Hewlett Packard recently has been criticized for its advocacy stance in Georgia with respect to how state contracting for office products will be handled in the future.  They have asked NOPA to post a copy of their official statement on this matter in an effort to communicate directly with office products dealers and to reaffirm their support for the independent channel as a whole.

As background, independent dealers in Georgia, with NOPA’s communications support, recently have given strong grassroots support for passage of Senate Bill SB 211, a bill that would remove purchasing authority for office products, excluding furniture, from the hands of the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS), the state agency now responsible for such contracts. 

NOPA’s support for SB 211 is based on major concerns of dealers in Georgia about the inappropriate political influences on the bid review process at DOAS.  A number of NOPA members in Georgia bid individually and collectively on the RFP issued last year.  A contract has yet to be awarded.