An Act to enhance cooperative purchasing opportunities for cities and towns

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by James Arena-DeRosa and 3 co-sponsors

Allows public procurement units in cooperative agreements to award contracts to multiple offerors via RFP when in the best interest, expanding flexibility.

Read second and ordered to a third reading

Overview

Bill number: H 3424

Title: An Act to enhance cooperative purchasing opportunities for cities and towns

Sponsor/Introduced: Representatives Steven Ultrino and Carmine Lawrence Gentile (Filed February 27, 2025)

Committee status: Referred to State Administration and Regulatory Oversight; later actions show progression toward third reading

Current status: Read second and ordered to a third reading (as of the latest actions shown)

Purpose and intent

The bill aims to broaden and streamline cooperative purchasing opportunities for public procurement units in Massachusetts. By expanding the way cooperative agreements can award contracts, it seeks to increase flexibility, competition, and value for cities and towns that participate in cooperative purchasing arrangements.

Key provisions

Primary change: Section 22 of Chapter 30B of the General Laws would be amended by inserting a new paragraph after the first paragraph.

Inserted text (summary): Public procurement units that operate a cooperative purchasing agreement may award contracts to multiple offerors through a request for proposals (RFP) if their chief procurement officer determines that awarding to multiple offerors is in the best interests of the parties to the cooperative purchasing agreement. This is stated to be “notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of this Chapter,” giving the CPO broad discretion within the context of the cooperative arrangement.

Scope: Applies to public procurement units engaged in cooperative purchasing agreements; the substantive effect is to allow multiple awardees via RFP when appropriate, rather than restricting to a single award or single vendor unless otherwise required by existing law.

Who would be affected

Public procurement units in Massachusetts that participate in cooperative purchasing agreements, including cities, towns, and any regional consortia empowered to use cooperative purchasing under Chapter 30B.

Chief procurement officers (CPOs) of those units, who would have authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether multiple awardees are in the best interests of the cooperative parties.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduced: February 27, 2025

Early actions: Referred to the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight on February 27, 2025; Senate concurred (date in materials).

Subsequent steps: Hearing scheduled (July 15, 2025); Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (October 20, 2025).

Latest status: Listed as “Read second and ordered to a third reading” with further motions in November 2025 indicating readiness for additional floor action.

Potential impacts and considerations

Flexibility and value: Allowing multiple awardees via RFP could improve competition, pricing, and terms within cooperative purchasing arrangements.

Local governance: Maintains significant discretion with the chief procurement officer, requiring careful oversight to ensure transparency and fairness across participating entities.

Administrative complexity: Might increase coordination needs among multiple awardees and participating units, as well as reporting and oversight requirements.

Bill