BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 124
	By: West
	Intergovernmental Relations
	5/22/2019
	Enrolled

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Chapter 262, Local Government Code, defines the purchasing and contracting authority of counties.

 

Section 262.0225, Local Government Code, requires the acceptance of hard-copy bids and proposals, while permitting their electronic submission. If a county currently allows submission of bids and proposals in both formats, this forces county staff to either convert the hard copies to an electronic format or vice versa, virtually defeating the purpose of the electronic option.

 

To help streamline counties' bid and proposal process, S.B. 124 amends Section 262.0225, Local Government Code, to allow a commissioners court, by court order, to require electronic submissions of bids and proposals. (Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

 

S.B. 124 amends current law relating to the authority of a county to require electronic bids or proposals for competitive bidding.

 

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 Section 262.0225, Local Government Code, by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1), as follows:

 

(c) Requires a county to accept any bids or proposals submitted in hard‑copy format, except as provided by Subsection (c-1). Makes a nonsubstantive change.

 

(c-1) Authorizes the commissioners court of a county to by order require submission of bids or proposals under this subchapter (Competitive Bidding in General) through electronic transmission.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2019. �