By Hunter H.B. No. 739 75R3621 DRH-F A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the award by certain municipalities of contracts to 1-3 local bidders. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 252.043, Local Government Code, is 1-6 amended to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 252.043. AWARD OF CONTRACT. (a) If the competitive 1-8 sealed bidding requirement applies to the contract, the contract 1-9 must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, except as 1-10 provided by Subsection (b). The governing body may reject any and 1-11 all bids. 1-12 (b) The governing body of a municipality may give a 1-13 preference in the comparison of bids to a responsible bidder who is 1-14 not the lowest responsible bidder if: 1-15 (1) the principal place of business of that bidder is 1-16 in that municipality; 1-17 (2) the bidder pays to the municipality the property 1-18 tax on the land on which the business is located; 1-19 (3) the bid of that bidder is not more than one 1-20 percent greater than the bid of the lowest responsible bidder; and 1-21 (4) the bidder will match the bid of the lowest 1-22 responsible bidder. 1-23 (c) If the competitive sealed proposals requirement applies 1-24 to the contract, the contract must be awarded to the responsible 2-1 offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to 2-2 the municipality considering the relative importance of price and 2-3 the other evaluation factors included in the request for proposals. 2-4 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 2-5 (b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to the 2-6 award of a contract for which the first solicitation of sealed bids 2-7 occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. 2-8 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.