86R3671 MP-F By: Leman H.B. No. 2175 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the threshold contract amount at which a county is required to engage in a competitive purchasing procedure for certain purchases. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 252.312(b) and (c), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows: (b) If the county road engineer so recommends and the commissioners court considers it to be in the best interest of the county, a purchase in an amount of $50,000 [$25,000] or less may be made through negotiation by the commissioners court or the court's authorized representative on requisition to be approved by the commissioners court or the county auditor without advertising for competitive bids. (c) A purchase may not be divided or reduced to avoid the competitive bidding requirement on a purchase that would otherwise cost more than $50,000 [$25,000]. SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to a purchase commenced on or after September 1, 2019. A purchase for which competitive bids are advertised before September 1, 2019, is governed by the law in effect on the date the bids were advertised, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.