first supplement annotations to the model procurement code for state and local governments with...

First Supplement Annotations to the Model Procurement Code for State and LocalGovernments with Analytical Summary of State Enactments by Louis F. Del Duca; Patrick J.Falvey; Theodore A. Adler; Larry C. EthridgeReview by: James F. NaglePublic Contract Law Journal, Vol. 18, No. 3 (1988), pp. 659-660Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25755581 .

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Book Review

Reviewed by James F. Nagle*

First Supplement Annotations to the Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments with Analytical Summary of

State Enactments

Louis F. Del Duca, Patrick J. Falvey, Theodore A. Adler

and Larry C. Ethridge

Published by the Section of Urban, State and Local Government Law, American Bar Association, ABA Press. $39.95

This mouthful of a title represents the latest addition to what has been appropriately entitled a Procurement Library for State and

Local Governments. The other volumes consist not only of the

Model Procurement Code (MFC) but also the Recommended

Regulations and the Model Procurement Ordinance.

The editors have all been instrumental in drafting the MPC and its related publications. They have written prolifically on the subject and have prepared periodic updates on developments which have appeared as articles in The Urban Lawyer, the law

journal of the Urban, State and Local Government Law Section of

the ABA, the Public Contract Law Section newsletter, and other

publications. They have performed yeoman's service in develop

ing and proselytizing the MPC. The title of the volume is somewhat misleading because the

book does not cite only cases which interpret the MPC. It includes all procurement related decisions. Indeed, if the book focused

exclusively on MPC cases, it would be rather short. Not many cases have interpreted the MPC yet since only thirteen states plus the Territory of Guam and some local jurisdictions have adopted the MPC. Even in jurisdictions with the MPC, few applicable cases have worked their way through the appellate process yet with one

*James F. Nagle is a Lt. Col. with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and is the Chairman of the Public Contract Law Committee, General Practice Section, American Bar Association.

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Public Contract Law Journal

exception. In Maryland, numerous cases have been decided by the Maryland Department of Transportation Board of Contract

Appeals and the Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals. To facilitate research, the book is divided into the various sec

tions of the MPC and each case is synopsized in the appropriate section, such as Section 3-202(1), Competitive Sealed Bidding? Conditions for Use. If the cases do not mention the code or even

if they come from jurisdictions which have not adopted the MPC, they are cited in the closest applicable code section, for example, cases dealing with the prequalification of suppliers are covered in

MPC section 3-402. If the case deals with issues that are not spe

cifically dealt with in the MPC, such as due process or separation of powers, it is cited in the portion of Code Section 1-102, Sup plementary General Principles of Law Applicable. This catch-all

provision of the MPC is designed to incorporate those common law

and other principles which may apply to the procurement process. Those cases which specifically interpret the MPC are marked with an asterisk. The volume also cites the Recommended Regulations and the Ordinance.

The volume lists the jurisdictions that have adopted the MPC, when it was adopted and where it is located in the statutes of the

jurisdiction. One part of the book also analyses the state enact

ments to give the details that have not yet been tested?but which

are important to know, such as identifying the chief procurement officer under Article two of the MPC or which jurisdictions require cost and pricing data.

The importance of the MPC is demonstrated by the organiza tions that had a hand in developing it. Besides the ABA, this included the National Association of State Purchasing Officials, the National Institute of Government Purchasing, the Council of

State Governments, the National Conference of State Legisla tures, the International City Management Association, the U.S.

Conference of Mayors, The National Association of Counties and

the Associated General Contractors of America. Such an impor tant endeavor, however, is a dynamic process of statutory, regula

tory and judicial changes influence the content and structure of

the code. Publications like this one are an indispensable method to

keep practitioners abreast of these changes and interpretations. It

is an excellent, even vital, accompaniment to the Model Procure

ment Code.

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