This bill mandates the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) to annually adjust the monetary threshold for the pay-to-play prohibition related to contracts with State, county, municipal, school board, and fire district entities. The adjustment must align with the public bidding threshold established for counties and municipalities, which is currently set at $44,000 and is reviewed every five years. The new legal language specifies that the adjusted transaction and contract values will apply to entities that have designated a qualified purchasing agent, while those without such designation will remain subject to the existing threshold of $17,500.

Additionally, the bill amends several sections of existing law to incorporate the new threshold values. It stipulates that contracts exceeding the adjusted threshold cannot be awarded to business entities that have made campaign contributions to relevant candidate committees within a specified timeframe. The amendments also clarify the reporting requirements for business entities regarding political contributions when bidding for contracts. Overall, the bill aims to enhance transparency and accountability in public contracting by ensuring that the pay-to-play rules are consistently applied and updated in accordance with the public bidding thresholds.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 19:44A-20.3, 19:44A-20.4, 19:44A-20.5, 19:44A-20.14, 19:44A-20.15, 19:44A-20.26