H.B. 443 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 443 By: Denny Public Education Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Under current law, school districts are required to advertise bidding and proposal instruments in the county newspaper in which the district's central administrative office is located, each day for two weeks when the purchases exceed $25,000 in one-time costs or total costs for the year. Conversely, state and local governments are allowed to advertise bids and requests for information or proposals on the Texas Marketplace Website used by state agencies and local governments for posting information and maintained by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission. School districts are authorized to post on the Texas Marketplace Website but are also still required to purchase advertisements in newspapers. PURPOSE The purpose of House Bill 443 is to preserve openness of district activities while increasing competition, and reducing costs for districts in order to make available more funds for classroom use. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. ANALYSIS House Bill 443 amends the Education Code to require bids or proposals to be posted on the electronic procurement marketplace established by the Department of Information Resources or published in the county in which the district's central administrative office is located. The bill amends the Government Code to require the Texas Building and Procurement Commission to permit a school district to post information on the electronic procurement marketplace. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003.