SRC-JEC S.B. 1225 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1225
By: Lindsay
Intergovernmental Relations
3/23/2001
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, counties expend money publishing notice of public bids in
newspapers.  As proposed, S.B. 1225 authorizes counties and school
districts to publish notice of public bids on an Internet website rather
than in the newspaper. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 271Z, Local Government Code, by adding Section
271.906, as follows: 

Sec. 271.906.  ELECTRONIC NOTICE.  (a)  Authorizes a school district, in
lieu of the notice required in Sections 44.031(g) (Purchasing Contracts) or
44.033(b) (Purchases of Personal Property Valued Between $10,000 and
$25,000), Education Code, to publish the required notice for at least two
weeks before the deadline for receiving bids, proposals, or responses to a
request for qualifications on either:  the district's website, provided
there is a direct link from the district's home page, and on the state's
website for posting local government procurement notices; or for an
interlocal contract in accordance with Section 44.031(a)(5), the website of
the district's administrative agency created under Chapter 791 (Interlocal
Cooperation Contracts), Government Code, provided there is a direct link to
the administrative agency website's publicly accessible postings from the
district's home page. 

(b)  Requires a school district that publishes notice under this section to
clearly identify the link on its home page as the link to public notice of
bids, proposals, or responses. 

(c)  Authorizes a county, in lieu of the notice required in Sections
262.025(a), 263.007(b), 263.153, or 271.055, to publish the required notice
for at least two weeks before the date of the bid opening, the date of the
award of the sale or lease, the date of sale, or the date for public
opening of the bids and the reading of the bids aloud, as applicable, on
the county's website.  Requires a county that publishes notice under this
subsection to:  have a direct link on the county's home page that clearly
identify the link as the link to public notice of bids, sales, or leases;
or have the notice accessible with the universal resource locator address
of "http://www.co.[county-name].tx.us/notices/index.htm". 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2001.