ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s Office of State Procurement failed to properly oversee a major statewide purchasing system and did not recover tens of millions of dollars after the project collapsed, according to a legislative audit released Dec. 19, 2025.
The audit by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits found that the Department of General Services’ Office of State Procurement paid $32.5 million for the eMaryland Marketplace Advantage system, even though the system did not function as intended and produced incomplete and inaccurate procurement records. Auditors said the state ultimately terminated the contract but did not attempt to recover damages or assess liquidated penalties allowed under the agreement.
The eMaryland Marketplace Advantage system was intended to modernize how state agencies solicit bids, manage contracts and process payments. Instead, auditors found that the system largely operated as a bid-posting platform and failed to properly integrate with the state’s Financial Management Information System, creating reconciliation problems and forcing the state to hire an outside accounting firm at a cost of $1.6 million to determine actual contract balances…