By: Israel H.B. No. 3491
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
rela
ting to asset management agreements of the Texas Department of
Transportation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
Section 1. Section 223.0041, Transportation Code, is
amended by adding subsection (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 223.0041. AWARD OF CONTRACTS. (a) Except as provided
by Section 223.005, all bids received and not rejected by the
department shall be tabulated and forwarded to the commission.
(b) The commission may accept or reject the bids. Except as
provided in Subsections (c) and (d), if the bids are accepted, the
commission shall award the contract to the lowest bidder, subject
to Section 223.045.
(c) For a maintenance contract involving an amount less than
$300,000, if the lowest bidder withdraws its bid prior to contract
award or fails to execute the contract, the director may recommend
to the commission that the contract be awarded to the second lowest
bidder. The commission may award the maintenance contract to the
second lowest bidder if the second lowest bidder agrees to accept
the unit bid prices of the lowest bidder. The commission shall
adopt rules governing the conditions under which the department
will allow the withdrawal of the bid of the lowest bidder and
consider awarding a maintenance contract to the second lowest
bidder.
(d) For a performance-based maintenance contract in an
amount of $300,000 or more, the commission shall award the contract
to the lowest responsible bidder. For purposes of determining the
lowest responsible bidder, the department shall first prepare and
issue a request for qualifications to identify those firms
qualified to bid on a performance-based maintenance project of the
size and complexity for which bids will be requested. From among
the bids received from firms determined to be qualified to bid, the
commission shall award the contract to the lowest bidder.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.