1-1  By:  West                                             S.B. No. 1058
    1-2        (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 1995; March 9, 1995, read
    1-3  first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 2, 1995,
    1-4  reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0;
    1-5  May 2, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Transportation
    1-9  to procure certain services by competitive sealed proposal.
   1-10        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-11        SECTION 1.  Title 116, Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
   1-12  Article 6674i-5 to read as follows:
   1-13        Art. 6674i-5.  PROPOSAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL OR CULTURAL
   1-14  ASSESSMENT FOR PROJECT.  (a)  The Texas Department of
   1-15  Transportation may follow a procedure using competitive sealed
   1-16  proposals to procure the services of an archeologist, biologist,
   1-17  geologist, historian, or other technical expert to conduct an
   1-18  environmental or cultural assessment required by state or federal
   1-19  law for a transportation project within the authority or
   1-20  jurisdiction of the department.
   1-21        (b)  To procure services under this article, the Texas
   1-22  Department of Transportation must first determine that competitive
   1-23  sealed bidding or informal competitive bidding is not practical or
   1-24  is disadvantageous to the state.
   1-25        (c)  The Texas Department of Transportation shall solicit
   1-26  proposals by a request for proposals following the same notice
   1-27  procedure it uses in procuring services under Subchapter A, Chapter
   1-28  2254, Government Code.
   1-29        (d)  The proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure
   1-30  of contents to competing offerors during the process of
   1-31  negotiation.  After the contract is awarded, all proposals that
   1-32  have been submitted shall be open for public inspection except as
   1-33  provided in the open records law, Chapter 552, Government Code.
   1-34        (e)  As provided in a request for proposals and under rules
   1-35  adopted by the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas
   1-36  Department of Transportation may discuss acceptable or potentially
   1-37  acceptable proposals with offerors in order to assess an offeror's
   1-38  ability to meet the solicitation requirements.  After the
   1-39  submission of a proposal but before making an award, the department
   1-40  may permit the offeror to revise the proposal in order to obtain
   1-41  the best final offer.  The department may not disclose any
   1-42  information derived from proposals submitted from competing
   1-43  offerors in conducting discussions under this article.  The
   1-44  department shall provide each offeror with an equal opportunity for
   1-45  discussion and revision of proposals.
   1-46        (f)  The Texas Department of Transportation shall make a
   1-47  written award of a contract to the offeror whose proposal is the
   1-48  most advantageous to the state, considering price and the
   1-49  evaluation factors in the request for proposals, except that if the
   1-50  department finds that none of the offers is acceptable, it shall
   1-51  refuse all offers.  The contract file must state in writing the
   1-52  basis on which the award is made.
   1-53        (g)  The Texas Department of Transportation may adopt rules
   1-54  for the implementation of this article.
   1-55        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-56  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-57  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-58  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-59  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   1-60  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   1-61  passage, and it is so enacted.
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