State College/University Legislative Goals 2010-2011

Labor and Personnel

Reform Civil Service

a)  Exempt the employees of the state colleges and universities from Civil Service; or
b)  Exempt the employees of the state colleges and universities from the hiring provisions of Civil Service.

Transfer authority for administering Workers' Compensation to the state colleges and universities.

The state colleges and universities should be authorized to obtain the services and insurance coverage required to manage their own workers' compensation program.  Currently, Treasury's Bureau of Risk Management administers the state colleges' and universities' workers' compensation claims, and the Attorney General represents the institutions before the Workers' Compensation Court.  The Bureau of Risk Management bills the institutions quarterly for money paid by the state on behalf of the institutions for administering their workers' compensation claims, with little or no input from the institutions.  Over the past five years, the state colleges' and universities' workers' compensation payments have increased over 100%.

The state would benefit by allowing the state colleges and universities to maintain their own workers' compensation program.  The institutions anticipate substantial savings from more efficient operations and greater scrutiny over claims.  The state would no longer need to administer the institutions' claims, and it could devote more resources to agencies with greater risk profiles.

New Jersey's county colleges have administered their own workers' compensation program for over 20 years.  Other states have successfully implemented such programs for their public colleges, and these programs have successfully controlled costs and met workers' needs.

Designate the state colleges and universities as the employer of record of their employees for the purpose of collective bargaining (C.18A:64-21.1).

This proposed change would make the collective-bargaining laws for public higher education in New jersey consistent.  The other senior public institutions -- Rutgers University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry -- all conduct their own negotiations.  Each county college conducts its own negotiations as well.

Construction Contracts

Enhance Public-Private Partnerships under the New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009

a)  Extend the 18-month deadline for entering public-private partnerships.
b)  Exempt public-private partnership projects from property tax.

Both of the goals above would be achieved under S-920, A-1897, and A-2059.

Revise construction provisions under the State College Contracts Law

1. Allow design-build contracts, especially for smaller construction or installation projects.  Current law (C.18A:64-76.1) limits flexibility to construct facilities efficiently and cost-effectively.  The institutions typically need to commission an architect or engineer to prepare drawings and specifications under a design contract, and then must select a construction contractor to build the facility.  Costs can increase because of change orders derived from errors and omissions.  The State College Contracts Law should be amended to permit design-build contracts, thereby allowing institutions to have one point of contact for the entire project, saving time and money.

2. Eliminate current restriction of multiple bids to five prime contract types (C.18A:64-76.1).  Institutions should be allowed to accept and to award an unlimited number of multiple bids for construction projects when it is determined to be in the institution's best financial interest.

Goods and Services Contracts

1. Increase public bid threshold from $30,100 to at least $50,000 (C.18A:64-54).

2. Expand public bid waiver categories to include banking, financial, and travel services (C.18A:64-56).

3. Extend contract terms from 5 years to 30 years for contracts related to:  (1) the purchase, lease, and maintenance of information technology; (2) insurance; (3) banking and financial services; and (4) facilities management (C.18A:64-79).

4. Eliminate the requirement for contractors to obtain and provide business registration certificates (C.52:32-44).  This process is costly, time-consuming, and does not improve transparency.

Evaluation of Bids under State College Contracts Law

1. Revise "lowest responsible bid" contracting requirement for construction projects to permit award based on "price and other factors" (C.18A:64-76.1.b).

2. Revise the requirement to award goods and services contracts to the "responsible bidder whose bid ... will be most advantageous to the state college, price and other factors considered" by defining "responsible" and "advantageous" (C.18A:64-70).

Under current law, institutions can do little when faced with a "responsible" low bid from a contractor with a poor record of performance or one not deemed truly capable of performing at a high degree of quality.  It is not unusual for a contractor of marginal quality to low-bid a contract and then issue many requests for change orders, often delaying the job and getting additional payments that increase the final job price.

Tax Matters

1. Eliminate sales tax on parking fees paid by commuter students to park on campus (C.54:32B-3(i)).  University employees and resident students are exempt from sales tax on parking services.  This tax should be eliminated so that commuting students are on parity with resident students.

2. Eliminate the requirement that state colleges and universities pay sales tax on natural gas purchases (C.54:32B-9(c)(3)).