AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

Under Title 29, Section 5805, no state employee, no state officer, and no private enterprise in which a state employee or state officer has a legal or equitable ownership of more than 10% (more than 1% in the case of a corporation whose stock is regularly traded on an established securities market) shall enter into any contract with the State (other than an employment contract) unless such contract was made or let after public notice and competitive bidding. However, the notice and bidding requirements do not apply to contracts involving $2,000 per year or less, provided that the terms of such contract reflect arms’ length negotiations. The exemption for contracts involving $2,000 per year or less went into effect in 1991 and has not been raised since. This act raises the exemption from $2,000 to $5,000 to take into account the effects of inflation. This act also deletes language in Section 5805(c) that is out-of-date.