By McCall H.B. No. 1185
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to purchasing by local governments.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 252.022(a), Local Government Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 (a) This chapter does not apply to an expenditure for:
1-7 (1) a procurement made because of a public calamity
1-8 that requires the immediate appropriation of money to relieve the
1-9 necessity of the municipality's residents or to preserve the
1-10 property of the municipality;
1-11 (2) a procurement necessary to preserve or protect the
1-12 public health or safety of the municipality's residents;
1-13 (3) a procurement necessary because of unforeseen
1-14 damage to public machinery, equipment, or other property;
1-15 (4) a procurement for personal or professional
1-16 services;
1-17 (5) a procurement for work that is performed and paid
1-18 for by the day as the work progresses;
1-19 (6) a purchase of land or a right-of-way;
1-20 (7) a procurement of items that are available from
1-21 only one source, including:
1-22 (A) items that are available from only one
1-23 source because of patents, copyrights, secret processes, or natural
1-24 monopolies;
2-1 (B) films, manuscripts, or books;
2-2 (C) electricity, gas, water, and other utility
2-3 services;
2-4 (D) captive replacement parts or components for
2-5 equipment;
2-6 (E) books, papers, and other library materials
2-7 for a public library that are available only from the persons
2-8 holding exclusive distribution rights to the materials; and
2-9 (F) management services provided by a nonprofit
2-10 organization to a municipal museum, park, zoo, or other facility to
2-11 which the organization has provided significant financial or other
2-12 benefits;
2-13 (8) a purchase of rare books, papers, and other
2-14 library materials for a public library;
2-15 (9) paving drainage, street widening, and other public
2-16 improvements, or related matters, if at least one-third of the cost
2-17 is to be paid by or through special assessments levied on property
2-18 that will benefit from the improvements;
2-19 (10) a public improvement project, authorized by the
2-20 voters of the municipality, for which there is a deficiency of
2-21 funds for completing the project in accordance with the plans and
2-22 purposes authorized by the voters;
2-23 (11) a payment under a contract by which a developer
2-24 participates in the construction of a public improvement as
2-25 provided by Subchapter C, Chapter 212; and
2-26 (12) personal property sold:
2-27 (A) at an auction by a state licensed
3-1 auctioneer;
3-2 (B) at a going out of business sale held in
3-3 compliance with Subchapter F, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code;
3-4 <or>
3-5 (C) by a political subdivision of this state, a
3-6 state agency of this state, or an entity of the federal government;
3-7 or
3-8 (D) under an interlocal agreement for
3-9 cooperative purchasing administered by a regional planning
3-10 commission established under Chapter 391.
3-11 SECTION 2. Section 262.023(a), Local Government Code, is
3-12 amended to read as follows:
3-13 (a) Before <Except as provided by Subsection (d), before> a
3-14 county may purchase one or more items under a contract that will
3-15 require an expenditure exceeding $25,000 <$10,000>, the
3-16 commissioners court of the county must comply with the competitive
3-17 bidding or competitive proposal procedures prescribed by this
3-18 subchapter. All bids or proposals must be sealed.
3-19 SECTION 3. Section 262.027, Local Government Code, is
3-20 amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
3-21 (e) The commissioners court may give preference to a bid,
3-22 other than a bid involving public works or the repair or
3-23 improvement of real property, submitted by a bidder whose principal
3-24 place of business is located within the county if the bid does not
3-25 exceed the bid of any responsible nonresident bidder by more than
3-26 five percent.
3-27 SECTION 4. Section 262.030, Local Government Code, is
4-1 amended to read as follows:
4-2 Sec. 262.030. ALTERNATIVE COMPETITIVE PROPOSAL PROCEDURE FOR
4-3 INSURANCE, <OR> HIGH TECHNOLOGY ITEMS, AND SPECIAL SERVICES. (a)
4-4 The competitive proposal procedure provided by this section may be
4-5 used for the purchase of insurance, <or> high technology items, and
4-6 any of the following special services:
4-7 (1) janitorial services;
4-8 (2) landscape maintenance;
4-9 (3) travel management;
4-10 (4) recycling; and
4-11 (5) vending, concession, or commissary services.
4-12 (b) Quotations must be solicited through a request for
4-13 proposals. Public notice for the request for proposals must be
4-14 made in the same manner as provided in the competitive bidding
4-15 procedure. The request for proposals must specify the relative
4-16 importance of price and other evaluation factors. The award of the
4-17 contract shall be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal is
4-18 determined to be the lowest evaluated offer resulting from
4-19 negotiation, taking into consideration the relative importance of
4-20 price and other evaluation factors set forth in the request for
4-21 proposals.
4-22 (c) <(b)> If provided in the request for proposals,
4-23 proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to
4-24 competing offerors and kept secret during the process of
4-25 negotiation. All proposals that have been submitted shall be
4-26 available and open for public inspection after the contract is
4-27 awarded, except for trade secrets and confidential information
5-1 contained in the proposals and identified as such.
5-2 (d) <(c)> As provided in the request for proposals and under
5-3 rules adopted by the commissioners court, discussions may be
5-4 conducted with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined
5-5 to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award. Offerors
5-6 must be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any
5-7 opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals, and revisions
5-8 may be permitted after submission and before award for the purpose
5-9 of obtaining best and final offers.
5-10 SECTION 5. Section 262.031(b), Local Government Code, is
5-11 amended to read as follows:
5-12 (b) If a change order involves an increase or decrease in
5-13 cost of $50,000 <$15,000> or less, the commissioners court may
5-14 grant general authority to an employee to approve the change
5-15 orders. However, the original contract price may not be increased
5-16 by more than 25 percent unless the change order is necessary to
5-17 comply with a federal or state statute, rule, regulation, or
5-18 judicial decision enacted, adopted, or rendered after the contract
5-19 was made. The original contract price may not be decreased by 18
5-20 percent or more without the consent of the contractor.
5-21 SECTION 6. Section 263.152(a), Local Government Code, is
5-22 amended to read as follows:
5-23 (a) The commissioners court of a county may:
5-24 (1) periodically sell the county's surplus or salvage
5-25 property by competitive bid or auction, except that competitive
5-26 bids or an auction is not necessary if the purchaser is another
5-27 county;
6-1 (2) offer the property as a trade-in for new property
6-2 of the same general type if the commissioners court considers that
6-3 action to be in the best interests of the county; or
6-4 (3) order any of the property to be destroyed or
6-5 otherwise disposed of as worthless if the commissioners court
6-6 undertakes to sell that property under Subdivision (1) and is
6-7 unable to do so because no bids are made.
6-8 SECTION 7. Section 271.024, Local Government Code, is
6-9 amended to read as follows:
6-10 Sec. 271.024. Competitive Bidding Procedure Applicable to
6-11 Contract. If a governmental entity is required by statute to award
6-12 a contract for the construction, repair, or renovation of a
6-13 structure, road, highway, or other improvement or addition to real
6-14 property on the basis of competitive bids, and if the contract
6-15 requires the expenditure of more than $25,000 <$10,000> from the
6-16 funds of the entity, the bidding on the contract must be
6-17 accomplished in the manner provided by this subchapter.
6-18 SECTION 8. Chapter 271, Local Government Code, is amended by
6-19 adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
6-20 SUBCHAPTER E. COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM
6-21 Sec. 271.091. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
6-22 (1) "Local cooperative organization" means an
6-23 organization established to provide local governments access to
6-24 contracts with vendors for the purchase of materials, supplies,
6-25 services, or equipment.
6-26 (2) "Local government" means a county, municipality,
6-27 special district, school district, junior college district, or
7-1 other legally constituted political subdivision of the state.
7-2 Sec. 271.092. COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.
7-3 (a) A local government may participate in a cooperative purchasing
7-4 program with another local government or a local cooperative
7-5 organization.
7-6 (b) A participating local government may sign an agreement
7-7 with the other local government or cooperative organization, as
7-8 applicable, stating that the signing local government will:
7-9 (1) designate a person to act under the direction of,
7-10 and on behalf of, that governmental body in all matters relating to
7-11 the program;
7-12 (2) make payments directly to a vendor under a
7-13 contract made under this subchapter; and
7-14 (3) be responsible for a vendor's compliance with
7-15 provisions relating to the quality of items and terms of delivery.
7-16 (c) A local government that purchases under this program
7-17 complies with the competitive bidding requirements of this title or
7-18 other state law if the applicable competitive bidding requirements
7-19 are followed by the entity awarding the contract.
7-20 SECTION 9. Subchapter Z, Chapter 271, Local Government Code,
7-21 is amended by adding Section 271.903 to read as follows:
7-22 Sec. 271.903. COMMITMENT OF CURRENT REVENUE. (a) If a
7-23 contract for the acquisition, including lease, of real or personal
7-24 property retains to the governing body of a local government the
7-25 continuing right to terminate at the expiration of each budget
7-26 period of the local government during the term of the contract, is
7-27 conditioned on a best efforts attempt by the governing body to
8-1 obtain and appropriate funds for payment of the contract, or
8-2 contains both the continuing right to terminate and the best
8-3 efforts conditions, the contract is a commitment of the local
8-4 government's current revenues only.
8-5 (b) In this section, "local government" means a
8-6 municipality, county, school district, special purpose district or
8-7 authority, or other political subdivision of this state.
8-8 SECTION 10. Sections 262.023(d) and 271.005(b), Local
8-9 Government Code, are repealed.
8-10 SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
8-11 SECTION 12. The importance of this legislation and the
8-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.