HBA-EDN H.B. 3581 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3581 By: Davis, John State Affairs 4/11/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Building maintenance and repair is a substantial expense for Texas state government. There are approaches that state agencies and school districts use to develop bid specifications for contracts which prevent some vendors from competing for the work. One approach is when individuals paid by suppliers volunteer to write specifications for government agencies free of charge. In turn, these individuals, or consultants, develop specifications that require the use of products sold only by the company that employs them. This makes it difficult for other vendors to compete with the company paying the consultant and does not ensure that the state receives quality services at competitive prices. Another problem is when specifications include materials that have characteristics which are unnecessary for their specified use. The comptroller of public accounts has recommended that innovative practices be used in the bid solicitation process to encourage competition among vendors to help control costs to the state. House Bill 3581 prohibits state agencies or school districts from specifying unnecessary materials in the bid specifications for a construction or repair project and provides a procedure for protesting material specifications to ensure such competition. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3581 amends the Government Code to prohibit a state agency (agency) or school district (district) from specifying materials in the bid specifications for a construction or repair project unless the performance characteristics of the specified materials are necessary to meet the agency or district's minimum needs. The bill provides that a request for bids or proposals for a project must contain a procedure for protesting material specifications. The bill requires an agency or district, on filing such a protest, to produce independently prepared test data attested by an architect or engineer showing that the specified materials are necessary to meet the agency's or district's minimum needs for the project to prevent premature failure. H.B. 3581 provides that the engineer's or architect's test must demonstrate that the actual conditions expected or calculated to be experienced on the project require the performance characteristics provided by the specified materials. The bill authorizes other materials to be substituted for the specified materials if an agency or district fails to produce data to show that such materials are necessary if the other materials are equivalent products meeting the minimum needs and conditions normally expected in the industry for the project, given the site conditions and other relevant circumstances. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.