. 197
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 4e-2(h)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2026 4e-5(a)(2)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2026 4e-16(d)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2026 4e-21
Sec. 6 July 1, 2026 4e-34(d) to (g)

GAE Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either cha mber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Department of Administrative
Services
GF - Cost 424,075 224,075
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits1
GF - Cost 66,075 66,075
Various State Agencies GF - Cost See Below See Below
State Contracting Standards
Board
GF - Potential
Cost
Minimal Minimal
State Contracting Standards
Board
GF - See Below See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes a variety of changes to state contracting law, including
adjusting business case requirements and expanding disqualification
for contractors and subcontractors. This results in a cost of $424,075 to
the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), with an associated
annual fringe cost of $66,075, in FY 27 and an annual cost of $224,075 to
DAS beginning in FY 28. The bill also results in potential costs for
various state agencies and a minimal potential cost to the State
Contracting Standards Board (SCSB) beginning in FY 27.
Section 1 prohibits the Governor from reducing SCSB allotments,
which precludes any General Fund savings that would have resulted

1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 40.71% of payroll in FY 26.
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from the existing process.
Section 2 establishes a minimum staffing threshold, resulting in no
fiscal impact. There is no fiscal impact because SCSB2 currently exceeds
the staffing threshold set by the bill.
Section 4 makes a variety of changes to the existing business case
requirements under the privatization law, to include: (1) quality of
services under privatization; (2) a risk assessment including service
continuity and accountability; (3) a transition plan; (4) a n impact
analysis of the privatization on protected classes and historical
inequalities; and (5) an analysis of qualitative impact on the state
workforce. This results in costs for various state agencies beginning in
FY 27, to the extent that additional staff time and resources are required
to meet the bill's requirements.
It is anticipated that many of these additional responsibilities will
impact the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and will result
in a cost of $424,075 in FY 27 and $224,075 annually thereafter. The costs
include: (1) a one-time cost of $200,000 in FY 27 to update systems and
documentation to accommodate adjustments to procurement processes
across state agencies; (2) $158,000 in salary and $66,075 in fringe
annually beginning in FY 27 to hire two new employees within DAS.
Section 6 expands the reasons that SCSB can disqualify3 a contractor
or subcontractor to include entities that are substantially the same
entity, resulting in a potential minimal cost to SCSB beginning in FY 27.
There may be a minimal cost if additional staff time is required to handle
the additional disqualifications that may result from this section.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.

2 SCSB currently has seven positions, and the bill requires five.
3 The SCSB Disqualification Subcommittee did not hold a meeting in 2025.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 469

AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
STATE CONTRACTING STANDARDS BOARD.

SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes related to the State Contracting
Standards Board’s (SCSB) powers and duties and state contracting
processes generally (see BACKGROUND). It sets requirements for the
SCSB’s appropriations estimates, allotments, and staffing minimums. It
requires agency procurement officers to give a notice of certain rights to
various entities involved in the contracting process. The bill changes
proposed privatization business case requirements, including requiring
additional information and analyses. It also requires the Department of
Administrative Services (DAS) to document any competitive bidding
waivers and post them on the State Contracting Portal.
Lastly, the bill expands contracting disqualifications to include
contractors that are substantially the same entity as a disqualified
contractor and identifies the evidence needed to determine if a
contractor is substantially the same entity. It requires state contracting
agencies to make a reasonable inquiry into whether a proposed
contractor is substantially the same entity as a disqualified contractor,
and if so, prohibits the agencies from awarding a contract to that
proposed contractor.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
§ 1 — APPROPRIATIONS ESTIMATES AND ALLOTMENTS
The bill requires the SCSB executive director’s recommended
appropriations for the board, which are submitted to the Office of Policy
and Management (OPM) secretary, to be estimates of expenditure
requirements. It requires any recommended adjustments and r evisions
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to the estimates to be the ones the executive director gives OPM.
The bill also prohibits the governor from reducing the SCSB’s
allotment requisitions or allotments in force.
§ 2 — SCSB STAFFING MINIMUMS
The bill requires the SCSB to employ at least five full-time employees
and allows it to employ more as needed. Current law allows the board
to hire employees as necessary to carry out its duties. By law, the board
may also contract with consultants and other professionals as needed.
§ 3 — NOTICE OF RIGHTS REQUIREMENTS
The bill requires each contracting agency’s procurement officer to
include in any invitation to bid, proposal request, or other solicitation
for goods and services issued on or after July 1, 2026, a notice of the
rights of prospective bidders, proposers, o r contractors to contest the
contract solicitation or award. Similarly, the bill requires the
procurement officer to advise contractors, before entering into a contract
on or after July 1, 2026, and the unsuccessful bidders, proposers, or
respondents, of these rights.
§ 4 — BUSINESS CASE REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIVATIZATION
CONTRACTS
The law generally requires state contracting agencies to develop a
business case, consisting of multiple analyses, for a service it seeks to
privatize. The bill changes some of the required elements of the business
case and adds new ones.
Among other things, current law requires the business case to
include:
1. a description and analysis of the state contracting agency’s
current performance of the service,
2. the goals to be achieved through the proposed privatization
contract and the rationale for those goals,
3. a description of the available options to achieve those goals, and
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4. the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
The bill instead requires the business case to include:
1. an analysis of the quality of services under privatization;
2. a risk assessment, including service continuity and
accountability;
3. a transition plan, including layoffs, transfers, reassignments, and
retraining;
4. an analysis of the impact on protected classes of workers and
whether privatization will impact historical inequities; and
5. an analysis of the qualitative impact on the existing state
workforce.
§ 5 — WAIVER OF BIDDING REQUIREMENTS
By law, the SCSB, in consultation with the DAS commissioner, may
waive the competitive bidding or negotiation requirement for a minor,
nonrecurring, or emergency purchase of $10,000 or less. The bill requires
DAS to document any waiver in writing and post it on the State
Contracting Portal within five days after granting the waiver.
§ 6 — EXPANDING DISQUALIFICATION GROUNDS
By law, the SCSB, acting through a subcommittee, may disqualify any
contractor, bidder, or proposer for up to five years from bidding,
applying, or participating as a contractor or subcontractor under
contracts with the state. The SCSB may disqualify contr actors and
subcontractors for many reasons, including for a history of failure to
perform or unsatisfactory performance on public contracts, willful
violation of a statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the
contract, various types of criminal convictions, and a disqualification by
another state for cause (CGS § 4e-34).
Contracting Prohibition With “Substantially the Same Entity”
Under the bill, before awarding a contract, a state contracting agency
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must determine if a bidder or proposer is (1) disqualified or (2) a
successor contractor that is “substantially the same entity” (see below)
as a disqualified contractor. The bill requires the state contracting
agency to make a reasonable inquiry into chan ges in identity,
ownership, or structure, including bankruptcy or re -formation
following a conviction that is grounds for disqualification. If a state
contracting agency identifies possible continuity with a disqualified
contractor, it must refer the matte r to the SCSB before awarding the
contract.
When a state contracting agency issues or evaluates a solicitation, the
bill requires it to treat a disqualified contractor, and any successor entity
that has substantially the same controlling ownership or operations, as
disqualified for the full disquali fication period, regardless of whether
the contractor has reorganized, relocated, re -formed, or filed
bankruptcy. The bill also prohibits state contracting agencies from
awarding a contract to a contractor or successor contractor who is
determined to be su bstantially the same entity as the disqualified
contractor during the disqualification period.
Evading Disqualification
The bill prohibits contractors from avoiding or diminishing the
disqualification’s effect by altering the legal identity or structure of their
business. This may include changing the name, trade name, doing -
business-as designation, ownership, corporate for m, taxpayer
identification number, or other identifying information, including
through bankruptcy reorganization, or by forming, re -forming, or
reorganizing a business entity after a disqualifying conviction.
The bill authorizes the SCSB to initiate proceedings if it has reason to
believe that a contractor, principal, or affiliated entity has attempted to
evade disqualification through restructuring, asset transfer,
bankruptcy, rebranding, reorganization, or another act that obscures or
misrepresents identity or continuity.
Substantially the Same Entity
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Under the bill, a business is “substantially the same entity” if, despite
a change in name, structure, or form, it is substantially the same as and
shares meaningful continuity with a disqualified contractor, including
continuity after a bankruptcy or a disqualifying conviction.
Under the bill, the following is evidence of an entity being
substantially the same entity:
1. continuity of ownership, beneficial interest, controlling
individuals, officers, directors, partners, managers, key
personnel responsible for contract performance or oversight,
operations, assets, inventory, equipment, business purpose,
service lines, contracts, clients, customers, or workforce;
2. use of the same or substantially similar facilities, addresses,
phone numbers, web sites, email domains, or taxpayer
identification numbers;
3. transfer or assignment of assets, contracts, or operations to a
related or affiliated entity during the disqualification period; and
4. formation or re -formation of an entity by a principal, owner, or
controlling individual after a conviction that is grounds for
disqualification.
If two or more factors are present, the bill creates a rebuttable
presumption that the entity is substantially the same entity as the
disqualified contractor.
BACKGROUND
SCSB Duties, Responsibilities, and Membership
The SCSB is an executive branch agency within the Office of
Governmental Accountability with various responsibilities associated
with state contracting processes, including (1) helping state agencies
comply with the contracting procurement statutes and regulations, (2)
reviewing and certifying whether a state contracting agency’s
procurement processes comply with statutes and regulations, and (3)
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disqualifying contractors for up to five years for offenses detailed in
statute.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/20/2026)