LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 3, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Kenneth Armbrister, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 1752
          Committee on State Affairs                              By: Armbrister
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB1752 ( Relating 
to the purchase of goods and services by the state and to purchasing 
services provided by the state to local governments.) this office 
has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB1752-As Introduced
         
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
Fiscal Analysis

The bill would require state agencies and 
institutions of higher education to use the "best value" approach 
when evaluating contractor bids and to provide a process for 
barring contractors from contracting with the state under certain 
circumstances. The bill would also increase the threshold for 
requiring competitive bids from $1,000 to $2,000 and allow the 
General Services Commission (GSC) to delegate additional purchasing 
authority to state agencies.  The bill would require the GSC 
to establish a training and continuing education program for 
certifying state agency purchasing staff.  The cost of providing 
this training program would be provided on a full cost recovery 
basis.

Methodology

The expanded training program for state 
agency purchasing staff required by the bill would result in 
additional costs based on an assessment of workload by the GSC. 
 These costs would be recovered by the GSC in the form of interagency 
contracts.  However, the cost to each agency is not expected 
to be significant.

The purchase of products and services 
having the "best value" could result in savings to the state 
over the long run due to increased reliability, durability, 
and quality of the products and services purchased. 
          
The bill would not require units of local government to participate 
in the training programs offered by the GSC.  However, local 
governments choosing to receive such training would be charged 
on a cost recovery basis by the GSC.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   720   University of Texas System Administration
                                         601   Department of Transportation
                                         696   Department of Criminal Justice
                                         303   General Services Commission
                                         304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,JD ,RN