H.B. No. 2695




AN ACT

relating to allowing a county to consider health insurance benefits 
provided by a bidder to its employees when awarding a purchasing 
contract.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 262, Local Government 
Code, is amended by adding Section 262.0271 to read as follows:
	Sec. 262.0271.  CONSIDERATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDED 
BY BIDDER.  (a)  In this section, "comparable health insurance 
coverage" means health insurance benefits provided by a bidder or a 
subcontractor a bidder intends to use that are comparable to the 
health insurance benefits provided for employees of the county.
	(b)  In purchasing items under this chapter through a 
competitive bidding process, if a county receives one or more bids 
from a bidder who provides comparable health insurance coverage to 
its employees and requires a subcontractor the bidder intends to 
use to provide comparable health insurance coverage to the 
subcontractor's employees and whose bid is within five percent of 
the lowest bid price received by the county from a bidder who does 
not provide or require comparable health insurance coverage, the 
commissioners court of the county may give preference to the bidder 
who provides and requires comparable health insurance coverage.
	(c)  This section does not prohibit a county from rejecting 
all bids. 
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to  a contract awarded on or after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.                           




______________________________              ______________________________
 
   President of the Senate                               Speaker of the House      

	I certify that H.B. No. 2695 was passed by the House on May 9, 
2005, by a non-record vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House   

	I certify that H.B. No. 2695 was passed by the Senate on May 
25, 2005, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Secretary of the Senate    



APPROVED:  _____________________                                            
 
                   Date                                                      




 
          _____________________                                          
 
                 Governor