Summary
This legislation clarifies what constitutes fraud in the public bidding process. Passage of this bill would improve the AG’s office ability to root out fraud and misrepresentation in the public bidding arena and ensure transparency and integrity. Our public construction bid laws do not define fraud. The Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Fordyce v Town of Hanover narrowed the definition of fraud in the public bidding context so much that the only false statements that constitute fraud are those that cause actual harm to the awarding authority. This bill addresses this by making it clear that contractors who intentionally attempt to deceive awarding authorities cannot be awarded contracts.