Guide to County Purchasing: State Contract and Catalog Purchases

There are two laws, (TEX. LOC. GOV'T CODE ANN., sec. 262.002, 271.081-3) and (TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN., ch. 2157 in coordination with TEX. LOC. GOV'T CODE ANN., ch. 271.081-3) which describe the authority of local governments to purchase goods and services through the State General Services Commission's (GSC) vendors. The first allows purchasing from vendors with which the state has entered into contracts as a result of competitive bidding procedures. These are referred to as State Contract purchases. The second allows purchasing automated information services from approved vendors based on their catalog prices and negotiations. These are referred to as State purchases.

State Contract Purchases

Sections 271.081 through 271.083 of the Texas Local Government Code requires the State Purchasing and General Services Commission to establish a local government purchasing program and authorizes counties to participate in the program.

Most counties participate and benefit from being in the purchasing program of GSC. A resolution must be passed by commissioners court to designate the purchasing agent to act for the county in all matters relating to the purchasing program, including the purchase of goods and services from the vendor under any contract. The county is responsible for making payments directly to the vendor.

The purchasing agent is responsible for submitting requisitions to the GSC under any contract or electronically sending purchase orders directly to vendors and reports to the GSC on actual purchases in compliance with the GSC's regulations. The purchasing agent is responsible for vendor's compliance with all the conditions of delivery and quality of the purchased goods and services. The purchasing agent is authorized to sign and deliver all necessary documents for purchases under this program made on behalf of the county.

State Purchases

The State Purchasing and General Services Act of 1993 directs the State General Services Commission to make the catalog purchasing procedure available to local governments if they abide by the same requirements as state agencies. Catalog purchases are DIFFERENT from purchases made off State Contracts which can be for any type of goods or services.

County Purchasing Agents may purchase goods and services from the state catalog in fulfillment of the competitive bidding requirements and all purchases or leases are based on the best value available and are in the county's best interest.

Catalog procedures are ONLY for the purchase of automated information systems. These systems include:

a. the computers on which they are automated, or

b. a service related to the automation of information systems or the computers on which they are automated, including computer software, covered by the Information Resources Management Act, or

c. any telecommunications apparatus or device that serves as a component of a voice, data, or video communications network for the purpose of transmitting, switching, routing, multiplexing, modulating, amplifying, or receiving signals on that network. These systems can only be purchased from Qualified Information Systems Vendors (QISV) as determined by the General Services Commission.

"Best Value"

The best value is defined as the lowest overall cost of information systems based on the following factors:

1. purchase price
2. compatibility to facilitate exchange of existing data
3. capacity for expansion and upgrading to more advanced levels of technology
4. quantitative reliability factors
5. the level of training required to bring end-users to a stated level of proficiency
6. the technical support requirement for maintenance of data across a network platform and management of the network's hardware and software, and
7. compliance with the applicable statewide standards adopted by the Department of Information Resources or the county as validated by criteria established by commissioners court

The county shall, as applicable, consider the following factors to determine which products or services are in the county's best interest:

1. installation costs and hardware costs
2. the overall life cycle of the system of equipment
3. estimated cost of employee training and estimated increase in employee productivity
4. estimated software and maintenance costs
5. compliance with applicable statewide standards adopted by the Department of Information Resources or the county as validated by criteria established by commissioners court

To ensure that the county receives the "Best Value" from catalog purchases the following procedures shall be used:

A. At least three catalog vendors will be selected to provide a Request for Offer (RFO).

1. The RFO provides a method of negotiating prices, terms, and conditions with catalog vendors. It assumes that negotiation for "best value" will occur with catalog vendors, instead of making selections for goods and services based on the published prices, terms and conditions in the catalogs.

2. Factors which may influence the selection of vendors/goods and services include industry reputation, user recommendations, specifications, prior experience with the vendors/goods and services, and quality of service provided after the sale.

B. Solicitation, negotiation and selection will be conducted by the purchasing office.

1. Selected vendors will be provided with a written copy of county requirements and standard terms and conditions. Each vendor's response/offer should be in writing, signed by the vendor and delivered to the purchasing office.

2. It will be clearly explained to vendors that the RFO process is an interactive negotiation process. Each vendor will be provided with the same information, including the specifications, deadlines for responses, and other clarifying information.

3. When appropriate, include a statement of work to be performed, minimum performance requirements, evaluation factors, specific features, service requirements, delivery dates, and terms.

4. All offers will be kept confidential until the award is final.

The user department, information systems staff, and purchasing should work together at the beginning of the acquisition process to ensure that the county receives the "Best Value" from the Catalog Procedures.