Minnesota legislators want answers about MNLARS no-bid contract

After last summer’s disastrous rollout of Minnesota’s new vehicle title and registration system, the Dayton administration signed a no-bid, $26.25 million contract with a Colorado company to build a separate, “off-the-shelf” driver’s license system that would comply with the Real ID program mandated by federal law.

In doing so, it sought “emergency” approval Oct. 19 to avoid the bidding process required by Minnesota law, records show. As justification, the administration said that failure to act would threaten public health and welfare and jeopardize government functions. It stressed that time was running out, with the statutory deadline of Oct. 1, 2018, looming for Real ID, a federal measure designed to enhance identification security.

“Minnesota now has less than 12 months to implement,” the Dayton administration wrote.

Legislators now say they had been told that the state’s in-house computer experts, Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), would be able to meet the deadline and that no outside contractor was needed.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-legislators-want-answers-about-mnlars-no-bid-contract/475019233/