SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - ABC 4 is asking tough questions about some lucrative state contracts.
These contracts were awarded to a Utah company called Advent Systems.
On its website, Advent Systems says it helps create a "powerful digital security system."
Advent is also where, until just last month, long-time Utah legislator Paul Ray worked.
At issue here are two state contracts.
They were bid on by and awarded to Advent Systems last year, as well as to several other similar companies.
According to state documents, these two contracts have already earned Advent Systems more than a $100,000 dollars.
But Advent’s President, Doug Reed, told ABC 4 that these contracts were relatively minor in their dollar amount compared with other work his company does.
Now, according to state officials, one of the two contracts awarded to Advent last year resulted in a $66,000 dollar purchase from Utah's Department of Corrections.
But Rep. Ray told ABC 4,
"This company has been doing state contracts for years. They were doing them before I came on to the company and they will continue to do them now that I have left the company (Ray has since gone to work for another, national company)."
Ray's comments were echoed by Reed, who noted that Advent has also worked with local juvenile correction facilities, the DMV and on other state and federal projects.
But according to emails obtained by ABC 4 and verified by Utah officials, a state purchasing agent did express concern to Advent about one of its bids last year.
The agent wrote,
"There are serious concerns with your bid response and the equipment it included."
In fact, according to the state, Advent's bid was initially rejected because of these concerns.
But Advent protested, a special appeal hearing was held, the state re-wrote its call for bids and Advent was among the multiple winners.
This state official tells ABC 4 this was the contract which eventually led to the $66,000 dollar purchase.
So, we asked Victoria Schoenfeld of Utah’s Administrative Services:
ABC 4: "The fact that there was a legislator working for this company, that didn't play into the decision?”
“Absolutely not."
Now, another reason Advent's contracts with the state may be of interest is Representative Ray's legislative assignments.
Ray is listed as a member of the Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee which oversees
Corrections and its budget.
But Ray also told ABC 4,
“We’re a part time legislature and we all have full time jobs and we have to go out when the legislature is over and do our jobs and sometimes people know who you are and sometimes they don’t.”
Schoenfeld, the Administrative Services official we talked to, said they were not aware that a legislator worked for Advent.
This despite the fact that Ray said he demonstrated his company’s product for Corrections, attended Advent's appeal hearing and clearly listed his Advent employment on his conflict of interest form.
Now, to make absolutely clear, there is absolutely no indication that Advent Systems or Representative Ray did anything illegal here.
But, perhaps, this matter may raise some eyebrows both inside the state capitol and out.
Follow Chris Vanocur on Twitter: @cvan4
