Technology will improve government efficiency
SANTA FE – The State Purchasing Division (SPD) of the General Services Department has implemented electronic signature technology for general services contracts that agencies must submit to SPD for signature, General Services Secretary Ken Ortiz announced Friday.
The implementation means the contracts no longer have to be printed and circulated for so- called wet signatures. Instead, contracts will be circulated for virtual signatures in electronic envelopes sent via email.
The benefits of e-signature technology include improved government efficiency.
“All necessary signatures for agency contracts for general services can now be obtained in a matter of hours, rather than days,” Ortiz said. “E-signature technology also sharply reduces paper use and improves the security of government documents.”
The Department of Information Technology (DoIT), in collaboration with the General Services Department, announced plans in December to implement DocuSign e-signature technology across state government.
The implementation of e-signatures for general services contracts submitted for State Purchasing signature is the first major rollout of the technology under the DoIT-led initiative.
“The DocuSign software product provides a modern solution with software functionality to improve state business processes,” DoIT Secretary-designate John Salazar said. “Private industry successfully uses this service, a proven technology, and it will be a significant service offering in state government.”
DoIT is working with several agencies on DocuSign implementation, which has become increasingly critical because most state employees are now working from home due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.
The General Services Department is the support agency for state government, providing facility management, printing services, procurement, public employee health and other benefits, liability coverage for public agencies and transportation services.
Effective July 27, e-signature was implemented for general services contracts entered into by an agency after State Purchasing conducts the procurement on behalf of that specific agency.
There is no agency cost for implementation of e-signature on SPD-procured contracts. However, agencies must use SPD’s new contract and amendment templates to facilitate the e-signature process. Those templates are available from SPD under the menu for resources and information at www.generalservices.state.nm.us/statepurchasing.
For assistance, agencies can contact SPD at (505) 795-1076 or (505) 795-1894.
State Purchasing plans to implement e-signature technology later this year for professional services contracts submitted to SPD’s Contracts Review Bureau.