By Ellis                                              S.B. No. 1636
         76R7036 JRD-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to increasing the competitiveness of historically
 1-3     underutilized businesses in state procurement.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 2155.074(g), Government Code, as added by
 1-6     Chapter 508, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
 1-7     is amended to read as follows:
 1-8           (g)  A state agency shall post in the business daily either
 1-9     the entire bid or proposal solicitation package or a notice that
1-10     includes all information necessary to make a successful bid,
1-11     proposal, or other applicable expression of interest  for the
1-12     procurement contract, including at a minimum the following
1-13     information for each procurement that the state agency will make
1-14     that is estimated to exceed $25,000 in value:
1-15                 (1)  a clear and complete [brief] description of the
1-16     goods or services to be procured and any applicable state product
1-17     or service codes  for the goods and services;
1-18                 (2)  the last date on which bids, proposals, or other
1-19     applicable expressions of interest will be accepted;
1-20                 (3)  the estimated quantity of goods or services to be
1-21     procured;
1-22                 (4)  if applicable, the previous price paid by the
1-23     state agency for the same or similar goods or services;
1-24                 (5)  the estimated date on which the goods or services
 2-1     to be procured will be needed; and
 2-2                 (6)  the name, business mailing address, and business
 2-3     telephone number of the state agency employee a person may contact
 2-4     to inquire about [obtain] all necessary information related to
 2-5     making a bid or proposal or other  applicable expression of
 2-6     interest for the procurement contract.
 2-7           SECTION 2.  Section 2155.266, Government Code, is amended by
 2-8     amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
 2-9     follows:
2-10           (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The]
2-11     commission may charge a person applying for  registration on the
2-12     master bidders list a registration fee and may charge a registrant
2-13     an annual renewal fee in an amount designed to recover the
2-14     commission's costs in:
2-15                 (1)  making and maintaining the master bidders list;
2-16     and
2-17                 (2)  soliciting bids or proposals under this
2-18     subchapter.
2-19           (c)  The commission shall register and maintain the
2-20     registration of a historically underutilized business on the list
2-21     without charging the historically underutilized business a
2-22     registration fee or an annual renewal fee.
2-23           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-24           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-26     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-27     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-1     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.