BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center H.B. 2695
79R9549 DRH-D By: Anchia (West, Royce)
AUTHOR'S/SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Under current law, a county must give preference to the lowest bidder, even if that lowest bidder, or a subcontractor the bidder intends to use, does not provide comparable health insurance.
H.B. 2695 authorizes a commissioners court to giver preference to a bidder who provides and requires comparable health insurance coverage, if the bid is within fiver percent of the lowest bid price.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 262, Local Government Code, by adding Section 262.0271, as follows:
Sec. 262.0271. CONSIDERATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDED BY BIDDER. (a) Defines "comparable health insurance coverage."
(b) Authorizes a county commissioners court to the bidder who provides and requires comparable health insurance coverage if, in purchasing items under this chapter through a competitive bidding process, the commissioners court receives one or more bids from a bidder who provides comparable health insurance coverage to its employees and requires a subcontractor the bidder intends to use to provide comparable health insurance coverage to the subcontractor's employees and whose bid is within five percent of the lowest bid price received by the county from a bidder who does not provide or require comparable health insurance coverage.
(c) Provides that this section does not prohibit a county from rejecting all bids.
SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.
SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2005.