News

Statewide Citation Contract

October 25, 1994

HARRISBURG, October 25, 1994 — A single, statewide contract for printing and distributing traffic citation forms, which is expected to save money and time, has been negotiated by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, state Court Administrator Nancy M. Sobolevitch announced today. Traffic citations are integral to law enforcement and court operations throughout the state. Currently, law enforcement officers file about 1.5 million traffic citations annually in the various courts of Pennsylvania, and a somewhat larger number must be printed annually. The citation forms occasionally must be revised in keeping with developments in law and judicial procedure. Currently, most counties pay printing vendors between $.10 and $.15 per citation, depending on the amount ordered. Under the new contract negotiated by the Administrative Office, the cost of printing a citation would be $.07 per form, saving some counties as much as 50% on their printing costs. After a competitive bid process, final contract negotiations for the project concluded with the selection of Moore Business Forms as the state's sole vendor. The company will be responsible for printing and delivering the five different types of traffic citations currently in use in Pennsylvania: the Philadelphia Traffic Citation, the Pittsburgh Traffic Citation, the Pennsylvania State Police Traffic Citation, the Municipal Police Traffic Citation, and the Continuous Feed Traffic Citation, a perforated, full-page form which is automatically fed and printed by computer. Moore will also develop and maintain an inventory accounting system of unused citations throughout the Commonwealth to ensure both timely replenishment of the citation forms and prompt revisions of the forms when necessary. This accounting system will eliminate the current need for discontinuing large portions of the existing inventory when changes are made, a method which is costly and wasteful. The accounting system will also permit inventory control of citations for security against missing or lost citations and status reports to track forms usage. In addition, a unique number will be printed on each traffic citation. This number will allow for an internal computer check which will ensure that the ticket number was entered accurately into the automated District Justice System and monitor exactly who received each traffic citation. In the past, printing, composition and distribution of traffic citations in Pennsylvania has been a fragmented effort subject to chronic problems. With each county ordering forms from a printer of its choice and without a limit to the number of citations that may be purchased, it has not been unusual for several years to pass before a county depletes its inventory of citations and purchases new citations with the proper revisions. The new statewide contract will centralize efforts and enable each county to order up-to-date traffic citation forms from a single vendor, thus creating a more cost-effective and efficient process of printing and distributing traffic citation forms throughout the Commonwealth.