Know the Basics of Purchasing

Why Can’t We Just Buy It? State law requires that public entities: have specific legal authority to make the purchase meet the requirements of specialized purchasing statutes engage in competitive bidding meet certain budget and finance restrictions

What are the Laws I Need to Know? There are entity specific statutes that provide basic purchasing requirements: Cities: Local Government Code (LGC), Chapter 252 Counties: LGC, Chapter 262 School Districts: Education Code, Chapter 44 Higher Education: Education Code, Chapter 51 State Agencies: Government Code, Chapters 2155- 2158 Special Districts: District enabling statutes

Is That All There Is? A number of other statutes also govern governmental purchasing. Some of these are included in the following sections of Texas law: Local Government Code (LGC) Government Code (GC) Education Code (EdC) Code of Criminal Procedures Health and Safety Code Human Resources Code Business and Commerce Code Transportation Code Penal Code Health – 361.426 Business – venue for construction contracts Transportation – remove decals from vehicles Penal = Cyber Crime

Is That All There Is? You will also want to be familiar with the following laws: LGC, Chapter 271—Purchasing and Contracting by Municipalities, Counties and Certain Other Local Governments GC, Chapter 791—Interlocal Cooperation Act GC, Chapter 2258—Prevailing Wage Rates LGC, Chapter 140—Financial Provisions Affecting Local Governments

Is That All There Is? LGC, Chapter 171 and 176-- Regulation of Conflicts of Interest Code of Criminal Procedures, Art. 18.17-- Disposition of Abandoned or Unclaimed Property Code of Criminal Procedures, Art. 59.06—Disposition of Forfeited Property Human Resources Code, Chapter 122—Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities GC, Chapter 2251—Prompt Payment Act GC, Chapter 2269—Construction Procurement GC, Chapter 2267/2268 P3 Construction Method

Is That All There Is? GC 2252, Subch. A—Nonresident Bidders GC 2252, Subch. B—Interest on Retained Public Works Contract Payments GC 2252, Subch. F – No Foreign Terrorists, Iran, Sudan GC 2253—Public Work Performance and Payment Bonds GC 2254—Subch. A—Professional and Consulting Services GC 2270 & 808 Israel Preference Worker’s Compensation Agency, Rule 110.110— Requirements for Worker’s Compensation Coverage 2252 is Iran/Sudan and terrorists law 1295 unsworn after 1-1-18 And the US iron and steel requirement Comptroller website – Purchasing/Publications/Divestment Statute List

How Do I Find the New Legislation Everyone is Talking About? If you have a bill number, you may do a bill search at www.capitol.state.tx.us. Recent legislation that impacts our member entities is summarized at: http://www.gpstraining.biz news/events Scroll to Legislative Watch http://txppa.org under Documents and Files/documents shared/Legislative Issues TAC TML TASB

What Are the Ways I May Legally Make Purchases? For purchases under $50,000 (under the legal bid limit) your specific law has provisions that guide you in the methods to use. Your entity may develop entity specific purchasing policies and procedures that are used for these purchases in compliance with your laws. The policies and procedures generally should be approved by your governing body

What Are the Ways I May Legally Make Purchases? Following the specific law under which you make purchases, for bids exceeding the legal bid limit ($50,000), you may use the following methods: Sealed Bids Sealed Proposals (RFP, CSP) Awarded Cooperative Contracts that were bid following state law Various construction methods allowed under GC 2269 $25,000 for state agencies

What Must I Consider When Using Bid or Proposal Methods? Which method is best for the type purchase you are making Keeping a level playing field for vendors—each provided the same information Specifications should not have bias toward any vendor Specifications govern what is desired and what may be considered in making award of contract HUB requirements

What Must I Consider when Using Bid or Proposal Methods? Consider payment or performance bond and insurance requirements Advertise according to your statute Open the sealed bids or proposals (paper and electronic) according to law Protect information contained in the submittals according to law Submit bids or proposals to the governing body for award according to law and local policy and procedures

Additional Considerations Requests for exemptions from bidding Requests for a vendor to be considered a sole source Protect your department from protests and violations of the laws Determine how to work best with your user departments, governing body, vendors and the public

Where Else May I Find Help? TxPPA offers a “memberconnect” where you may ask questions. All members are eligible to use the service. No question is a bad question. www.txppa.org The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts offers a Model Purchasing Manual for Texas Cities and Counties https://www.esc20.net/page/open/47021/0/ModelPurch asingManual2010.pdf Texas Education Agency Resource Guide www.tea.state.tx.us Texas Municipal Laws Made Easy https://www.tml.org/p/procurement_easy%202017.pdf Comptrollers Manual is 8 years old. Verify any statutes

THANK YOU Narita Holmes, MBA, C.P.A., CIA naritaholmes@utexas.edu 432-349-0116 Carol Cooper, C.P.M., CPPO, CPSM cacooper@tx.rr.com 214-202-5903