Government White Papers

Under the Sunshine Act, committees of an agency that are authorized to take official action or render advice to the main board are, themselves, agencies subject to the requirements of the Sunshine Act. Any time a quorum of the committee meets to deliberate agency business or take official action, they must do so at a public meeting (unless one of the executive session exceptions applies).

The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) was adopted by the Legislature with the intent, as expressed in SEQRA’s implementing regulations2, that “all agencies [state and local] conduct their affairs with an awareness that they are stewards of the air, water, land, and living resources, and that they have an obligation to protect the environment for the use and enjoyment of this and all future generations” (§617.1(b)) and that a “suitable balance of social, economic and environmental factors be incorporated into the planning and decision-making processes of state, regional and local agencies” (§617.1(d)). SEQRA also requires that the decision making process be open to the public and that the public be given certain opportunities to contribute directly to the process.

The genesis of the False Claims Act can be found during our nation’s darkest hour. At a time when the United States was in danger of being irrevocably torn apart, unscrupulous individuals saw an opportunity to profit from their country’s misfortune. The war effort required a tremendous budget. With so much money changing hands, government contractors had ample opportunities to defraud the government and hide losses in a mountain of paperwork. Congress learned of several abuses that occurred early in the war and garnered embarrassing headlines. Purchase officers were accused of overpaying for lame and disabled horses, a practice that resonates to the present day with the term “horse trading.” In at least one instance, bullets provided to the Union forces contained sawdust instead of gunpowder. Men who had contacts in the government were often given substantial “commissions” for their ability to secure government contracts. The matter reached a boiling point in 1863, when Congress passed the False Claims Act in response to public outcry against government contract abuse.

The landscape of obtaining government contracts has changed significantly. Sealed bidding is used less frequently than in the past. Nevertheless, when certain conditions are present, sealed bidding is mandatory. Thus the government contract practitioner must familiarize himself with the sealed bidding process in the event he encounters a situation that calls for its use. In the mid-1990s, Congress amended several key statutes relating to the acquisition of government contracts. Up until that time, sealed bidding was the norm. The amendments gave federal contracting officers more discretion to award contracts through a process called competitive negotiation. As the name implies, the goal of saving government funds by means of competition among bidders remains paramount. An indefinite delivery contract is used when there is uncertainty as to the exact time and exact quantity of future deliveries. Indefinite delivery contracts have been used traditionally by the Department of Defense to furnish its ongoing supply needs.