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.