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Office of the New York State Comptroller

Comptroller's Oversight of State Authority Contracts

Public Authorities Reform Act (PARA) of 2009

Under the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 (Chapter 506 of the Laws of 2009) the New York State Comptroller is authorized to provide oversight of certain State public authority contracts valued at greater than $1 million. Chapter 506 amends the Public Authorities Law (PAL) to establish a new Section 2879-a, which empowers the Comptroller to review and approve certain State authority contracts and requires State authorities to file certain contracts with the Comptroller.

Regulations

Part 206 of Title 2 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) of the State of New York became effective October 27, 2010.

Contract Submission System (CSS)

CSS is a secure, web-based application which allows State authorities to submit contracts and contract amendments to OSC for prior approval and filing. State authorities must identify staff that will submit contract to OSC using CSS and enroll those users in OSC Online Services. Contact the OSC HelpDesk for Online Services Enrollment assistance.

Effective October 26, 2011, State authorities MUST use the CSS to submit contracts. As of the effective date, contract transactions submitted by any method other than CSS will not be considered as having been submitted for the purposes of Public Authorities law§2879a.

Contract Submission System

Log In to CSS

View CSS Demo

How to Enroll Users

CSS Demo

This brief system demonstration walks State authority users through the steps of submitting contract transactions and highlights other features of the CSS.  Everything you need to know in about 10 minutes!

New CSS Required Data Fields

Effective May 8, 2012, vendor contact information will be required data for every State authority contract transaction submitted to in CSS for prior approval or filing.  This contact information is needed so that NYS can establish a unique Vendor ID for each vendor.   A Vendor ID is necessary for the CSS to interact with other internal OSC systems. Click here for additional information.

Contracts Requiring Prior Approval

The Comptroller has exercised the discretion authorized under PAL §2879-a and Title 2 of NYCRR Part 206 by issuing Written Notices to every State authority and State authority subsidiary designating certain contracts and contract amendments as subject to his prior review and approval. At this time, the following are subject to prior review and approval:

  • All eligible contracts for the purchase of goods or services which are awarded without competition where the aggregate consideration under the contract may reasonably be valued in excess of one million dollars, and eligible amendments to contracts previously approved by the Comptroller where the value of the amendment is 10 percent or more of the contract amount as originally approved by the Comptroller.
  • All eligible contracts which are supported in whole or part with funds appropriated from the Community Projects Fund-007 (also known as Member Items), where the aggregate consideration under the contract may reasonably be valued in excess of one million dollars, and eligible amendments to contracts previously approved by the Comptroller where the value of the amendment is 10 percent or more of the contract amount as originally approved by the Comptroller.

State authorities are cautioned to rely only on actual written notices received when determining which contracts required prior approval.

The following flow charts will assist State authorities in determining when a contract or contract amendment is required to be prior approved or filed by OSC.

Contract Submission Procedures

The State Authority Contract Manual contains the procedures for State authorities to submit contracts and contract amendments to the Office of the State Comptroller for approval or filing. Annual Reporting procedures are also addressed. View as (HTML Version) or (PDF Version).

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