88R7921 JES-F
 
  By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 2710
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to school district purchasing of and contracting for goods
  and services.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 44.031, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (f), (g), (j), and (m) and adding
  Subsections (g-1) and (o) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by this subchapter, all school
  district contracts for the purchase of goods and services, except
  contracts for the purchase of produce or vehicle fuel, valued at
  $50,000 or more in the aggregate for each 12-month period shall be
  made by the method, of the following methods, that provides the best
  value for the district:
               (1)  competitive bidding for services other than
  construction services;
               (2)  competitive sealed proposals for goods or services
  other than construction services;
               (3)  a request for proposals, for goods or services
  other than construction services;
               (4)  an interlocal contract;
               (5)  a method provided by Chapter 2269, Government
  Code, for construction services;
               (6)  the reverse auction procedure as defined by
  Section 2155.062(d), Government Code; or
               (7)  the formation of a political subdivision
  corporation under Section 304.001, Local Government Code.
         (f)  This section does not apply to a contract for
  professional services rendered, including services of an
  architect, attorney, certified public accountant, engineer, [or]
  fiscal agent, or other professional service provider as determined
  by the board of trustees of the school district.  A school district
  may, at its option, contract for professional services rendered by
  a financial consultant or a technology consultant in the manner
  provided by Section 2254.003, Government Code, in lieu of the
  methods provided by this section.
         (g)  Except as provided by (g-1), notice [Notice] of the time
  by when and place where the bids or proposals, or the responses to a
  request for qualifications, will be received and opened shall be
  published in the county in which the district's central
  administrative office is located, once a week for at least two weeks
  before the deadline for receiving bids, proposals, or responses to
  a request for qualifications.  If there is not a newspaper in that
  county, the advertising shall be published in a newspaper in the
  county nearest the county seat of the county in which the district's
  central administrative office is located.  In a two-step
  procurement process, the time and place where the second-step bids,
  proposals, or responses will be received are not required to be
  published separately.
         (g-1)  A school district may provide notice of the time by
  when and place where the bids or proposals, or the responses to a
  request for qualifications, will be received and opened by posting
  on the state business daily under Section 2155.083, Government
  Code, instead of providing notice under Subsection (g).
         (j)  Without complying with Subsection (a), a school
  district may purchase an item or service that is available from only
  one source, including:
               (1)  an item for which competition is precluded because
  of the existence of a patent, copyright, secret process, or
  monopoly;
               (2)  a film, manuscript, or book;
               (3)  a utility service, including electricity, gas, or
  water; [and]
               (4)  a captive replacement part or component for
  equipment;
               (5)  a proprietary maintenance service required to keep
  a manufactured or software product qualified under a warranty or in
  working condition; and
               (6)  a good or service specified by the commissioner as
  available from only one source.
         (m)  If a purchase is made at the campus level in a school
  district with a student enrollment of 180,000 or more that has
  formally adopted a site-based decision-making plan under
  Subchapter F, Chapter 11, that delegates purchasing decisions to
  the campus level, this section applies only to the campus and does
  not require the district to aggregate and jointly award purchasing
  contracts.  A district that adopts site-based purchasing under this
  subsection shall adopt a policy to ensure that campus purchases
  achieve the best value to the district and are not intended or used
  to avoid a [the] requirement [that a district aggregate purchases]
  under Subsection (a).
         (o)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this section.
         SECTION 2.  Section 44.031(h), Education Code, as amended by
  Chapters 922 (H.B. 2260) and 1225 (H.B. 1445), Acts of the 76th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (h)  On determination by the [If school equipment or a part
  of a school facility or personal property is destroyed or severely
  damaged, or experiences a major unforeseen operational or
  structural failure, or, as a result of an unforeseen catastrophe or
  emergency, undergoes major operational or structural failure, and
  the] board of trustees of a school district after the occurrence of
  one of the following emergencies [determines] that the delay posed
  by the contract methods provided for in this section would prevent
  or substantially impair the conduct of classes or other essential
  school activities, the school district may enter into contracts as
  necessary to respond to the emergency [then contracts for the
  replacement or repair of the equipment, school facility, or the
  part or portion of the school facility may be made] by [a method or]
  methods other than those [methods] required by this section:
               (1)  the destruction, severe damage, or operational or
  structural failure of school equipment or a part of a school
  facility;
               (2)  a health emergency declared by a governmental
  entity affecting the geographical area in which the school district
  is located; or
               (3)  a cybersecurity threat involving the school
  district's critical infrastructure.
         SECTION 3.  Section 44.0331, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read
  as follows:
         (a)  A school district that enters into a purchasing contract
  [valued at $25,000 or more] under Section 44.031(a)(5), under
  Subchapter F, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, or under any
  other cooperative purchasing program authorized for school
  districts by law shall document a contract-related fee, including a
  management fee, paid directly by [or to] the district to
  participate in the cooperative organization and the purpose of each
  fee under the contract.
         (b)  The amount, purpose, and disposition of any fee
  described by Subsection (a) must be presented in a written report
  and submitted annually in an open meeting of the board of trustees
  of the school district.  The written report must appear in the
  board's meeting [as an] agenda [item].
         (d)  A report described by Subsection (b) is not required to
  include a fee paid directly to a cooperative organization by a
  contract vendor.
         SECTION 4.  Section 44.0352(c), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  The district shall either receive, publicly open, and
  read aloud the names of the offerors and, if any are required to be
  stated, all prices stated in each proposal or provide a written
  summary of each price stated in the proposal to an interested party
  on request.  The [Not later than the 45th day after the date on which
  the proposals are opened, the] district shall evaluate and rank
  each proposal submitted in relation to the published selection
  criteria.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 44.031(k) and (l), Education Code, are
  repealed.
         SECTION 6.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act apply
  only to a solicitation for which a school district first advertises
  or otherwise solicits bids, proposals, offers, qualifications, or
  similar responses on or after the effective date of this Act.  A
  solicitation for which a school district first advertised or
  otherwise solicited bids, proposals, offers, qualifications, or
  similar responses before the effective date of this Act is governed
  by the law in effect when the first advertisement or solicitation
  was given, as applicable, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         (b)  Section 44.0331, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to a contract entered into on or after the effective
  date of this Act. A contract entered into before the effective date
  of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the contract was
  entered into and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.