Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB521 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R1576 SOS-D
2	2	By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 521
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to prohibiting certain solicitation responses and
8	8	contracts resulting from a school district or open-enrollment
9	9	charter school solicitation for goods or services.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 12.1053, Education Code, is amended by
12	12	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
13	13	(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an open-enrollment
14	14	charter school's charter may not provide for procedures that
15	15	conflict with Section 44.0315.
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 44.0311, Education Code, is amended by
17	17	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
18	18	follows:
19	19	(a) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (c) and
20	20	(d), this subchapter applies to junior college districts.
21	21	(d) Section 44.0315 does not apply to a junior college
22	22	district.
23	23	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 44, Education Code, is
24	24	amended by adding Section 44.0315 to read as follows:
25	25	Sec. 44.0315. PROHIBITED SOLICITATION RESPONSES AND
26	26	CONTRACTS. (a) In this section, "solicitation response" includes a
27	27	bid, proposal, offer, or qualification.
28	28	(b) A vendor may not submit a solicitation response for a
29	29	solicitation for goods or services by a school district or
30	30	open-enrollment charter school or enter into a contract resulting
31	31	from the solicitation response if the vendor participated in
32	32	preparing the scope of or specifications for the solicitation.
33	33	(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
34	34	that determines that a vendor violated Subsection (b):
35	35	(1) may immediately terminate any contract that
36	36	resulted from the solicitation response and withhold payment to the
37	37	vendor under the contract without further obligation to the vendor;
38	38	and
39	39	(2) may not accept another solicitation response from
40	40	or award any contract to the vendor before the first anniversary of:
41	41	(A) the date the vendor submitted the
42	42	solicitation response; or
43	43	(B) if the vendor executed a contract with the
44	44	district or school resulting from the solicitation response, the
45	45	date the vendor executed the contract.
46	46	(d) A vendor solicitation response to a solicitation
47	47	described by Subsection (b) must include the following statement:
48	48	"Under Section 44.0315, Education Code, the vendor certifies
49	49	that the vendor did not participate in preparing the scope of or
50	50	specifications for the solicitation on which this response is
51	51	based. The vendor acknowledges that if this certification is
52	52	inaccurate the soliciting entity:
53	53	"(1) may terminate any contract resulting from the
54	54	solicitation response and withhold payment to the vendor without
55	55	further obligation to the vendor; and
56	56	"(2) may not accept another solicitation response from
57	57	or award any contract to the vendor before the first anniversary of:
58	58	"(A) the date the vendor submitted this
59	59	solicitation response; or
60	60	"(B) if the vendor executed a contract with the
61	61	district or school resulting from this solicitation response, the
62	62	date the vendor executed the contract."
63	63	(e) A vendor contract resulting from a solicitation
64	64	response to a solicitation described by Subsection (b) must include
65	65	the following statement:
66	66	"Under Section 44.0315, Education Code, the vendor certifies
67	67	that the vendor did not participate in preparing the scope of or
68	68	specifications for the solicitation on which this contract is
69	69	based. The vendor acknowledges that if this certification is
70	70	inaccurate the soliciting entity:
71	71	"(1) may terminate this contract and withhold payment
72	72	to the vendor without further obligation to the vendor; and
73	73	"(2) may not accept another solicitation response from
74	74	or award another contract to the vendor until the first anniversary
75	75	of the date on which the vendor executed this contract."
76	76	(f) This section does not create a cause of action to
77	77	contest the acceptance of a solicitation response or the award of a
78	78	contract by a school district or open-enrollment charter school.
79	79	(g) This section does not prohibit the exchange of
80	80	information between a vendor and a school district or
81	81	open-enrollment charter school to monitor an existing contract with
82	82	the district or school.
83	83	SECTION 4. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
84	84	only to a solicitation for which a school district or
85	85	open-enrollment charter school first advertises or otherwise
86	86	solicits bids, proposals, offers, qualifications, or similar
87	87	responses on or after the effective date of this Act.
88	88	(b) A solicitation for which a school district or
89	89	open-enrollment charter school first advertised or otherwise
90	90	solicited bids, proposals, offers, qualifications, or similar
91	91	responses before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
92	92	law in effect when the first advertisement or solicitation was
93	93	given, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
94	94	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.