A North Country assemblyman wants the state to pass a bill that he says would create transparency over the state procurement process.

Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, says he is backing the New York Procurement Integrity Act.

“After passage of the budget, Gov. Cuomo essentially wrote off the rest of the legislative session saying all the work has been completed through his budget. Well I respectfully disagree; there is much more for the Legislature to work on, especially regarding ethics,” Butler said in a prepared statement. “The Assembly should be moving on a bill known as the New York Procurement Integrity Act, which would create transparency and oversight over the murky and veiled process of state procurements, which spends billions of taxpayer dollars. Scandal after scandal like the ones attached to the governor’s Buffalo Billion and START-UP NY programs could have been prevented if these transparency measures had been in place. The Assembly and Senate should act now and pass this important priority for New York residents.”

He represents the 118th Assembly District. It includes a swath running through the center of St. Lawrence County, from Fine to Madrid. It extends to the south into Hamilton, Herkimer and Fulton counties, plus part of Oneida County.

According to a news release from Butler’s office, the act would:

• Restore the state comptroller’s independent oversight of SUNY, CUNY and the Office of General Services (OGS)

• Expand the comptroller’s oversight of the procurement process to include contracts awarded by the SUNY Research Foundation in excess of $1 million

• Prohibit state contracting through state-affiliated not-for-profits, unless permitted explicitly in law

• Toughen ethical requirements for state procurement officials and vendors with heavy penalties imposed for violations

• Standardize contracting processes for all state authorities spending state funds

• Create transparency at every point during a procurement process.