By Culberson                                          H.B. No. 2673
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the competitive bidding requirements of certain
    1-3  government entities.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Subsections (a), (b) and (c), Section 252.021,
    1-6  Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
    1-7        (a)  Except as provided in Subsection (b) below, before a
    1-8  municipality <with 50,000 or more inhabitants> may enter into a
    1-9  contract that requires an expenditure of more than $25,000
   1-10  <$10,000> from one or more municipal funds, the municipality must
   1-11  comply with the procedures prescribed by this chapter for
   1-12  competitive bids or competitive sealed proposals.
   1-13        (b)  Before a municipality with fewer than 1,500,000
   1-14  inhabitants may enter into a contract for insurance that requires
   1-15  an expenditure of more than $5,000 from one or more municipal
   1-16  funds, the municipality must comply with the procedure prescribed
   1-17  in this chapter for competitive bids or competitive sealed
   1-18  proposals <Before a municipality with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants
   1-19  may enter into a contract that requires an expenditure of more than
   1-20  $5,000, the municipality must comply with the procedure prescribed
   1-21  by this chapter for competitive sealed bidding or competitive
   1-22  sealed proposals>.
   1-23        (c)  A municipality may use the competitive sealed proposal
    2-1  procedure only for the purchase of insurance or for high technology
    2-2  procurements.
    2-3        SECTION 2.  Section 252.042, Local Government Code, is
    2-4  amended to read as follows:
    2-5        Section 252.042.  Requests for Proposals for Insurance and
    2-6  High Technology Procurements.
    2-7        (a)  Requests for proposals made under Section 252.021 must
    2-8  solicit quotations and must specify the relative importance of
    2-9  price and other evaluation factors.
   2-10        (b)  Discussion in accordance with the terms of a request for
   2-11  proposals and with regulations adopted by the governing body of the
   2-12  municipality may be conducted with offerors who submit proposals
   2-13  and who are determined to be reasonably qualified for the award of
   2-14  the contract.  Offerors shall be treated fairly and equally with
   2-15  respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of
   2-16  proposals.  To obtain the best final offers, revisions may be
   2-17  permitted after submissions and before the award of the contract.
   2-18        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-19  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-20  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-21  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-22  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-23  and this rule is hereby suspended.