By Reyna of Bexar                                     H.B. No. 1795
         76R7218 MCK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to certain state purchasing procedures.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 2155.074, Government Code, as added by
 1-5     Chapter 508, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
 1-6     is amended by amending the heading and Subsections (a), (c), (g),
 1-7     and (k) to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 2155.074.  STATE BUSINESS DAILY; NOTICE REGARDING
 1-9     PROCUREMENTS EXCEEDING $10,000 [$25,000].  (a)  Except as provided
1-10     by Subsection (n), this section applies to each state agency making
1-11     a procurement that will exceed $10,000 [$25,000] in value, without
1-12     regard to the source of funds the agency will use for the
1-13     procurement, including a procurement that:
1-14                 (1)  is otherwise exempt from the commission's
1-15     purchasing authority or the application of this subtitle;
1-16                 (2)  is made under delegated purchasing authority;
1-17                 (3)  is related to a construction project; or
1-18                 (4)  is a procurement of professional or consulting
1-19     services.
1-20           (c)  The department each business day shall produce and post
1-21     a business daily in an electronic format.  The department shall
1-22     post in the business daily information as prescribed by this
1-23     section about each state agency procurement that will exceed
1-24     $10,000 [$25,000] in value.  The department shall also post in the
 2-1     business daily other information relating to the business activity
 2-2     of the state that the department considers to be of interest to the
 2-3     public.
 2-4           (g)  A state agency shall post in the business daily either
 2-5     the entire bid or proposal solicitation package or a notice that
 2-6     includes at a minimum the following information for each
 2-7     procurement that the state agency will make that is estimated to
 2-8     exceed $10,000 [$25,000] in value:
 2-9                 (1)  a brief description of the goods or services to be
2-10     procured and any applicable state product or service codes for the
2-11     goods and services;
2-12                 (2)  the last date on which bids, proposals, or other
2-13     applicable expressions of interest will be accepted;
2-14                 (3)  the estimated quantity of goods or services to be
2-15     procured;
2-16                 (4)  if applicable, the previous price paid by the
2-17     state agency for the same or similar goods or services;
2-18                 (5)  the estimated date on which the goods or services
2-19     to be procured will be needed; and
2-20                 (6)  the name, business mailing address, and business
2-21     telephone number of the state agency employee a person may contact
2-22     to obtain all necessary information related to making a bid or
2-23     proposal or other applicable expression of interest for the
2-24     procurement contract.
2-25           (k)  Each state agency that will award a procurement contract
2-26     estimated to exceed $10,000 [$25,000] in value shall send to the
2-27     department:
 3-1                 (1)  the information the department requires for
 3-2     posting in the state business daily under this section; and
 3-3                 (2)  a notice when the procurement contract has been
 3-4     awarded or when the state agency has decided to not make the
 3-5     procurement.
 3-6           SECTION 2.  Section 2155.132, Government Code, is amended by
 3-7     amending the heading and Subsections (a), (b), and (c) to read as
 3-8     follows:
 3-9           Sec. 2155.132.  DELEGATION OF PURCHASING AUTHORITY [PURCHASES
3-10     LESS THAN SPECIFIED MONETARY AMOUNT].  (a)  [A state agency is
3-11     delegated the authority to purchase goods and services if the
3-12     purchase does not exceed $15,000. If the commission determines that
3-13     a state agency has not followed the commission's rules or the laws
3-14     related to the delegated purchases, the commission shall report its
3-15     determination to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the
3-16     house of representatives, and Legislative Budget Board.]
3-17           [(b)]  The commission by rule may delegate to a state agency
3-18     the authority to purchase goods and services [if the purchase
3-19     exceeds $15,000].
3-20           (b)  In delegating purchasing authority under this section
3-21     [subsection or Section 2155.131], the commission shall consider
3-22     factors relevant to a state agency's ability to perform purchasing
3-23     functions, including:
3-24                 (1)  the capabilities of the agency's purchasing staff
3-25     and the existence of automated purchasing tools at the agency;
3-26                 (2)  the certification levels held by the agency's
3-27     purchasing personnel;
 4-1                 (3)  the results of the commission's procurement review
 4-2     audits of an agency's purchasing practices; and
 4-3                 (4)  whether the agency has adopted and published
 4-4     protest procedures consistent with those of the commission as part
 4-5     of its purchasing rules.
 4-6           (c)  The commission shall monitor the purchasing practices of
 4-7     state agencies that are making delegated purchases under this
 4-8     section [Subsection (b) or Section 2155.131] to ensure that the
 4-9     certification levels of the agency's purchasing personnel and the
4-10     quality of the agency's purchasing practices continue to warrant
4-11     the amount of delegated authority provided by the commission to the
4-12     agency.  The commission may revoke for cause all or part of the
4-13     purchasing authority that the commission delegated to a state
4-14     agency.  The commission shall adopt rules to administer this
4-15     subsection.
4-16           SECTION 3.  Section 2155.131, Government Code, is repealed.
4-17           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
4-18           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
4-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.