Projo Politics Blog

How many copy machines does it take to keep the legislature running?

Any guesses?

House spokesman Larry Berman puts the number at 20. That’s how many new machines the House and Senate installed last week at an annual cost of $135,670.

All of the legislature’s mid-size black-and-white copiers were replaced with new machines with fax and copy capabilities, Berman told Political Scene. And the Assembly also added three new color copiers.

“This will afford significant savings on outdated fax machines and associated maintenance and supply costs because we will eliminate the need for the fax machines,” Berman said. “The newer copiers don’t take up as much space and are faster with production.”

The Assembly’s new lease and maintenance agreement with Xerox for $135,670 is actually about $22,000 cheaper than its previous contract, which cost taxpayers $157,650. Even at the reduced rate, that works out to an average of more than $6,700 per machine per year.

“Under Speaker Murphy, the Joint Committee on Legislative Services has done its best to find ways to save money in the operating budget and be as efficient as possible,” Berman said.

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