PROVIDENCE –– Governor Carcieri has proposed spending more than $200 million on contract employees for the coming year, according to a report presented last night before a packed meeting of the House Finance Committee.

Lawmakers pelted administration officials with questions about the use of contractors, which are used by nearly every state department, for duties ranging from legal services to security to translation. Committee members were particularly troubled that state departments have ignored a new law requiring quarterly reporting of the cost of contracted services, efforts made to find suitable in-house arrangements and whether the state sought bids.

“Maybe there’s a better deal out there for the state. That’s all we want to know,” said Rep. Elizabeth Dennigan, D-East Providence, who sponsored the new law.

The governor has proposed spending $201 million on contractors for the coming fiscal year, a slight decrease from the current figure of approximately $207.6 million.

Among the expenditures, state departments spent nearly $3 million in the last calendar year on outside legal services, according to data presented by Jerome F. Williams, director of the Department of Administration.

That included almost $1.2 million for legal fees that went to the Washington, D.C., law firm Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, which handled the state’s battle with Southern Union Co. over contaminated land in Tiverton.

The state Department of Environmental Management had a staff lawyer assigned to the case before deciding to use the out-of-state firm, according to Terrence P. Maguire, the Department of Environmental Management’s assistant director for financial and contract management. He said an outside firm was chosen because of its extensive expertise in environmental issues and the duration of the case.

Carcieri’s use of contract employees has drawn sharp criticism from labor unions and some lawmakers, who accuse the governor of skirting standard hiring practices while reducing transparency.

In a highly critical report issued in February, the Senate Government Oversight Committee questioned the governor’s practices: “At this time, the committee cannot make a determination as to whether the incompetence was due to ignorance, or arrogant and willful violation of the law. However, the committee is certain that the public deserves better.”

The Department of Administration’s chief financial officer, Bernard Lane, said state officials realized only two weeks ago that the new reporting requirements had become law. All state departments have since been told to compile information on contractors to be submitted to lawmakers, Lane said.

Union officials said the public should know more about the use of contractors, especially given the massive state budget deficit for the coming year.

“I know they can’t eliminate all the contract employees,” said James Cenerini, a lobbyist for the largest state employees union, Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. “But I think taxpayers should know how much money is being spent to pay contractors.”

speoples@projo.com