Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson (D-Rochester/Chili/Riga/Rush/Wheatland) announced that legislation he sponsored that would require state agencies to use a more cost-effective approach to save taxpayer dollars on consulting contracts costing $500,000 or more passed the Assembly (A.5128-B). This legislation awaits a vote in the Senate.

“To save taxpayer dollars especially during this tough economic time, it’s crucial that we have a system in place to determine the most cost-effective way to carry out state agency projects,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “It is possible to execute a project using the expertise and skills of our state’s own workforce, it’s more cost effective than dolling the same job out to private consultants.”

This legislation would require state agencies to determine if the same work that an outside consultant is being hired for can be done by state employees at a lower cost. Under this measure, a system would be put in place to determine whether the use of taxpayer dollars for consulting contracts is necessary, getting rid of the need to hire more expensive private consultants, added Assemblymember Bronson.

“I urge the hardworking taxpayers of my community to contact their state Senator and tell them to support this extremely important, cost-saving measure,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “This bill will help us reduce internal waste by utilizing resources that we already have, while saving taxpayer dollars.”