Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) announces that Senate Bill 1271 has passed the Legislature and is now on its way to the governor where he can sign it into law.

SB 1271 protects Californians’ right to hold their government, and its use of tax dollars, accountable by adding much needed accountability to the state’s no-bid contracting process.

“This is a victory for transparency and good governance,” said Wilk. “This measure takes the ‘automatic’ out of the state’s no-bid contract renewal process and adds essential oversight. I am very glad to see the Legislature send a message to the governor that we want more checks and balances in the renewal process.”

Under SB 1271, beginning next year, state agencies entering into contracts at or above $75 million are required to submit their terms and conditions to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee prior to renewal or extension of the contracts.

The need for new legislative oversight of no-bid contracts was made apparent by the late-2021 renewal of a contract with the PerkinElmer COVID testing lab in Valencia. Despite major concerns raised by whistleblowers regarding mismanagement and processing inadequacies in the lab, not even one oversight hearing was held before the contract auto-renewed in October 2021. In March of this year, the Newsom administration quietly canceled the contract.