By Janek                                              H.B. No. 2926
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to request for proposal purchasing procedures for certain
    1-3  counties.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 262.030, Government Code, is amended to
    1-6  read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 262.030.  Alternative Competitive Proposal Procedure for
    1-8  Insurance, <or> High Technology Items or other items
    1-9        (a)  Except for subsection (d) of this section, the
   1-10  competitive proposal procedure provided by this section may be used
   1-11  for the purchase of insurance or high technology items.  Quotations
   1-12  must be solicited through a request for proposals.  Public notice
   1-13  for the request for proposals must be made in the same manner as
   1-14  provided in the competitive bidding procedure.  The request for
   1-15  proposals must specify the relative importance of price and other
   1-16  evaluation factors.  The award of the contract shall be made to the
   1-17  responsible offeror whose proposal is determined to be the lowest
   1-18  evaluated offer resulting from negotiation, taking into
   1-19  consideration the relative importance of price and other evaluation
   1-20  factors set forth in the request for proposals.
   1-21        (b)  If provided in the request for proposals, proposals
   1-22  shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing
   1-23  offerors and kept secret during the process of negotiation.  All
    2-1  proposals that have been submitted shall be available and open for
    2-2  public inspection after the contract is awarded, except for trade
    2-3  secrets and confidential information contained in the proposals and
    2-4  identified as such.
    2-5        (c)  As provided in the request for proposals and under rules
    2-6  adopted by the commissioners court, discussions may be conducted
    2-7  with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to be
    2-8  reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.  Offerors must
    2-9  be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any
   2-10  opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals, and revisions
   2-11  may be permitted after submission and before award for the purpose
   2-12  of obtaining best and final offers.
   2-13        (d)  A county having a population of 2,400,000 or more
   2-14  according to the most recent federal census may use the competitive
   2-15  proposal purchasing method authorized by this section for the
   2-16  purchase of insurance or high technology items.  In addition, the
   2-17  method may be used to purchase other items when the county official
   2-18  who makes purchases for the county determines that it is in the
   2-19  best interest of the county to make a request for proposals.
   2-20        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-21  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-22  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-23  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-24  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.