By: West S.B. No. 1727
97S0745/2
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to assisting small businesses to participate in state
1-2 public works contracting.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 2166, Government Code, is
1-5 amended by adding Section 2166.260 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 2166.260. SMALL CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATION ASSISTANCE
1-7 PROGRAM. (a) This section applies only to public works projects
1-8 for which the combined estimated cost of all projects exceeds an
1-9 aggregate contractual value of $100 million that are undertaken by
1-10 or for any state agency or institution of higher education.
1-11 Notwithstanding other law, this section applies without regard to:
1-12 (1) the source of funds for a public works project;
1-13 (2) whether a public works project is otherwise
1-14 excepted from the application of this section by Section 2166.003
1-15 or 2166.004 or other law; or
1-16 (3) whether the public works project is undertaken
1-17 under the authority of this section or other law.
1-18 (b) In this section:
1-19 (1) "Program" means a small contractor participation
1-20 assistance program created under this section.
1-21 (2) "Public works project" means a construction
1-22 project, including a building, designed to serve the public
1-23 necessity, use, or convenience that is undertaken and carried out
2-1 by a state agency or institution of higher education as described
2-2 by Subsection (a). The term includes a project for the
2-3 construction, alteration, or repair of a public building or of a
2-4 road, bridge, or highway.
2-5 (3) "Small contractor" means a person who is the owner
2-6 of a business that does not exceed, in any period of four
2-7 consecutive years, the gross receipts or total employment levels
2-8 stated in the small business guidelines, 13 C.F.R. Section 121.201,
2-9 promulgated by the United States Small Business Administration for
2-10 businesses within the same four-digit Standard Industrial
2-11 Classification code. If the person is married and the person's
2-12 spouse is a business owner, the spouse's business must also qualify
2-13 as a small business within the respective four-digit Standard
2-14 Industrial Classification code applicable to the spouse's business.
2-15 (c) Not later than January 1, 1998, a state agency or
2-16 institution of higher education having a public works project
2-17 described by Subsection (a) shall establish a small contractor
2-18 participation assistance program to ensure full opportunity for
2-19 participation in public works projects by small contractors. A
2-20 program established under this section must include:
2-21 (1) a system for the centralized purchase of any
2-22 necessary insurance coverage for the public works project that is
2-23 required under Subsection (d);
2-24 (2) a public outreach plan to provide public
2-25 information about the program and to encourage small contractors to
3-1 participate in the program;
3-2 (3) a technical assistance plan to aid small
3-3 contractors in developing the skills necessary to participate in
3-4 the program in accordance with Subsection (e); and
3-5 (4) a financing assistance plan to provide
3-6 administrative and other assistance to small contractors in
3-7 obtaining any necessary financing arrangements to make the
3-8 participation of those contractors possible.
3-9 (d) A state agency or institution of higher education having
3-10 a public works project described by Subsection (a) shall provide
3-11 for the centralized purchasing of:
3-12 (1) workers' compensation insurance coverage;
3-13 (2) employer's liability insurance coverage;
3-14 (3) commercial general and excess liability coverage;
3-15 (4) payment and performance bonds with multisurety
3-16 capability; and
3-17 (5) any other analogous coverage the agency or
3-18 institution of higher education considers necessary and reasonable
3-19 for the particular public works project.
3-20 (e) A technical assistance plan adopted by a state agency or
3-21 institution of higher education having a public works project
3-22 described by Subsection (a) must include information on and
3-23 assistance in:
3-24 (1) estimating bids, the bidding process, scheduling,
3-25 and understanding bid documents;
4-1 (2) reading construction drawings and other analogous
4-2 documents;
4-3 (3) business accounting, bonds, and bond requirements;
4-4 (4) negotiation with general contractors; and
4-5 (5) any other technical, financial, and administrative
4-6 assistance considered appropriate and necessary given the
4-7 complexity and scope of the particular public works project.
4-8 (f) A state agency or institution of higher education having
4-9 a public works project described by Subsection (a) may negotiate
4-10 contracts with persons or firms having expertise in the areas that
4-11 must be included in the agency's or institution's technical
4-12 assistance plan to provide the information and assistance.
4-13 (g) A state agency or institution of higher education may
4-14 consult with the commission when implementing a small contractor
4-15 participation assistance program.
4-16 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 2166.259, Government
4-17 Code, is amended to read as follows:
4-18 (a) This section applies only to a contract for a public
4-19 works project for which the combined [that has an] estimated cost
4-20 of all projects exceeds an aggregate contractual value of $100
4-21 [more than $20] million.
4-22 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
4-23 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.