Len Wolfe Quoted in Gongwer and Michigan Information & Research Service Articles

Press Mentions

10.07.15

Leonard C. Wolfe, Lansing-based member of Dykema’s Government Policy & Practice Group, is quoted in articles regarding the state of Michigan’s policy on bid challenge periods. The first article is titled “Ed Cost Study Contract Joked Despite Reps' Protest, AG Abstention, ” which appeared on Gongwer. The second article is titled, “Board Approves Contracts Despite Protests Over Protest Process, which appeared on the Michigan Information & Research Service.

Both articles cover Wolfe’s position on the state’s five-day protest period. When speaking to the State Administrative Board on behalf of a client, he pointed out that the protest window was much too short for his client to challenge the winning bidder. Wolfe pointed out that he’s been around procurement matters in state government for a while and there was a period of time when the state would allow up to 21 days to protest a bid award.

He would go on to highlight that the current process forces bidders to submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request documents to help them decide if they should challenge a bid, which creates a headache for both them and the state. He also pointed out the five-day protest period is in calendar days, whereas the initial FOIA response period is five business days.

Finally, Wolfe also made the argument that the bid protest period can be beneficial to the state, as it allows vendors to catch mistakes that the state may have missed. He stated that he doesn't think there's anything wrong with letting vendors take a look independently at that process.

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