State Contract Research Articles

Public pension contract minimalism

AbstractThe national pension debt and COVID crises have collided. Post‐pandemic economic decline has escalated existing financial strains on state and local pension plans, impacting workers and the public welfare. With unfunded obligations exceeding one trillion dollars, many of these plans are in jeopardy. But the movement to reform government pension contracts has yet to adopt an anchoring idea, leaving judicial decisions in disarray and policymakers without guidance about how to shore up troubled retirement systems. The crux of the problem is the many meanings of contract under state and US Contract Clauses that prevent pension reform. This Essay endorses a promising path forward—contract minimalism. “Contract minimalism” concentrates on the duration of government pension contracts. It posits that public and private employment law should be treated the same. Like its private law counterpart, public sector employment at‐will ought to consist of a daily contract interval. A contract‐a‐day concept entitles employers to change the plan prospectively, with employees receiving a proportionate share of benefits for work performed. Just as several agreements safeguard salaries for labor, they should also mirror the protection afforded to deferred benefits like pensions. Contract minimalism additionally puts public and private sector employers on the same legal footing as to the authority to change pension plan terms. Thus, it aligns public pension benefits with overlapping fields of law, placing them on a firm conceptual foundation. The minimalist approach also has the advantage over approaches that are insufficiently attentive to scarce government resources or employee old‐age security. By protecting pension benefits early and incrementally, it advances a middle path with fairer, more coherent results. In the present post‐pandemic era of hard choices, minimalism provides an equilibrium between the over‐ and under‐protection of pension benefits.

Policy Innovation in State Contracting for Work Centers for the Blind

Policy Innovation in State Contracting for Work Centers for the Blind

Housing and Papering Over the Cracks of the Welfare State: Exploring the Role and Impact of Technology as Part of Housing Service Provision in an Era of Multi-level Precarity

The UK welfare landscape is increasingly challenging due to ongoing austerity involving public sector cuts, service retrenchment, and withdrawal of statutory responsibilities. This article shows that as the welfare state contracts, precarity increases and responsibility for service provision is progressively devolved to front-line individuals and service users. To illustrate, the article examines the use of assistive and everyday technologies to improve social housing residents’ quality of life based on a longitudinal mixed methods study conducted between 2020 and 2022. The findings highlight how housing providers can support person-led technology interventions for older residents, where minor improvements positively impact day-to-day living. However, interventions are often limited by practicalities, capacity, and cost. This article connects technological engagement in housing to the ongoing ‘responsibilisation’ of many areas of housing provision to social landlords and tenants. This suggests an extension of responsibility where social housing providers are papering over the cracks in the welfare state.

Экспертиза результатов подрядных работ, произведённых для нужд системы МВД России: проблемы правовой регламентации

The article considers the existing gaps in the legal regulation of expert examination of the results of contractual work performed under the state contract. In this regard, the author substantiates and proposes a unified legal mechanism for the implementation of expert examination of the results of contractual work performed for the needs of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The basis of this mechanism should be a departmental normative legal act regulating the order of delivery and acceptance of contract works; procedure for examination and selection of external and internal experts, third-party expert organizations; cases of internal and external expert examination; establishing qualification requirements for internal experts, independent experts and expert organizations; standard forms of internal expert report and act of delivery and acceptance of the results of contract works.

A Quest for State Contracts: Public Procurement and the Shaping of Competitiveness in Development Consulting

What does it take to win a public contract in development consulting? I address this question based on interviews with 27 public buyers and private vendors of consulting services in Sweden, as well as an in-depth archival analysis of the consultancy procurements undertaken by the Swedish public aid agency, Sida, during 2018–2020. Results point to three dimensions of competitiveness in consulting: social, organizational and individual. These unravel a number of contradictions in contracting practices and discourses, tied to Sida’s evolving negotiation of new public management paradigms. Specifically, they illustrate how success in tendering depends not (only) on adhering to free-market ideals of cost-efficiency or public sector tenets of transparency and fairness. Importantly, it relies on relational labour and investments in the largely informal social fabric of contracting.

The evolution of the legal practice of collecting the cost of goods, works, services in the absence of a state (municipal) contract

The evolution of the legal practice of collecting the cost of goods, works, services in the absence of a state (municipal) contract

Yesterday and Today for State Contracts – Explicationibus on the Routes of Administrative Law and Public International Law

The dynamic intersection between administrative law and public international law in the context of state contracts leads to a more adequate analysis of the evolution of the legal framework from historical perspectives to contemporary practices. Our mode of study deepens the complex relationship between these two legal fields, with an emphasis on the transformations and legal mechanisms that have governed state contracts over time. For the development of this study, the analytical approach and the comparative approach were applied through the analysis of the legal text, jurisprudential concepts with critical discussions, the analysis of the jurisprudence as well as the descriptive approach to describe the researched phenomenon.

Issues of Establishment of an Event of Untimely Submission of Information and Documents to the Register of State and Municipal Contracts

Issues of Establishment of an Event of Untimely Submission of Information and Documents to the Register of State and Municipal Contracts

Перспективы развития жилищного фонда в крупных городских агломерациях (на примере г. Волгограда)

In the current conditions of uncertainty and disproportionality in the development of the housing sector associated with various differences among large urban agglomerations, the condition of the available housing stock plays a very special role. This role determines the socio-economic conditions for the development of municipalities and the quality of life of the population. The existing number of barriers of an economic and administrative nature predetermines the need to analyze the prospects for the development of the housing stock as a driver of increased investment attractiveness, improvement of the city, and the creation of the necessary favorable conditions for the demographic development of Volgograd. Based on the results of the article, the current state of the housing stock of the city of Volgograd and the trends in its development are revealed, taking into account the implementation of state and municipal programs of socio-economic development, which allows us to assign a separate priority to the development of the housing stock of the city of Volgograd. The authors concluded that, despite the increase in the average level of wear and tear and the increase in the number of housing units recognized as dilapidated dwellings, the ongoing housing and construction policy compensates for most of the housing problems. However, the issue of choosing the most economically feasible approaches in relation to housing stock, which requires financing for its further operation or liquidation, still remains. The politics of the development of the housing stock of Volgograd should occur comprehensively along the following trajectories: capital improvements and reconstruction of the housing stock; housing construction using municipal and state contracts; carrying out renovation programs; and others.

Welfare state contract and family solidarity: Do informal carers prefer more welfare state support?

Welfare state contract and family solidarity: Do informal carers prefer more welfare state support?

Utility of the Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation-Systems Level (LOCI-SL) strategy for a statewide substance use treatment implementation effort

IntroductionMulti-level and cross-context implementation strategies are needed to support health systems, healthcare delivery organizations, and providers to adopt evidence-based practice (EBP) for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. However, misalignment between state oversight agencies and healthcare organizations about which services to prioritize and which outcomes are reasonable to expect can hinder implementation success and widespread access to high-quality care. This study investigated the utility of the Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation-System Level (LOCI-SL) strategy for supporting statewide EBP implementation for SUD treatment. MethodsNine community mental health centers (CMHCs) contracted by a state agency participated in a combined motivational-enhancement therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (MET/CBT) implementation effort. Five of the CMHCs also received the LOCI-SL strategy to obtain ongoing implementation support. We conducted 21 individual interviews and three small group interviews with 30 participants across CMHCs and state health agencies to investigate the utility of LOCI-SL in supporting their EBP implementation efforts. Deductive thematic analysis was guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment Framework. ResultsFive themes described CMHCs' LOCI-SL and broader contextual experiences implementing EBPs: (1) LOCI-SL supported executives in Preparation phase activities that holistically considered organizational needs and capacity to implement and sustain EBPs; (2) LOCI-SL facilitated trust and communication processes across Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment phases to improve EBP uptake; (3) LOCI-SL increased CMHCs' use of implementation climate strengthening activities throughout the Implementation phase; (4) state contracts did not emphasize quality and thus were not sufficient bridging factors to enforce EBP fidelity during Implementation; and, (5) limited funding and low Medicaid reimbursement rates hindered EBP use throughout the Implementation and Sustainment phases. ConclusionsLOCI-SL was viewed as a favorable and useful implementation strategy for supporting statewide adoption of EBPs. However, outer context barriers, including limited financial investments in the treatment system, impeded implementation and sustainment efforts. While previous research suggests that contracts are viable alignment-promoting bridging factors, this study demonstrates the importance of articulating implementation outcome expectations to aid state-contracted organizations in achieving EBP implementation success. This study also highlights the need for multi-level implementation strategies to effectively align implementation expectations between outer- and inner-context entities.

«Безденежные» государственные (муниципальные) контракты

There is no consensus in legislation, judicial and administrative practice, and scientific literature on the legality of concluding state (municipal) contracts with a price of zero rubles and zero kopecks («moneyless» contracts). The author of the article comes to the conclusion about the possibility of their conclusion for a number of reasons, including in connection with the refusal of the Russian legislator from the institutions of the minimum contract price and abnormally low applications, as well as the peculiarity of the subject composition of the state (municipal) contract (the state (municipal) customer is a non-profit organization that can act as a donee in a donation agreement with a commercial organization).

Legal regulation of the conclusion and execution of a state (municipal) contract in the context of economic sanctions against Russia

Legal regulation of the conclusion and execution of a state (municipal) contract in the context of economic sanctions against Russia

Features of Delimitation of Crimes Provided for in Articles 285 of the Criminal Code and 286 of the Criminal Code when they are Committed in the Public Procurement

The specifics of the criminal law regulation of liability for abuse of official powers and their excess committed in the field of public procurement are determined by the specifics of the regulation of the activities of officials participating in this sphere within the framework of their “procurement” and related functions. The correct qualification of acts committed in the field of public procurement requires reference to numerous regulations of the legislation on the contract system and on the procurement of goods, works, services by certain types of legal entities. The need to refer to the legislation on the contract system and on the procurement of goods, works, services by certain types of legal entities in the qualification of abuse of official powers and their excess arises when determining the content of the signs of the subject and almost all the signs of the objective side of the deed. Industry legislation in the context under consideration is characterized by high dynamism, “layering”, a significant number of contradictions and shortcomings. These circumstances determine errors and lack of uniformity in judicial practice when distinguishing crimes provided for in Articles 285 of the Criminal Code and 286 of the Criminal Code when they are committed in the field of public procurement. Homogeneous, and in some cases identical criminal actions of customer officials – violations in the pricing of goods, works, services; actions restricting competition (inaction); violations of the established procedure for concluding (changing, terminating) state and municipal contracts; violations in the acceptance of delivered goods (work performed, services rendered), etc. – may receive different criminal legal assessment. The purpose of the article is to develop recommendations and criteria for distinguishing crimes provided for in Articles 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, taking into account the peculiarities of criminal legal assessment when committing these acts in the field of public procurement. To achieve this goal, general scientific (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction) and private scientific (formal legal) methods of cognition were used. In the study, taking into account the recommendations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, theoretical positions in the science of criminal law, the peculiarities of the legal regulation of public procurement, recommendations for distinguishing the crimes under consideration, taking into account the specifics of the situation of their commission, are formulated.

Register of unfair suppliers: Problems of legal regulation

The purpose of the study is to identify the circumstances under which a supplier can be included in the register of unfair suppliers undeservedly. The author has set a number of tasks: to consider the concept of public contract; to determine the problems of correct fulfillment of obligations under the concluded public contract; to analyze the practice in relation to the participants unjustly included in the register of unfair suppliers. In the process of the research general scientific and special scientific methods were used, including dialectical, systemic, historical, comparative, system-structural, formal-legal, historical-legal, comparative-legal, as well as other methods of scientific cognition, addressed to legal technique. As a result, it is revealed that there may be circumstances in which a participant is included in the register of unfair suppliers undeservedly, but the procedure for protection of such supplier is problematic due to the lack of a complete and updated list of “valid” reasons for non-fulfillment of obligations. In particular, the case studies related to the fulfillment of suppliers’ obligations under state contracts during the period of mass introduction of anti-Russian sanctions are considered. Cases in which it is possible to justify the supplier’s actions were identified. It is recommended to modernize electronic auction sites, as well as to expand the list of “valid” reasons for violations of the terms of the state contract.

Staging Sovereignty: Ephemeral Architecture and the Entry of Maria Teresa Rafaela into France, 1745

Abstract This article examines the architectural dimensions of the remise, a courtly ceremony that marked the moment when a royal bride departed her homeland to be given into her new husband’s possession. Staged in frontier zones, this ritual was often facilitated by ephemeral structures such as bridges and pavilions that, as part of their ritual function, marked out firm boundaries where none existed before. This study focuses on the remise staged in 1745 on a disputed island, the Isle of Pheasants, for the marriage of Princess Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain to the French dauphin Louis-Ferdinand. Using state papers, contracts, and ceremonial texts, the article reconstructs the ephemeral spaces in which the handover was transacted. In doing so, this study reveals both the architectural stage management of the Franco-Spanish relationship and, more broadly, the spatial and ritual practices that undergirded early modern European diplomacy.

Устная и электронная формы государственного контракта на выполнение подрядных работ для нужд системы МВД России

The article is devoted to the conflict of laws provisions of the Russian legislation regulating the form of a state contract for the performance of contractual works for the needs of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs system. In the course of the analysis the author comes to the conclusion that, in general, the oral form of the transaction is inapplicable to the said state contract, but only can be an exception in connection with certain life circumstances (legal facts) established in regulatory legal acts. At the same time, the use of the electronic form of the state contract in modern times prevails over the written and oral forms of transactions. The development of social relations in the field of digitalization is the main determinant factor in the allocation and legislative consolidation of the third form of transactions — electronic, which has its own specific and unique characteristics.

Способы и условия заключения государственных контрактов

The article reveals the concept of a state contract, discusses the features and specific features of a state contract, as well as the methods and conditions for its conclusion. In addition, the work comments on the latest changes in the field of government contracts, which are aimed at increasing the efficiency of procurement for defense and national security.

Navigating the challenges of building a more resilient infant formula industry

AbstractIn 2022, U.S. consumers experienced an infant formula shortage that resulted in historic out‐of‐stock rates and brought renewed attention to market concentration in the infant formula market. FDA regulation, tariffs, and limiting WIC benefit redemption to a state's contract brand of infant formula, all potential barriers to competition, were temporarily relaxed to mitigate the impact of the shortage. This article discusses the potential trade‐offs associated with permanent policy changes while highlighting opportunities for future research to support the development of policies to improve resiliency in the infant formula market.

The role of judicial review in the settlement of state contracts disputes

This paper aims to study the recent developments in appealing public procurement contracts (Alhamidah, 2007) by examining the expansion of the administrative judiciary in Egypt in accepting appeals filed against contracts concluded by the state to invalidate contracts tainted by the waste of public money. This paper relied on the analytical approach to analyze several details of the subject under study based on the legal and constitutional frameworks regulating state contracts. In addition, it will examine the judicial rulings issued by the Egyptian State Council. The study reached the significant expansion adopted by the Egyptian State Council in monitoring state contracts, which resulted in the issuance of Law No. 32 of 2014, limiting the right to appeal state contracts to the benefit of the two parties to the contract only.