By Armbrister S.B. No. 1127
76R5598 JRD-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the purchase of goods and services by the state.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 2155.078, Government Code, is amended by
1-5 amending the section heading and Subsections (a) and (m) to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 2155.078. TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION OF STATE AGENCY
1-8 PURCHASING PERSONNEL AND VENDORS. (a) The commission shall
1-9 establish and administer a system of training, continuing
1-10 education, and certification for state agency purchasing personnel.
1-11 The commission may establish and offer appropriate training to
1-12 vendors on a cost recovery basis. The commission may adopt rules
1-13 to administer this section, including rules relating to monitoring
1-14 a certified purchaser's compliance with the continuing education
1-15 requirements of this section.
1-16 (m) The commission's prerequisites for receiving a
1-17 level-three purchaser certification must include completion of the
1-18 second training level, passage of a written [and an oral]
1-19 examination, and a minimum of three years of purchasing experience.
1-20 SECTION 2. Section 2155.262(d), Government Code, is amended
1-21 to read as follows:
1-22 (d) A state agency shall submit to the commission each
1-23 uniform registration form that it receives. [The commission shall
1-24 send to the comptroller a copy of each uniform registration form.]
2-1 SECTION 3. Section 2155.263(a), Government Code, is amended
2-2 to read as follows:
2-3 (a) The commission shall maintain a centralized master
2-4 bidders list and [annually] register on the list the name and
2-5 address of each vendor that applies for registration under rules
2-6 adopted under this subchapter. The commission may include other
2-7 relevant vendor information on the list.
2-8 SECTION 4. Section 2155.266(a), Government Code, is amended
2-9 to read as follows:
2-10 (a) The commission may charge a person applying for
2-11 registration on the master bidders list a registration fee and may
2-12 charge a registrant a biennial [an annual] renewal fee in an amount
2-13 designed to recover the commission's costs in:
2-14 (1) making and maintaining the master bidders list;
2-15 and
2-16 (2) soliciting bids or proposals under this
2-17 subchapter.
2-18 SECTION 5. Section 2155.384, Government Code, is amended to
2-19 read as follows:
2-20 Sec. 2155.384. AUTHORITY TO PAY CHARGES. The commission,
2-21 [or] a state agency, or an entity authorized under Chapter 271,
2-22 Local Government Code, or Section 2155.202 to purchase from a
2-23 contract entered into under the authority of the commission may pay
2-24 a restocking charge, cancellation fee, or other similar charge if
2-25 the commission, state agency, or other entity determines that the
2-26 charge is justifiable.
2-27 SECTION 6. Section 2155.445, Government Code, is amended to
3-1 read as follows:
3-2 Sec. 2155.445. PREFERENCE FOR RECYCLED, REMANUFACTURED, OR
3-3 ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE PRODUCTS. (a) The commission and state
3-4 agencies shall give preference to [a product made of] recycled,
3-5 remanufactured, or environmentally sensitive products, as those
3-6 terms are defined by rule of the commission, [materials] in
3-7 purchases made under this subtitle if the product meets state
3-8 specifications regarding quantity and quality.
3-9 (b) The commission regularly shall review and revise its
3-10 procurement procedures and specifications for the purchase of goods
3-11 to:
3-12 (1) eliminate procedures and specifications that
3-13 explicitly discriminate against [products made of] recycled,
3-14 remanufactured, or environmentally sensitive products, as those
3-15 terms are defined by rule of the commission, [materials]; and
3-16 (2) encourage the use of [products made of] recycled,
3-17 remanufactured, or environmentally sensitive products [materials].
3-18 (c) In developing new procedures and specifications, the
3-19 commission shall encourage the use of recycled products and
3-20 products that may be recycled or reused or that are remanufactured
3-21 or environmentally sensitive.
3-22 SECTION 7. Section 2155.448, Government Code, is amended to
3-23 read as follows:
3-24 Sec. 2155.448. EXPENDITURES FOR RECYCLED, REMANUFACTURED, OR
3-25 ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE COMMODITIES OR SERVICES [MATERIALS]. (a)
3-26 Each state fiscal year, the commission, in coordination with the
3-27 Recycling Market Development Board, by rule may identify recycled,
4-1 remanufactured, or environmentally sensitive commodities or
4-2 services, as those terms are defined by rule of the commission, and
4-3 designate purchasing goals for the procurement of those commodities
4-4 and services by state agencies for that fiscal year [A state agency
4-5 shall spend not less than eight percent of its consumable
4-6 procurement budget for each fiscal year for goods that have
4-7 recycled material content or that are remanufactured or
4-8 environmentally sensitive, as those terms are defined by the
4-9 commission].
4-10 (b) A state agency that intends to purchase a commodity or
4-11 service that accomplishes the same purpose as a commodity or
4-12 service identified under Subsection (a) that does not meet the
4-13 definition of a recycled product or that is not remanufactured or
4-14 environmentally sensitive, as those terms are defined by rule of
4-15 the commission, shall include with the procurement file a written
4-16 justification signed by the executive head of the agency stating
4-17 the reasons for the determination that the commodity or service
4-18 identified by the commission will not meet the requirements of the
4-19 agency [Not later than January 1 of each year, a state agency shall
4-20 deliver a report of the total expenditures in the areas subject to
4-21 Subsection (a) and the amount spent in each category for the
4-22 previous fiscal year to the Legislative Budget Board].
4-23 (c) A state agency shall report in its annual financial
4-24 report, and in an annual report to the commission at a date and in
4-25 a manner and form prescribed by the commission, the expenditures
4-26 made during the preceding state fiscal year for each of the
4-27 commodities or services identified under Subsection (a). The
5-1 report must at a minimum identify the total amount spent on those
5-2 commodities and services and the total amount spent for commodities
5-3 and services purchased that accomplish the same purpose.
5-4 Additionally, state agencies shall report the amount spent for all
5-5 other recycled, remanufactured, and environmentally sensitive
5-6 commodities and services by type of commodity and service as
5-7 prescribed by the commission.
5-8 SECTION 8. Section 2156.121, Government Code, is amended by
5-9 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
5-10 (c) The commission shall determine whether to delegate sole
5-11 oversight of the aquisition to a state agency or to retain
5-12 oversight of the procurement.
5-13 SECTION 9. Chapter 2156, Government Code, is amended by
5-14 adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
5-15 SUBCHAPTER D. INTERSTATE COMPACTS PROCEDURE
5-16 Sec. 2156.181. INTERSTATE COMPACTS AND COOPERATIVE
5-17 AGREEMENTS FOR PROCUREMENTS. (a) The commission may enter into
5-18 one or more compacts, interagency agreements, or cooperative
5-19 purchasing agreements with one or more state governments, agencies
5-20 of other states, or other governmental entities for the purchase of
5-21 goods or services if the commission determines that entering into
5-22 an agreement would be in the best interest of the state.
5-23 (b) The commission may adopt rules to implement this
5-24 section.
5-25 SECTION 10. Section 2157.001(1), Government Code, is amended
5-26 to read as follows:
5-27 (1) "Automated information system" includes:
6-1 (A) the computers and computer devices on which
6-2 an [the] information system is automated, including computers and
6-3 computer devices that the commission identifies in guidelines
6-4 developed by the commission in consultation with the Department of
6-5 Information Resources and in accordance with Chapter 2054 and rules
6-6 adopted under that chapter;
6-7 (B) a service related to the automation of an
6-8 information [the] system, including computer software[,] or [the]
6-9 computers;
6-10 (C) a telecommunications apparatus or device
6-11 that serves as a component of a voice, data, or video
6-12 communications network for transmitting, switching, routing,
6-13 multiplexing, modulating, amplifying, or receiving signals on the
6-14 network, and services related to telecommunications that are not
6-15 covered under Paragraph (D); and
6-16 (D) for the General Services Commission, as
6-17 telecommunications provider for the state [State], the term
6-18 includes any service provided by a telecommunications provider, as
6-19 that term is defined by Section 51.002, Utilities Code [in the
6-20 Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's
6-21 Texas Civil Statutes)].
6-22 SECTION 11. Section 2157.005(a), Government Code, is amended
6-23 to read as follows:
6-24 (a) The commission and the Department of Information
6-25 Resources, in consultation with other state agencies and after
6-26 public comment, shall develop a technology access clause to be
6-27 included in all contracts entered into by the state or state
7-1 agencies that involve the acquisition of an automated information
7-2 system.
7-3 SECTION 12. Section 2157.0611, Government Code, is amended
7-4 to read as follows:
7-5 Sec. 2157.0611. REQUIREMENT TO EVALUATE THREE PROPOSALS WHEN
7-6 POSSIBLE. A catalogue purchase or lease that exceeds $2,000 or a
7-7 greater amount prescribed by commission rule shall, when possible,
7-8 be based on an evaluation of at least three catalogue proposals
7-9 made to the commission or other state agency by qualified
7-10 information systems vendors. If at least three catalogue proposals
7-11 are not evaluated by the commission or other state agency before a
7-12 [the] purchase or lease that exceeds the threshhold amount is made,
7-13 the commission or other agency shall document the reasons for that
7-14 fact before making the purchase or lease under Section 2157.063.
7-15 SECTION 13. Section 2157.063(a), Government Code, is amended
7-16 to read as follows:
7-17 (a) If a purchase or lease is the best value available and
7-18 is in the state's best interest, a state agency may under this
7-19 subchapter purchase or lease an automated information system
7-20 directly from a qualified information systems vendor and may
7-21 negotiate price and additional terms and conditions to be included
7-22 in a contract relating to the purchase or lease.
7-23 SECTION 14. Section 2157.066, Government Code, is amended by
7-24 amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read
7-25 as follows:
7-26 (b) The vendor shall revise the catalogue as necessary [to
7-27 include price changes or the availability of goods or services and
8-1 shall make the revisions available] in the manner required by the
8-2 commission.
8-3 (c) The commission shall make the catalogue information
8-4 available on the world wide web, or on a suitable successor to the
8-5 world wide web if the technological developments involving the
8-6 Internet make it advisable to do so. The commission shall require
8-7 each qualified information systems vendor to maintain its approved
8-8 catalogue [a home page] on the web, or an analogous feature on a
8-9 suitable successor, through which the vendor makes the vendor's
8-10 current catalogue information publicly available. The commission
8-11 shall maintain the necessary databases and indexing functions
8-12 through which a state agency or the public may efficiently search
8-13 for and find each qualified information systems vendor's catalogue
8-14 information on the web or on a suitable successor.
8-15 (f) The commission may audit a qualified information systems
8-16 vendor's approved catalogues for compliance with Subsection (c).
8-17 SECTION 15. Section 2158.241, Government Code, is amended to
8-18 read as follows:
8-19 Sec. 2158.241. INTERSTATE COMPACTS AND COOPERATIVE
8-20 AGREEMENTS FOR PROCURING RECYCLED PRODUCTS. The commission may
8-21 [shall] enter into compacts and cooperative agreements with other
8-22 states and government entities for procuring products made of
8-23 recycled materials when the commission determines it is in the best
8-24 interest of the state.
8-25 SECTION 16. Section 2254.040(a), Government Code, is amended
8-26 to read as follows:
8-27 (a) The General Services Commission may [shall], on request
9-1 of a state agency, procure for the agency consulting services that
9-2 are covered by this subchapter.
9-3 SECTION 17. Section 2155.268(d), Government Code, is
9-4 repealed.
9-5 SECTION 18. The importance of this legislation and the
9-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
9-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
9-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
9-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
9-11 passage, and it is so enacted.