H.B. No. 2777
AN ACT
relating to the contracting authority of the Parks and Wildlife
Department.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.0171, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) The executive director may negotiate with and award a
contract for goods or services to any qualified vendor if the
executive director:
(1) solicits bids for the goods or services through a
competitive process in compliance with all applicable laws,
including Chapters 2155, 2254, and 2269, Government Code, that
fails to result in competitive responsive bids;
(2) makes a written determination that resoliciting
bids for the goods or services would:
(A) be unlikely to result in responsive bids;
(B) increase costs to the department; or
(C) delay the ability of the department to
address a critical need; and
(3) determines that the vendor meets the requirements
of the original solicitation.
(d) To the extent practicable, the executive director may
combine the procurement of multiple goods or services into a single
competitively bid contract to enhance the contract's attraction for
potential vendors.
SECTION 2. Section 11.0171(c), Parks and Wildlife Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a contract for which bids are
first solicited on or after the effective date of this Act. A
contract for which bids are first solicited before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. 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, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2777 was passed by the House on April
20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 4, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2777 on May 15, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 2,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2777 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor