CHAPTER 2162. STATE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVE GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 10. GENERAL GOVERNMENT
SUBTITLE D. STATE PURCHASING AND GENERAL SERVICES
CHAPTER 2162. STATE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVE GOVERNMENT
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 2162.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Council" means the State Council on Competitive Government.
(2) "Local government" means a county, municipality, special
district, school district, junior college district, or other
legally constituted political subdivision of the state.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1310, Sec. 56, eff.
June 20, 2003.
Sec. 2162.002. COMPETITION, INNOVATION, AND CREATIVITY IN STATE
SERVICES. The state shall encourage competition, innovation, and
creativity among service providers to improve the quality of the
state's services.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
SUBCHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 2162.051. COMPOSITION OF COUNCIL. (a) The State Council
on Competitive Government consists of the following individuals
or the individuals they designate:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the comptroller;
(4) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(5) the presiding officer of the Texas Facilities Commission;
(6) the commissioner of the Texas Workforce Commission
representing labor; and
(7) the land commissioner.
(b) The governor is the presiding officer of the council.
(c) If the speaker of the house of representatives is not
permitted by the constitution to serve as a voting member of the
council, the speaker serves as a nonvoting member.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 817, Sec. 10.09, eff.
Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
937, Sec. 1.26, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 2162.052. MEETINGS. (a) The council shall meet as often
as necessary to perform its duties.
(b) The council is subject to:
(1) the open meetings law, Chapter 551; and
(2) the open records law, Chapter 552.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 2162.053. ADMINISTRATION BY COMPTROLLER. (a) The
comptroller shall provide offices for the council and shall
provide the council with legal, technical, administrative, and
other support necessary to carry out its powers and duties.
(b) Any administrative powers or duties of the Texas Building
and Procurement Commission with respect to the council are
transferred to the comptroller.
Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
937, Sec. 1.27, eff. September 1, 2007.
SUBCHAPTER C. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 2162.101. GENERAL POWERS. In performing its duties under
this chapter, the council may:
(1) adopt a rule governing any aspect of the council's duties or
responsibilities;
(2) hold a public hearing or conduct a study; and
(3) consult a private commercial source.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 2162.102. SELECTION OF SERVICE PROVIDER THROUGH
COMPETITION. (a) The council shall identify commercially
available services being performed by state agencies and study
the services to determine if they may be better provided by
selecting the service providers through competition with other
state agency providers of the services or private commercial
sources.
(b) If the council determines that a service identified under
Subsection (a) may be better provided by selecting the service
provider through competition, the council shall require the state
agency providing the service to engage in any process, including
competitive bidding, developed by the council to select a service
provider through competition with other state agency providers of
the service or private commercial sources.
(c) In performing its duties under this chapter, the council
may:
(1) require a state agency to conduct a hearing, study, review,
or cost estimate, including an agency in-house cost estimate or a
management study, concerning any aspect of a service identified
under Subsection (a);
(2) develop and require state agencies to use methods to
accurately and fairly estimate and account for the cost of
providing a service identified under Subsection (a);
(3) require that a service identified under Subsection (a) be
submitted to competitive bidding or another process that creates
competition with private commercial sources;
(4) prescribe, after consulting affected state agencies, the
specifications and conditions of purchase procedures that must be
followed by the comptroller and a state agency or a private
commercial source engaged in competitive bidding to provide a
service identified under Subsection (a);
(5) award a contract to a state agency providing the service,
another state agency, a private commercial source, or a
combination of those entities, if the bidder presents the best
and most reasonable bid, which is not necessarily the lowest bid;
and
(6) determine the terms of a contract for service or interagency
contract to provide a service identified under Subsection (a).
(d) To the extent the council determines is feasible, a local
government may voluntarily participate in a contract awarded by
the council or a state agency under this chapter. A local
government that purchases a good or a service under a contract
awarded under this chapter is considered to have satisfied any
state law requiring the local government to follow a competitive
purchasing procedure for the purchase.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1310, Sec. 57, eff.
June 20, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
937, Sec. 1.28, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 2162.103. COST COMPARISON AND CONTRACT CONSIDERATIONS. (a)
In comparing the cost of providing a service, the council shall
consider the:
(1) cost of supervising the work of a private contractor; and
(2) cost of a state agency's performance of the service,
including:
(A) the costs of the comptroller, attorney general, and other
support agencies; and
(B) other indirect costs related to the agency's performance of
the service.
(b) A bid or contract must include an analysis of health care
benefits, retirement, and workers' compensation insurance for a
contractor's employees that are reasonably comparable to the
health care benefits, retirement, and workers' compensation
insurance of the state.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1423, Sec. 8.66, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 2162.104. DUTIES OF AFFECTED STATE AGENCIES. A state
agency shall perform an activity required by the council in
performing its duties or exercising its powers under this
chapter.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 2162.105. EXEMPTION FROM PURCHASING LAWS. A contract by
the council or a decision regarding whether a state agency is
required to engage in competitive bidding is exempt from another
state law regulating or limiting state purchasing or a purchasing
decision.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 41, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.