S.B. No. 1058
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Transportation
    1-2  to procure certain services by competitive sealed proposal.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Title 116, Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
    1-5  Article 6674i-5 to read as follows:
    1-6        Art. 6674i-5.  PROPOSALS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL OR CULTURAL
    1-7  ASSESSMENT FOR PROJECT.  (a)  The Texas Department of
    1-8  Transportation may follow a procedure using competitive sealed
    1-9  proposals to procure the services of an archeologist, biologist,
   1-10  geologist, historian, or other technical expert to conduct an
   1-11  environmental or cultural assessment required by state or federal
   1-12  law for a transportation project within the authority or
   1-13  jurisdiction of the department.
   1-14        (b)  To procure services under this article, the Texas
   1-15  Department of Transportation must first determine that competitive
   1-16  sealed bidding or informal competitive bidding is not practical or
   1-17  is disadvantageous to the state.
   1-18        (c)  The Texas Department of Transportation shall solicit
   1-19  proposals by a request for proposals following the same notice
   1-20  procedure it uses in procuring services under Subchapter A, Chapter
   1-21  2254, Government Code.
   1-22        (d)  The proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure
   1-23  of contents to competing offerors during the process of
    2-1  negotiation.  After the contract is awarded, all proposals that
    2-2  have been submitted shall be open for public inspection except as
    2-3  provided in the open records law, Chapter 552, Government Code.
    2-4        (e)  As provided in a request for proposals and under rules
    2-5  adopted by the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas
    2-6  Department of Transportation may discuss acceptable or potentially
    2-7  acceptable proposals with offerors in order to assess an offeror's
    2-8  ability to meet the solicitation requirements.  After the
    2-9  submission of a proposal but before making an award, the department
   2-10  may permit the offeror to revise the proposal in order to obtain
   2-11  the best final offer.  The department may not disclose any
   2-12  information derived from proposals submitted from competing
   2-13  offerors in conducting discussions under this article.  The
   2-14  department shall provide each offeror with an equal opportunity for
   2-15  discussion and revision of proposals.
   2-16        (f)  The Texas Department of Transportation shall make a
   2-17  written award of a contract to the offeror whose proposal is the
   2-18  most advantageous to the state, considering price and the
   2-19  evaluation factors in the request for proposals, except that if the
   2-20  department finds that none of the offers is acceptable, it shall
   2-21  refuse all offers.  The contract file must state in writing the
   2-22  basis on which the award is made.
   2-23        (g)  The Texas Department of Transportation may adopt rules
   2-24  for the implementation of this article.
   2-25        (h)  This article does not apply to services defined as
    3-1  engineering by the State Board of Registration for Professional
    3-2  Engineers under The Texas Engineering Practice Act (Article 3271a,
    3-3  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
    3-4        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
    3-5  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    3-6  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    3-7  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    3-8  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    3-9  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   3-10  passage, and it is so enacted.