Amend CS 311 in ARTICLE 14 of the bill (House committee
printing, page 122, line 25 through page 126, line 26), by adding
the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS and renumbering the
remaining SECTIONS of the ARTICLE as appropriate:
      SECTION ___.  Sections 2155.004(a), (d), and (h), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
      (a)  A state agency may not accept a bid or award a contract
that includes proposed financial participation by a person who
participated, to any extent, <received compensation from the agency
to participate> in preparing the specifications or request for
proposals on which the bid or contract is based.
      (d)  If a state agency determines that an individual or
business entity holding a state contract was ineligible to have the
contract accepted or awarded under Subsection (a), <or> (b), or
(h), the state agency may immediately terminate the contract
without further obligation to the vendor.
      (h)  A state agency may not accept a bid or award a contract
to an individual or business entity that is barred from
participating in state contracts under Section 2155.077 <This
section does not prohibit a bidder or contract participant from
providing free technical assistance to a state agency>.
      SECTION ___. Sections 2155.077(a) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
      (a)  The commission shall <may> bar a vendor from
participating in state contracts that are subject to this subtitle,
including contracts for which purchasing authority is delegated to
a state agency, for:
            (1)  substandard performance under a contract with the
state or a state agency;
            (2)  material misrepresentations in a bid or proposal
to the state or a state agency or during the course of performing a
contract with the state or a state agency;
            (3)  fraud; <or>
            (4)  breaching a contract with the state, <or> a state
agency, or a local government as defined by Section 271.081, Local
Government Code; or
            (5)  misrepresentations to a subcontractor as to the
amount and scope of the vendor's participation in previous awards
made by the state, a state agency, or a local government as defined
by Section 271.081, Local Government Code.
      (c)  The commission by rule shall:
            (1)  state generally the reasons for which a vendor
will <may> be barred from participating in state contracts and the
periods for which the vendor will <may> be barred; and
            (2)  prescribe the procedures under which the
commission will determine whether and for how long a vendor will be
barred.
      SECTION ___. Section 2254.027, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
      Sec. 2254.027.  SELECTION OF CONSULTANT. (a)  In selecting a
consultant, a state agency shall:
            (1)  base its choice on demonstrated competence,
knowledge, and qualifications and on the reasonableness of the
proposed fee for the services; and
            (2)  if other considerations are equal, give preference
to a consultant whose principal place of business is in the state
or who will manage the consulting contract wholly from an office in
the state.
      (b)  A state agency may not select a consultant if the
consultant:
            (1)  breaches a consulting services contract with a
political subdivision;
            (2)  misrepresents the scope of the consultant's
participation in a consulting services contract with a state agency
or political subdivision; or
            (3)  participates in a meeting related to an operation
or project that results in the consultant being the only bidder,
the only respondent, or the sole source provider for a consulting
services contract related to that operation or project.
      SECTION ___.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
2155.004, Government Code, applies only to a contract awarded on or
after the effective date of this Act.