Help Move Georgia Forward
Two years ago yesterday, the Kemp Administration solicited proposals to distribute $1.1 billion in federal COVID relief funds — in the form of $350 debit cards sent to Georgians receiving Medicaid, SNAP, and/or TANF benefits — right before the November 2022 election. According to a state audit, the administration violated state law by exceeding their purchasing authority without approval and failing to post the solicitation for proposals to the Georgia Procurement Registry.
Kemp’s Office of Planning and Budget imposed several requirements on the four companies hand-picked to submit proposals, including:
The audit also noted that while state contracts typically take four to six months, and sometimes as long as a year, this contract was awarded just seven days later. Connecticut-based Rellevate — a gift card company with clients such as Crocs, Dunkin Donuts, and Subway — was the only bidder who could meet Kemp’s two requirements.
Rellevate, who does not appear to have prior experience with governmental clients, was awarded the contract over two vendors that did. Both Conduent and Stralto have extensive experience processing government benefit payments as well as robust security and fraud prevention protocols.
A timeline of the contract solicitation and awarding process follows here:
Despite clear evidence that state law was broken — even after multiple calls for the Attorney General or Inspector General to launch a formal investigation — no one in the Kemp Administration has taken responsibility or faced accountability for their wrongdoing in this case.
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December 5, 2024
December 5, 2024
December 3, 2024