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Popular Government

Popular Government back issue: Vol. 64, No. 1, Fall 1998

See links to select online articles from this issue below.

Publications

New Legal Protection for Volunteers
Ingrid M. Johansen
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
Article
Do Local Governments Have to Bid Computer Software Contracts?
Frayda S. Bluestein
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
Article

This article analyzes how a court might apply the bidding statutes to local government contracts for purchase of computer software, drawing analogies to similar inquiries under the sales tax law and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and to cases from other states. It concludes that a North Carolina court probably would rule that prewritten computer software delivered on a tangible medium is within the scope of North Carolina’s competitive bidding statutes but a contract to design custom software is not. The article goes on to discuss several statutory exceptions to the bidding requirements that may apply to certain computer software contracts. Finally it describes some approaches to obtaining bids on computer software within the statutory framework. The article concludes that, although it is possible to purchase computer software using a competitive process that complies with North Carolina’s legal requirements, that process may lack the flexibility required to obtain the best value at the best price to meet local governments’ growing needs for information technology.

pgf98blu.pdf (pdf, 110.48 KB)
Book Reviews: Hazardous Waste Goes to Hollywood: A Civil Action
Richard B. Whisnant
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
Article

Richard Whisnant reviews A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr, as part of Popular Government Vol 64, No. 1.

pgf9838.pdf (pdf, 158.47 KB)