By: Armbrister S.B. No. 494
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the establishment of a state council on competitive
1-2 government.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Article 13, State Purchasing and General Services
1-5 Act (Art. 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is repealed.
1-6 SECTION 2. The State Purchasing and General Services Act
1-7 (Art. 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding
1-8 Article 15 to read as follows:
1-9 Article 15. Council on Competitive Government.
1-10 Section 15.01 Definitions. In this article:
1-11 (1) "Commercial activity" means an activity that provides a
1-12 product or service that is commonly available from a private
1-13 source.
1-14 (2) "Commission" has the meaning established by Section
1-15 1.02(1) of this Act.
1-16 (3) "Council" means the State Council on Competitive
1-17 Government.
1-18 (4) "Identified state service" means a service provided by
1-19 the state that the council has identified as a commercially
1-20 available service and brought under study by the council to
1-21 determine whether the service may better be provided through
1-22 competition with private commercial sources.
1-23 (5) "State agency" has the meaning established by Section
2-1 1.02(2) of this Act.
2-2 Section 15.02. State Council on Competitive Government. The
2-3 State Council on Competitive Government is established. It is the
2-4 policy of this state that all state services be performed in the
2-5 most effective and efficient manner in order to be the best value
2-6 to the citizens of the State and the State recognizes competition
2-7 among service providers may improve the quality of service
2-8 provided. The State shall encourage competition, innovation and
2-9 creativity among service providers.
2-10 Section 15.03. Membership. The council shall consist of the
2-11 following persons or their designees:
2-12 (1) the Governor;
2-13 (2) the Lieutenant Governor;
2-14 (3) the Comptroller of Public Accounts;
2-15 (4) the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in an
2-16 ex officio capacity; and
2-17 (5) the commission's presiding officer, as appointed
2-18 under Section 2.04 (a) of this Act.
2-19 Section 15.04. Meetings. The council shall meet as often as
2-20 necessary to perform its duties.
2-21 Section 15.05. Duties. The council shall identify
2-22 commercially available services currently being performed by state
2-23 agencies, and, if the council determines that these services may
2-24 better be provided through competition with private commercial
2-25 sources or other state agency service providers, require a state
3-1 agency to engage in any process, including competitive bidding,
3-2 developed by the council to provide the service in competition with
3-3 private commercial sources or other state agency service providers.
3-4 Section 15.06. Powers. In performing its duties under this
3-5 article, the council may:
3-6 (1) adopt rules governing any aspect of the council's
3-7 duties or responsibilities;
3-8 (2) hold public hearings or conduct studies;
3-9 (3) consult with private commercial sources;
3-10 (4) require a state agency to conduct an agency
3-11 in-house cost estimate, a management study, or any other hearing,
3-12 study, review, or cost estimate concerning any aspect of an
3-13 identified state service;
3-14 (5) develop and require for use by state agencies
3-15 methods to accurately and fairly estimate and account for the cost
3-16 of providing an identified state service;
3-17 (6) require that an identified state service be
3-18 submitted to competitive bidding or other process determined to
3-19 create competition with private commercial sources;
3-20 (7) determine, in consultation with affected state
3-21 agencies, the specifications and conditions of purchase procedures
3-22 that must be followed by the commission and a state agency or a
3-23 private commercial source engaged in competitive bidding to provide
3-24 an identified state service;
3-25 (8) award a contract to a state agency currently
4-1 providing the service, a state agency other than an agency
4-2 currently providing the service, a private commercial source or any
4-3 combination thereof if the bidder presents the best and most
4-4 reasonable bid, not necessarily the lowest bid; and
4-5 (9) determine the terms and conditions of a contract
4-6 for service or interagency contract to provide an identified state
4-7 service or other commercially available service.
4-8 Section 15.07. Duties of Affected State Agencies. A state
4-9 agency shall perform any activities required by the council in the
4-10 performance of its duties or exercise of its powers under this
4-11 Article.
4-12 Section 15.08. Exemption. Decisions regarding whether an
4-13 agency shall engage in competitive bidding and concerning the award
4-14 of contracts made by the council are exempt from all state laws
4-15 regulating or limiting state purchasing and purchasing decisions.
4-16 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.