The North Dakota Legislature's computer software overhaul may have to start afresh after its developer abandoned the project, saying a "contentious work environment" was making it difficult to finish the job. It has already cost more than $1 million.

PTC Corp.'s decision, disclosed in a letter to Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, the chairman of the Legislative Council, came six weeks after the council's project manager was replaced because of delays in completing the overhaul.

The software replacement was to have been finished before the 2009 Legislature begins in January. Its timetable was delayed last summer, and the developer's decision to quit presents a new set of uncertainties.

"They just had all kinds of problems and reasons why they couldn't make the deadlines, and I think they just came to the idea that they just plain couldn't get the job done with what we needed," Carlson said. "We are obviously in the market for a new developer for the project."

The council, which is the Legislature's research and support agency, already has paid $1.02 million to the Needham, Mass., company, records show.

PTC Corp. had a $2.88 million contract to replace the software that lawmakers and Legislative Council staffers use to draft bills and keep track of the Legislature's budget-writing progress. The contract's first phase began in January 2006.

Mike Ressler, assistant director of the state Information Technology Department, said the delay should not affect public access to the Legislature's own Web site.

The site includes copies of bills, amendments and daily House and Senate journals, along with information about committee hearing schedules and floor votes.

Michael Palmer, a PTC vice president, said in the letter to Carlson that the company was worried about "the lack of clarity concerning who within North Dakota is prepared to make decisions about the project."

"The replacement of North Dakota's project manager, the confusion caused by day-to-day project direction coming from multiple sources, and the contentious work environment causes us to believe that we will not be able to effectively deliver the solution," Palmer's letter said.

Ressler and Jim Smith, director of the Legislative Council, said the company assigned four different teams to the project, each of which knew little about what had been done before. Smith said Palmer's complaints about North Dakota delays were "just an excuse."

Ressler said about a year's worth of work had been done when the developer concluded its initial software design needed to be revamped.

"That's like building a house, almost, and after you've got half of it up, you say, 'Ooh, the foundation isn't going to work,'" Ressler said. "They kind of said they needed to start over. It was a real concern to us."

PTC has recommended that a separate firm, Capstone Consulting, of Omaha, Neb., be used to finish the project. Smith said the Legislative Council may advertise again for bids from companies interested in the work.

Some of PTC's software development may still be usable, Smith said. The company also did elaborate documentation of the office needs and work process for the Legislative Council and Legislature that a new developer should be able to draw upon, he said.