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.