1-1  By:  Janek (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                   H.B. No. 2926
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 1995;
    1-3  May 11, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on
    1-4  Intergovernmental Relations; May 17, 1995, reported favorably by
    1-5  the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 17, 1995, sent to
    1-6  printer.)
    1-7                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-8                                AN ACT
    1-9  relating to request for proposal purchasing procedures for certain
   1-10  counties.
   1-11        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-12        SECTION 1.  Section 262.030, Local Government Code, is
   1-13  amended to read as follows:
   1-14        Sec. 262.030.  ALTERNATIVE COMPETITIVE PROPOSAL PROCEDURE FOR
   1-15  INSURANCE, <OR> HIGH TECHNOLOGY ITEMS, OR OTHER ITEMS.  (a)  Except
   1-16  for Subsection (d) of this section, the <The> competitive proposal
   1-17  procedure provided by this section may be used for the purchase of
   1-18  insurance or high technology items.  Quotations must be solicited
   1-19  through a request for proposals.  Public notice for the request for
   1-20  proposals must be made in the same manner as provided in the
   1-21  competitive bidding procedure.  The request for proposals must
   1-22  specify the relative importance of price and other evaluation
   1-23  factors.  The award of the contract shall be made to the
   1-24  responsible offeror whose proposal is determined to be the lowest
   1-25  evaluated offer resulting from negotiation, taking into
   1-26  consideration the relative importance of price and other evaluation
   1-27  factors set forth in the request for proposals.
   1-28        (b)  If provided in the request for proposals, proposals
   1-29  shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing
   1-30  offerors and kept secret during the process of negotiation.  All
   1-31  proposals that have been submitted shall be available and open for
   1-32  public inspection after the contract is awarded, except for trade
   1-33  secrets and confidential information contained in the proposals and
   1-34  identified as such.
   1-35        (c)  As provided in the request for proposals and under rules
   1-36  adopted by the commissioners court, discussions may be conducted
   1-37  with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to be
   1-38  reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.  Offerors must
   1-39  be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any
   1-40  opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals, and revisions
   1-41  may be permitted after submission and before award for the purpose
   1-42  of obtaining best and final offers.
   1-43        (d)  A county having a population of 2,400,000 or more
   1-44  according to the most recent federal census may use the competitive
   1-45  proposal purchasing method authorized by this section for the
   1-46  purchase of insurance or high technology items.  In addition, the
   1-47  method may be used to purchase other items when the county official
   1-48  who makes purchases for the county determines, with the consent of
   1-49  the commissioners court, that it is in the best interest of the
   1-50  county to make a request for proposals.
   1-51        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-52  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-53  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-54  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-55  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
   1-56                               * * * * *