NASPO News

  • NASPO Publishes The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – Implications for State Procurement Officials

    Posted July 8, 2011


    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could transform state governments' role in the provision of health care. Health benefit exchanges, a critical component of the Act, are being developed in many states and on an accelerated timeline.

    This whitepaper by Matt Grayson, NASPO Sr. Policy Analyst and Richard Pennington, NASPO Life Member, examines the role of health benefit exchanges, options for states in creating them, and the implications for state procurement officials and activities. Recommendations for states, such as the evaluation of alternative governance models and procurement laws, leveraging procurement officials, value-added capabilities, and staff training needs, will help state procurement officials play an important role in the creation and implementation of state health exchanges.

    Click here to read the whitepaper

  • IRS Issues Final 3% Withholding Guidelines

    Posted May 6, 2011

    The final regulations regarding the 3% withholding requirement will be published in the Federal Register on Monday, May 9th.  The regulations and brief analysis are found here.

    The highlight of the final regulations is that the withholding requirement has been postponed for one more year (Dec. 31, 2012). Withholding for p-card transactions is not expected until 2013 at the earliest.

    NASPO and other members of the Government Withholding Relief Coalition are pleased that the combined industry efforts have resulted in the third delay of the withholding. However, the Coalition will continue to press for the elimination of the mandate.

  • NASPO 2011 Eastern Region Meeting June 12-14, 2011 in Mystic, CT

    Posted April 28, 2011

    Registration NOW OPEN!

  • ABA Section of Public Contract Law 6th Annual State and Local Procurement Symposium

    Posted April 27, 2011

    May 12-13 in Sacramento, California.  Co-sponsored by NASPO.  Discounted registration fees for NASPO members.

  • NASPO Supports Principles and Practices of Public Procurement Project

    Posted February 16, 2011

    The NASPO Board of Directors recently signed on as a supporting organization to the Principles and Practices of Public Procurement project, a collaborative review of values, principles, and standards of practice for public sector procurement. A series of values and guiding principles has been adopted and the focus has now shifted to the development of standards of practice for the profession. If you are interested in serving on the Standards of Practice Review Team, contact Jack Gallt at jgallt@amrms.com for more information.

  • NASPO Expresses Support for Legislation to Repeal 3% Withholding Mandate

    Posted February 8, 2011

    In letters to Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Steve Brown (R-MA), NASPO expressed support for their efforts to repeal the TIPRA 3% withholding mandate on certain state contracts... read more

  • Cooperation and Collaboration in State Higher Education Procurement

    Posted November 15, 2010


    NASPO released a position paper in response to a study on the impact of the state regulatory environment on higher education procurement.  Rather than exempting public colleges and universities from state procurement laws, NASPO strongly believes it is important for all state entities to work collaboratively for the good of the whole enterprise.

  • NASPO How to Market to State Governments Call for Ideas April 3-5, 2011 Boston, Massachusetts

    Posted October 27, 2010

    The 2011 How to Market to State Governments Call for Ideas is now closed. Thank you to all that submitted proposals. Over the next few weeks the committee will be reviewing the submissions and select those speakers and/or topics they feel are most beneficial to the overall conference. Should your submission be selected, you will be contacted no later than Thursday, December 16, 2010.  

  • 2010 WSCA Cooperative Development Conference

    Posted September 15, 2010

    December 8-9, 2010
    Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown
    Albuquerque, New Mexico
    This conference is only open to state procurement professionals.

  • 2010 NASPO Annual Conference Highlights Efficiency, Cooperative Purchasing and Emergency Response

    Posted September 2, 2010

    The National Association of State Procurement Officials celebrated its 63rd year at its Annual Conference from August 23-26, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Chief Procurement Officers and staff from 40 states plus the District of Columbia attended the meeting...Read more

  • NASPO Recognizes Innovation in State Government Procurement

    Posted September 1, 2010

    The National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) honored three innovative state procurement programs with the George Cronin Award for Procurement Excellence at its Annual Conference on August 24, 2010 in Washington, D.C. ...Read more

  • Responsible Purchasing 2010: The "State" of Sustainable Procurement

    Posted August 10, 2010

    NASPO, in cooperation with the Responsible Purchasing Network, is pleased to announce that the 2010 Responsible Purchasing Survey is available for viewing by NASPO members. This comprehensive survey examines eco-label usage, allowable price premiums, tracking green spend, and a host of other topics of importance to the state procurement community.

    The survey is available in NASPO's Green Purchasing Guide, which offers practical information on all facets of green spending.

  • Participate in NASPO's Cooperative/Consortia Purchasing Survey

    Posted July 28, 2010

    Earlier this year, NASPO's Emerging Issues Committee surveyed members in order to get feedback on topics of interest to the membership. That survey indicated that cooperative contracting and the use of purchasing consortia was the #1 issue facing NASPO's membership.

    This survey is being conducted to support the creation of a White Paper (currently in development) focusing on cooperative purchasing. To participate, click here. Contact NASPO's Issues Coordinator Matt Grayson at 859-514-9159 if you have any questions.

    The deadline for response is Friday, August 13. Thank you for your participation!

  • Have a Question for the Listserv? Check out the new Listserv Snapshots

    Posted June 29, 2010

    Selected NASPO listserv questions have been compiled into Listserv Snapshots, providing a quick and easy reference for NASPO members. Current snapshots feature questions on reverse auctions, bid thresholds, sole source procurements and much more!

    Visit the NASPO listserv page for more information. Check the page often for new Snapshots and updates to existing documents.

  • NASPO Announces Results of June IT Procurement Survey

    Posted June 29, 2010

    The NASPO IT Procurement Work Group launched this special survey in order to gather information for an online repository of IT-related Terms and Conditions, statute references and procurement information that will be invaluable to the NASPO membership. To date, 25 states have contributed to the IT Terms and Conditions repository.

    Survey analysis and results are available in the Members Only section of the NASPO website here.

  • NASPO Issues Research Brief on Administrative Fees

    Posted September 9, 2009

    “Administrative Fees: Creative Funding for Central Procurement in Difficult Economic Times” is a research brief written by state procurement officials and designed to be used by state procurement officials and policymakers considering the use of administrative fees as a funding mechanism. It offers tips, best practices and lessons learned related to the implementation and effectiveness of a variety of administrative fee structures.  See the related press release.

  • 2010 Supplier Guide: How to Do Business with the States

    Posted June 8, 2009

    Knowledge of state procurement policies and processes can give your company a competitive edge in doing business with the states. The 2010 NASPO Supplier Guide is your one-stop source for information on state procurement contacts, policies and procedures.

  • NASPO Launches State Stimulus Webpage

    Posted March 2, 2009

    This page will contain a variety of resources for NASPO members and their staffs.  It will be updated frequently as information and guidance is changed or added.  If there is additional information, website links, issues or documents that you would like to see on this page, or that you can provide for the benefit of other NASPO members, please email Matt Grayson, NASPO Issues Coordinator.

  • NASPO Submits Comments to the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service regarding IRC Sec. 3402(t) – Withholding on Payments by Governments

    Posted February 27, 2009

    Although the date for implementation was delayed until January 1, 2012, requests for responses to the IRS regulations are due March 5, 2009.  NASPO will continue to support full repeal of the provision in the future.

  • NASPO Joins in Calling for Repeal of Contract Tax

    Posted February 10, 2009

    This letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus encourages full repeal of Section 511 of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 as included in the House-passed H.R. 1 (“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”). NASPO joins organizations including NASBO, NASACT, NIGP, NaCo, NASRA, USCM and several others in its support of repeal.

  • NASPO Issues Green Purchasing Policy Statement

    Posted January 23, 2009

    NASPO GREEN PURCHASING POLICY STATEMENT
    Adopted January 22, 2009

    NASPO seeks to leverage the purchasing power of state and local government to conserve energy and national resources, limit environmental pollution and waste, improve public health, encourage clean technologies, and create cost savings opportunities and a balanced economy. NASPO will accomplish this through the development of policies, programs and information resources that educate procurement decision makers on environmental issues and solutions.

  • NASPO Issues Press Release

    Posted September 29, 2008

    On September 29, 2008, NASPO issued a press release announcing the newest edition of its flagship publication, now titled State and Local Government Procurement:  A Practical Guide.