Ala. legislators go to court to stop $13 million no-bid computer contract

Suit filed in Alabama to stop $13 million contract

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A legislative oversight committee went to court Thursday to stop a $13 million no-bid computer contract between Gov. Bob Riley’s administration and a company with no listed business phone number and no Web page.

The Legislature’s Contract Review Committee and its chairman — Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery — filed suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court against the governor, Acting State Finance Director Bill Newton and the company, Paragon Source LLC.

Jeff Emerson, communications director for the Republican governor, said the lawsuit constituted political maneuvering by Democrats on the Contract Review Committee.

The lawsuit asks a judge to immediately stop Paragon Source from doing any work or receiving payment under the contract. The lawsuit says the contract violates Alabama’s law that requires that competitive bids be sought for certain state work.

The lawsuit said it was undisputed that the original contract and an extension were given to Paragon Source without going through any competitive bid process, which the lawsuit said was “contrary to public policy.”

“The evidence produced to the committee supports a conclusion that the … contracts were entered into in violation of Alabama’s Competitive Bid Law and are void as a matter of law,” the lawsuit said.

Holmes, a longtime critic of computer contracts during the administrations of Riley and former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, said this is the first time the courts have been asked if a computer contract is subject to the bid law.

“I hope this will be the end to no bid contracts, particularly these computer contracts,” Holmes said.

Emerson said the governor’s staff was reviewing the lawsuit Thursday.

“It’s 100 percent political grandstanding by Alvin Holmes and the Democrats on the committee to divert public attention from their sorry record of broken promises,” Emerson said.

He said during the 2006 campaigns for legislative seats, Democrats in the House and Senate promised to pass several ethics bills, including a ban on transferring campaign contributions from one political action committee to another and a bill requiring disclosure of lobbyist gifts to legislators. But the bills have died each year, Emerson said.

Holmes responded that the bill that has been considered almost every year for the past decade to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers was sponsored by a Democrat, Rep. Jeff McLaughlin of Guntersville, a member of the Contract Review Committee.