Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2710 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R7921 JES-F
2	2	By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 2710
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to school district purchasing of and contracting for goods
8	8	and services.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 44.031, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (a), (f), (g), (j), and (m) and adding
12	12	Subsections (g-1) and (o) to read as follows:
13	13	(a) Except as provided by this subchapter, all school
14	14	district contracts for the purchase of goods and services, except
15	15	contracts for the purchase of produce or vehicle fuel, valued at
16	16	$50,000 or more in the aggregate for each 12-month period shall be
17	17	made by the method, of the following methods, that provides the best
18	18	value for the district:
19	19	(1) competitive bidding for services other than
20	20	construction services;
21	21	(2) competitive sealed proposals for goods or services
22	22	other than construction services;
23	23	(3) a request for proposals, for goods or services
24	24	other than construction services;
25	25	(4) an interlocal contract;
26	26	(5) a method provided by Chapter 2269, Government
27	27	Code, for construction services;
28	28	(6) the reverse auction procedure as defined by
29	29	Section 2155.062(d), Government Code; or
30	30	(7) the formation of a political subdivision
31	31	corporation under Section 304.001, Local Government Code.
32	32	(f) This section does not apply to a contract for
33	33	professional services rendered, including services of an
34	34	architect, attorney, certified public accountant, engineer, [or]
35	35	fiscal agent, or other professional service provider as determined
36	36	by the board of trustees of the school district. A school district
37	37	may, at its option, contract for professional services rendered by
38	38	a financial consultant or a technology consultant in the manner
39	39	provided by Section 2254.003, Government Code, in lieu of the
40	40	methods provided by this section.
41	41	(g) Except as provided by (g-1), notice [Notice] of the time
42	42	by when and place where the bids or proposals, or the responses to a
43	43	request for qualifications, will be received and opened shall be
44	44	published in the county in which the district's central
45	45	administrative office is located, once a week for at least two weeks
46	46	before the deadline for receiving bids, proposals, or responses to
47	47	a request for qualifications. If there is not a newspaper in that
48	48	county, the advertising shall be published in a newspaper in the
49	49	county nearest the county seat of the county in which the district's
50	50	central administrative office is located. In a two-step
51	51	procurement process, the time and place where the second-step bids,
52	52	proposals, or responses will be received are not required to be
53	53	published separately.
54	54	(g-1) A school district may provide notice of the time by
55	55	when and place where the bids or proposals, or the responses to a
56	56	request for qualifications, will be received and opened by posting
57	57	on the state business daily under Section 2155.083, Government
58	58	Code, instead of providing notice under Subsection (g).
59	59	(j) Without complying with Subsection (a), a school
60	60	district may purchase an item or service that is available from only
61	61	one source, including:
62	62	(1) an item for which competition is precluded because
63	63	of the existence of a patent, copyright, secret process, or
64	64	monopoly;
65	65	(2) a film, manuscript, or book;
66	66	(3) a utility service, including electricity, gas, or
67	67	water; [and]
68	68	(4) a captive replacement part or component for
69	69	equipment;
70	70	(5) a proprietary maintenance service required to keep
71	71	a manufactured or software product qualified under a warranty or in
72	72	working condition; and
73	73	(6) a good or service specified by the commissioner as
74	74	available from only one source.
75	75	(m) If a purchase is made at the campus level in a school
76	76	district with a student enrollment of 180,000 or more that has
77	77	formally adopted a site-based decision-making plan under
78	78	Subchapter F, Chapter 11, that delegates purchasing decisions to
79	79	the campus level, this section applies only to the campus and does
80	80	not require the district to aggregate and jointly award purchasing
81	81	contracts. A district that adopts site-based purchasing under this
82	82	subsection shall adopt a policy to ensure that campus purchases
83	83	achieve the best value to the district and are not intended or used
84	84	to avoid a [the] requirement [that a district aggregate purchases]
85	85	under Subsection (a).
86	86	(o) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
87	87	implement this section.
88	88	SECTION 2. Section 44.031(h), Education Code, as amended by
89	89	Chapters 922 (H.B. 2260) and 1225 (H.B. 1445), Acts of the 76th
90	90	Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, is reenacted and amended to
91	91	read as follows:
92	92	(h) On determination by the [If school equipment or a part
93	93	of a school facility or personal property is destroyed or severely
94	94	damaged, or experiences a major unforeseen operational or
95	95	structural failure, or, as a result of an unforeseen catastrophe or
96	96	emergency, undergoes major operational or structural failure, and
97	97	the] board of trustees of a school district after the occurrence of
98	98	one of the following emergencies [determines] that the delay posed
99	99	by the contract methods provided for in this section would prevent
100	100	or substantially impair the conduct of classes or other essential
101	101	school activities, the school district may enter into contracts as
102	102	necessary to respond to the emergency [then contracts for the
103	103	replacement or repair of the equipment, school facility, or the
104	104	part or portion of the school facility may be made] by [a method or]
105	105	methods other than those [methods] required by this section:
106	106	(1) the destruction, severe damage, or operational or
107	107	structural failure of school equipment or a part of a school
108	108	facility;
109	109	(2) a health emergency declared by a governmental
110	110	entity affecting the geographical area in which the school district
111	111	is located; or
112	112	(3) a cybersecurity threat involving the school
113	113	district's critical infrastructure.
114	114	SECTION 3. Section 44.0331, Education Code, is amended by
115	115	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read
116	116	as follows:
117	117	(a) A school district that enters into a purchasing contract
118	118	[valued at $25,000 or more] under Section 44.031(a)(5), under
119	119	Subchapter F, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, or under any
120	120	other cooperative purchasing program authorized for school
121	121	districts by law shall document a contract-related fee, including a
122	122	management fee, paid directly by [or to] the district to
123	123	participate in the cooperative organization and the purpose of each
124	124	fee under the contract.
125	125	(b) The amount, purpose, and disposition of any fee
126	126	described by Subsection (a) must be presented in a written report
127	127	and submitted annually in an open meeting of the board of trustees
128	128	of the school district. The written report must appear in the
129	129	board's meeting [as an] agenda [item].
130	130	(d) A report described by Subsection (b) is not required to
131	131	include a fee paid directly to a cooperative organization by a
132	132	contract vendor.
133	133	SECTION 4. Section 44.0352(c), Education Code, is amended
134	134	to read as follows:
135	135	(c) The district shall either receive, publicly open, and
136	136	read aloud the names of the offerors and, if any are required to be
137	137	stated, all prices stated in each proposal or provide a written
138	138	summary of each price stated in the proposal to an interested party
139	139	on request. The [Not later than the 45th day after the date on which
140	140	the proposals are opened, the] district shall evaluate and rank
141	141	each proposal submitted in relation to the published selection
142	142	criteria.
143	143	SECTION 5. Sections 44.031(k) and (l), Education Code, are
144	144	repealed.
145	145	SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
146	146	only to a solicitation for which a school district first advertises
147	147	or otherwise solicits bids, proposals, offers, qualifications, or
148	148	similar responses on or after the effective date of this Act. A
149	149	solicitation for which a school district first advertised or
150	150	otherwise solicited bids, proposals, offers, qualifications, or
151	151	similar responses before the effective date of this Act is governed
152	152	by the law in effect when the first advertisement or solicitation
153	153	was given, as applicable, and the former law is continued in effect
154	154	for that purpose.
155	155	(b) Section 44.0331, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
156	156	applies only to a contract entered into on or after the effective
157	157	date of this Act. A contract entered into before the effective date
158	158	of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the contract was
159	159	entered into and the former law is continued in effect for that
160	160	purpose.
161	161	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.