HB 76

89S20045 DRS-D
		By: Bell of Montgomery
  H.B. No. 76
  A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
  AN ACT
  relating to prohibiting certain criteria in a local governmental
  agency contractor selection process.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 271, Local Government
  Code, is amended by adding Section 271.909 to read as follows:
         Sec. 271.909.  CERTAIN CONTRACTING CRITERIA PROHIBITED.  (a)  
  In this section, "governmental agency" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 271.003.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other law, a governmental agency
  that procures a good or service through a competitive process may
  not:
               (1)  consider any factor in the procurement process
  other than a factor that:
                     (A)  is required by law; or
                     (B)  is objective, measurable, and directly
  related to the cost, quality, reliability, or legal compliance of
  the good or service being procured; or
               (2)  give a preference to a bid based on environmental,
  social, and governance criteria that do not directly relate to the
  cost, quality, reliability, or legal compliance of the good or
  service being procured.
         (c)  For a competitive procurement process, a governmental
  agency shall:
               (1)  provide written contract selection criteria in all
  publicly available bid specification requirements; and
               (2)  include written contract selection criteria in the
  solicitation documents at the time of vendor solicitation.
         (d)  A person may submit to the attorney general a suspected
  violation of this section.
         (e)  If the attorney general determines that a governmental
  agency has violated this section:
               (1)  if the procurement process is ongoing and a
  contract has not been awarded, the attorney general shall direct
  the governmental agency in writing to remove any contract selection
  criteria that the attorney general determines are prohibited under
  this section; or
               (2)  if a contract has been awarded but has not been
  executed or performance of the contract has not been completed:
                     (A)  the attorney general shall direct the
  governmental agency in writing to terminate the contract not later
  than the 10th day after the date the governmental agency receives
  the notice; and
                     (B)  the governmental agency shall provide
  written proof of the termination of the contract to the attorney
  general within the period prescribed by Paragraph (A).
         (f)  If a governmental agency fails to terminate a contract
  or provide written proof of the termination of a contract to the
  attorney general as required by and within the period prescribed by
  Subsection (e)(2), the contract is void.
         (g)  The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive
  or declaratory relief to enforce this section if a governmental
  agency fails to comply with this section.
         SECTION 2.  Section 271.909, Local Government Code, as added
  by this Act, applies only to a contractor selection process
  initiated on or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
  last day of the legislative session.