As of July 1, a new state Web site automates most of the prequalification process. The program also consolidates prequalification since all projects funded by the state, with the exception of those of the Department of Transportation and the University of Connecticut, prequalify contractors through the new program.
Contractors register and log onto the Web site to begin filling out forms styled much like Turbo Tax, the Internet tax-filing service. The process can be lengthy, so the site allows users to print out the forms or save their incomplete forms and return to finish them at a later date.
In the initial months of the program, the state plans to hold classes for contractors to explain proper use of the site. According to Carlos Velez, director of the program, the online system will save resources once spent on filing paper forms and entering data. Velez also sees the automated process as a much-needed way to bring contractors up to speed with the information age. He tells potential Connecticut contractors, "If you don't have Internet access, get access."
Connecticut's new process has already attracted attention from at least one neighboring tech-savvy state, Velez reports. Massachusetts hopes to adopt the Connecticut model to prequalify both state contactors and sub-contractors electronically. Massachusetts' application would be an ambitious step in e-filing as its expanded applicant pool would be more than twice as large as Connecticut's.
