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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
HOUSE BILL 3344 By: Sims
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to counties and county officers;
amending 19 O.S. 2021, Section 1501, which relates to
duties of county purchasing agent; m odifying dollar
amount; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 19 O.S. 2021, Section 1501, is
amended to read as follows :
Section 19-1501. A. The county purchasing agent:
1. Shall, within the amount of the unencumbered balance, make
all purchases that are paid from county funds for the various
institutions, departments, officers, and employees of the county,
except at public auctions and as otherwis e provided for by law;
2. May make purchases for politi cal subdivisions of this state
within the county if authorized by appropriate action of the
governing board or body of the political subdivision affected;
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3. Shall make purchases and rental or lease -purchase agreements
only after following the bidding pro cedures as provided for by law,
except:
a. when the purchase does not exceed Twenty -five Thousand
Dollars ($25,000.00) by department. All purchases
made pursuant to this subparagraph shall be by a
single purchase order. Splitting purchase orders
which would result in paying an amount in excess of
the limitations specified in this subparagraph is
expressly prohibited. Any person convicted of
violating the provisions of this subparagraph shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and such person shall forfeit
the person's position or office,
b. when the total payments of a rental or lease -purchase
agreement do not exceed the current bid limit as
established in subparagraph a of this paragraph,
c. when articles and items are covered by single -source
contracts,
d. service or maintenance contracts on equipment or
machinery which are entered into at the time of the
purchase of the equipment or machinery,
e. purchases made pursuant to a blanket purchase order as
provided for in Section 310.8 of Title 62 of the
Oklahoma Statutes,
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f. when materials for road or bridge improvements do not
exceed Seven Dollars ($7.00) per yard or per to n,
g. purchases of fuel if the county purchasing agent
obtains quotes from at least three vendors prior to
the purchase and the lowest and best q uote is
selected. Documentation of these quotes shall be
recorded in the permanent records of the clerk,
h. purchases of tools, apparatus, machinery or equipment
from a state agency or a political su bdivision of the
state as provided for in subsection C o f Section 421.1
of this title,
i. purchases of food for prisoners incarcerated in the
county jail; provided, in counties having a population
in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000) persons,
the county purchasing agent shall follow bidding
procedures as provided by law unless the county
purchasing agent obtains quotes pursuant to the whole
total of food items re quisitioned prior to the
purchase and the lowest and best quote is selected.
Documentation of these quotes shall be recorded in the
permanent records of the county clerk,
j. when a county solicits bids for the purchase of
processed native materials for ro ad and bridge
improvements, the county may accept all bids received,
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with the lowest and best bid from those accepted to be
selected at the time of opening of any construction
project. The selection of the bid shall be based upon
availability, bid price, plus transportation costs,
k. when a vendor has been selected as the lowest and best
bidder to furnish a particular item or items to the
county during a specified time period and in the event
the vendor is unable to perform, the purchasing agent
may solicit telephone quotes for the item or items
needed from the list of qualified bidders and pr ovide
for the purchase of the items at the lowest and be st
quote available,
l. when considering the purchase of an item or items from
the state bid list as provided by the Office of
Management and Enterprise Services or the General
Services Administration, if the same exact item is
available from a local vendor at or below the price
listed on the state bid list or the General Services
Administration list, the item may b e obtained from the
vendor,
m. any item or items bid by the Office of Management and
Enterprise Services which may be purchased by the
county, provided the vendor is willing to supply the
item or items to the county at the bid price,
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n. when a county obtains proceeds from the sale of its
property at a public auction, that county may use
those proceeds to acquire items previously identified
as needed by the county at the same public auction
pursuant to subsection D of Section 1505 of this
title,
o. when an item or items have been competitively bid by a
county, or on behalf of a group of counties , provided:
(1) the notice to bidders shall list each co unty
which may participate in the purchase of the item
or items being bid,
(2) the notice of bid is advertised, as provided by
law, in each of the counties which may
participate in the purchase of the item or items,
(3) all vendors on the list of qualified bidders of
each participating county who offer the item or
items for sale received notice of the bid
request, and
(4) the vendor awarded the bid is willing and able to
provide the item or items at th e bid price,
p. counties may participate in a nationwide purchasing
program sponsored by the national association
representing counties and local cooperative
procurement agreements entered into by the counties
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and other local jurisdictions or any other
competitively bid nationwide purchasing program, or
q. when the Governor declares an emergency in a county,
the district attorney of that county shall have the
authority to temporarily waive competitive bidding
procedures for purchases that may expedite a res ponse
to the emergency situation. This temporary waiver
shall be in addition to any powers exercised pursuant
to Section 683.11 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
The purchases shall be paid by attaching properly itemized
invoices, as described in Sect ion 1505 of this title, to a purchase
order which has been prepared by the county purchasing agent and
submitting both to the county clerk for filing, encumbering, and
consideration for payment by the board of county commissioners;
4. Shall not furnish an y supplies, materials, equipment, or
other articles, except upon receipt of a requisition signed by a
county officer. Written requisitions will not be required for
blanket purchase orders as provided for in Section 310.8 of Title 62
of the Oklahoma Statut es. Each county officer may designate not
more than two employees who also shall be authorized to sign
requisitions in the absence of the county officer. A written
designation of the employees shall be filed with the county clerk
and shall be entered in the minutes of the board of county
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commissioners. The c ounty may designate two individuals who are not
county employees for each of the following entities within the
county to act as receiving and requisitioning officers:
a. fire protection districts orga nized and operated
pursuant to the provisions of Section s 901.1 through
901.29 of this title,
b. fire protection services established pursuant to the
provisions of Section 351 of this title,
c. volunteer or full-time fire departments established
pursuant to Section 592 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, and
d. municipal fire departments organized and operated
pursuant to the provisions of Sections 29 -101 through
29-108 and Sections 29-201 through 29-204 of Title 11
of the Oklahoma Statutes.
A written designation of these individuals shall be filed with
the county clerk and shall be entered in the minutes of the board of
county commissioners meeting in which the design ations are made.
Further, entities described in subparagraphs a, b, c and d of this
paragraph, choosing to have any nonemployee of the county de signated
as a receiving and requisitioning officer shall provide evidence of
blanket bond coverage or employee dishonesty liability insurance for
each such designee;
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5. Shall make lease or lease -purchase agreements for road
machinery and equipment if the county has adequate funds
appropriated during any fiscal year for such purpose and only after
following the bidding procedures as provided for in Section 1505 of
this title. The term of any lease or lease-purchase agreement
authorized pursuant to this par agraph may be for any period up to
one (1) year; provided, the term shall not extend beyond the end of
any fiscal year, with an option to renew such agreement subject to
the requirement that adequate funds are appropriated during the
fiscal year by the cou nty for such purpose. The State Auditor and
Inspector's office shall be notified by the county of the terms an d
conditions of a lease or lease -purchase agreement authorized
pursuant to this paragraph before any such agreement is made by the
county purchasing agent; and
6. Shall perform such other duties as may be delegated by the
appointing authority or as may be provided for by law.
B. Each department of county government needing repairs to
equipment, machinery or vehicles shall make estimates and
requisition a purchase order from the county purchasing agent for
repairs not in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) Twenty-
Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00). Repairs in excess of Ten
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars
($25,000.00) shall be submitted on a blanket purchase order as
provided in Section 310.8 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
58-2-8918 MJ 01/04/22