Corbett Signs 5 Year Long "No Bid" Sole-Source Contract to Outsource PA's Websites (They crashed)

[JPZenger]

Happy tax day. The PA. Dept. of Revenue website has crashed, along with the websites of most of the agencies under the Governor's control.

The Governor's office says this has absolutely nothing to do with the Governor secretly signing a 5 year long "no bid" sole-source contract in December to outsource the state's websites.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/03/lawmaker_questioning_state_web.html

Excerpt:

"A spokesman for Corbett's Office of Administration said the firm (NIC of Kansas) is the only company in the country that does what it does, making it unnecessary to open the contract to bidding. But Rep. Matzie cited a statement by NIC in its 2013 annual report to investors that it faces "intense competition" in all sectors of its business. NIC also said in a Feb. 7 conference call with investors that the Pennsylvania contract was its FIRST SOLE-SOURCED agreement in the history of the company, according to a transcript of the call.

... NIC has contracts with 28 other states, and a spokeswoman for the company would not discuss why the Pennsylvania contract was the only one that was a sole-source agreement.

...The Corbett administration made no public announcement about the contract...Matzie said the 456-page contract appears to give NIC the right to do the credit card Processing for new or existing electronic transactions for up to 10 years, potentially earning NIC hundreds of millions of dollars."

[Tender to the Bone]

1. Too bad it'll be reversed after Corbett is thrown out on his ass

and sued to death for his stupid decisions.

[hedda_foil]

2. Hmm. I wonder if the election processing of Pennsylvania's votes is part of their contract

Not to mention the other 28 states referenced in this article.

[Laelth]

3. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[SDjack]

4. Interesting justification for a "No Bid Contract" --

If NIC of Kansas is the only company in the country that does what it does, then if competitive bidding is held, only NIC can submit an acceptable proposal. Obviously, that is not the case. NIC has competition and the only way NIC can win is if the bidding process is rigged.

[blkmusclmachine]

5. .

.

[JPZenger]

6. There is a proposal in the legislature to limit contracts to 4 years

There is a proposal before the legislature to limit the Governor from entering into contracts that last more than 4 years without the approval of the legislature. It will never pass, because it is too logical.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Whatever happened to checks and balances on power?

How is the governor able to do so much in secret, without any input or approval from our legislature? What happened that I slept through that allowed for all of this?

[Divernan]

8. Corbett reigns as king of the Down Low for defrauding state taxpayers.

I trust the new AG will investigate the legality of this secretive, no-bid contract and declare it illegal as well! And now Corbett's pimping fracking down in Chile for his best buddies - has invited the Chilean president to visit PA and observe fracking operations.

[Divernan]

9. Definitely another board appt. in the offing for Down Low Tommy.

Present board members include former Republican governors Pete Wilson (California), Daniel Evans (Washington state) and C. Brad Henry (Oklahoma). http://www.egov.com/AboutNIC/Pages/BoardOfDirectors.aspx

We know Board members are compensated, but I'm still looking for types/amounts of compensation.
http://www.egov.com/Investors/Co
Director Compensation. The Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to the Board regarding the level and form of the Company's director compensation, including how such compensation compares to director compensation of companies of comparable size, industry and complexity. Such review will include a review of both direct and indirect forms of compensation to the directors, including any charitable contributions to organizations with which a director is affiliated and consulting or other similar arrangements between the Company and a director.

AND I JUST FOUND an SEC case filed against the corporation for concealing $1.18 million in executive perks via false proxy statements, annual reports and registration statements! Named defendants, in addition to the company itself, included the current Board Chair and CEO Harry H. Herington.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2011/comp21809-nic.pdf

The stench of corruption and self-dealing coming out of Corbett's office is just overpowering!

[Divernan]

10. Here's the Board's compensation:minimum of $100,000 per director per year.

http://apps.shareholder.com/sec/viewerContent.aspx?companyid=EGOV&docid=7149411

Based upon the recommendations of SBCG, the Company provides the following cash compensation to directors: (1) an annual cash retainer of $24,000, (2) an annual cash retainer premium paid for committee chairs of $10,000 for the Audit Committee and $5,000 for the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee, (3) an annual cash retainer premium paid for committee members of $5,000 for the Audit Committee and $2,500 for the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee, and (4) Board meeting attendance fees of $1,000 per meeting. From an equity compensation standpoint, the Company's Board compensation program provides for an annual grant of service-based restricted stock (with equal vesting over four years) with a grant date fair value of $60,000. The ratio of equity to cash compensation is approximately 60% to 40%, which is in line with SBCG’s recommendation of a preponderance of total value coming from equity compensation.

Upon first joining the Board, any new director will receive an award of restricted stock (with equal annual vesting over four years) with an equivalent fair market value of $25,000 on the date of the award.

Directors who are also executive officers of the Company do not receive compensation for service on the Board of Directors. Therefore Mr. Herington is not listed in the Director Compensation table below.

All directors are eligible to participate in the Company's 2006 Amended and Restated Stock Option and Incentive Plan. Non-employee directors are not eligible to participate in the Company's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Directors are reimbursed for travel expenses and other out-of-pocket costs incurred in connection with their attendance at meetings.