By Narita Holmes
Government Procurement and Compliance Consultant
Former Ector County Purchasing Agent
As we review the actions completed by the 85th Texas Legislature, there are several bills of note for Texas counties. Some of these will impact the specifications for related products or services.
(H.B. = House Bill; S.B.= Senate Bill)
H.B. 89 – Prohibits contracts with a company for goods or services unless the contract contains written verification from the company that it (1) does not boycott Israel and (2) will not boycott Israel during the term on the contract.
H.B. 1571 – Requires governments to include the estimated amount of avoided expected future operating and maintenance costs in evaluation of energy savings, along with all other pertinent costs, for energy-saving contracts.
H.B. 3021 – Provides that, in relation to indemnification of duties of architects and engineers, nothing prohibits a governmental entity in a contract for engineering and architectural services from including and enforcing conditions that relate to the scope, fees and schedule of a project in that contract.
H.B. 3223 – Makes a political entity liable for damages caused by use of a vehicle, previously owned by the entity, during a crime and requires payment of a $1,000 penalty to the state if the entity violates the requirement to remove any equipment and insignia from the vehicle before selling or transferring the marked law enforcement vehicle.
S.B. 252 – Provides that governmental entities may not enter into a contract with a company that does business with Iran, Sudan, or a foreign terrorist organization, as indicated on a list prepared by the comptroller. See the statute, Chapter 2252, Government Code, for exceptions.
S.B. 255 – Amends vendor Form 1295 disclosure requirements by exempting contracts with publicly traded business entities and electric and gas utilities, and removes the requirement that Form 1295 must be notarized.
S.B. 533 – Changes the Design Build section of Construction Statutes to define the time frame for proposed responses. This applies to contracts on or after 9/1/17 for which a solicitation response was submitted after 6/21/17.
S.B. 807 – Adds construction contracts to the types of contracts where venue and choice of law would be restricted to Texas in the case of conflict resolution and/or litigation.
S.B. 622 – Provides that the proposed budget of a political subdivision for a fiscal year beginning on or after 1/1/18 must include a line item indicating expenditures for required newspaper notices that allows comparison between budgeted and actual expenditures.
– Narita Holmes served many years as purchasing agent for Ector County. Currently she is associated with N&C Consulting Services, which provides government procurement and compliance consulting services. She is also a lecturer in accountancy at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. She stays current on the purchasing laws for counties and provides training for county officials.