Legislature’s procurement interim committee meets as state is sued over IEN contract fallout

The Idaho Legislature’s interim committee on state procurement laws is meeting today at the state Capitol. Among its agenda items: A report on the impact of new laws enacted this year, including a recodification; proposed administrative rules; discussion of compliance review and enforcement; and a presentation from Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane on void contracts. You can watch the meeting live here , and see the full agenda here .

The “void contracts” topic is especially timely right now with the demise of the Idaho Education Network, a statewide school broadband network for which a court ruled that the state’s $60 million contract with politically connected vendors was issued illegally and is therefore void. On Friday, one of those vendors, Education Networks of America, filed a federal lawsuit against the state, seeking payment for $6 million in services provided under that now-void contract, and legal protection from an Aug. 9 demand from Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden for repayment of all money received under the void contract. Idaho EdNews has more on that here .