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HB1442 • 2026

Airports; authorize public entities owning/operating to contract for certain purposes relating to.

AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW SECTION 61-5-93, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT AIRPORT AUTHORITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, OR OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES WHO OWN OR OPERATE AIRPORTS PURSUANT TO TITLE 61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, MAY CONTRACT WITH COMPANIES FOR FINANCING, DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING, OPERATING OR MAINTAINING OF AIRPORT FACILITIES IN THE SAME MANNER AS PROVIDED FOR TOLL ROADS OR TOLL BRIDGES PURSUANT TO SECTION 65-4-3, THROUGH A LEASE OF AIRPORT PROPERTY OR OTHER CONTRACT; TO PROVIDE THAT FACILITIES LEASED OR CONTRACTED PURSUANT TO THIS ACT ARE EXEMPT FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 31-7-13; TO AMEND SECTION 31-7-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Massengill
Last action
2026-03-03
Official status
Dead
Effective date
July 1, 20

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text does not provide specific details on the exact nature of the amendments to Section 31-7-13, only that it is amended to conform with the provisions of this act.

Airports; Allow Public Entities to Contract for Airport Services

This bill allows airport authorities, municipalities, or other governmental entities that own or operate airports to contract with companies for financing, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining airport facilities.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows airport owners and operators to enter into contracts with private companies for various services related to airport facilities.
  • Exempts these contracted facilities from certain requirements under Section 31-7-13 of the Mississippi Code.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Airport authorities, municipalities, and other governmental entities that own or operate airports in Mississippi.

Terms To Know

Governmental entities
Includes airport authorities, county boards of supervisors, municipal governing authorities, and others who manage public property or services.
Contracts
Agreements between two parties to provide goods or services in exchange for payment.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass during the session it was introduced.
  • It is unclear how many airports will take advantage of this new authority.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-03 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    03/03 (S) Died In Committee

  2. 2026-02-16 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/16 (S) Referred To Ports and Marine Resources;Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

  3. 2026-02-13 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/13 (H) Transmitted To Senate

  4. 2026-02-13 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/13 (H) Motion to Reconsider Tabled

  5. 2026-02-12 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/12 (H) Motion to Reconsider Entered (Guice, Bailey)

  6. 2026-02-12 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/12 (H) Passed

  7. 2026-02-02 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/02 (H) Title Suff Do Pass

  8. 2026-01-16 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    01/16 (H) Referred To Ports, Harbors and Airports

Official Summary Text

Airports; authorize public entities owning/operating to contract for certain purposes relating to.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
H. B. No. 1442 *HR26/R1970* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Ports, Harbors and
Airports
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Massengill

HOUSE BILL NO. 1442

AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW SECTION 61-5-93, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1
1972, TO PROVIDE THAT AIRPORT AUTHORITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, OR 2
OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES WHO OWN OR OPERATE AIRPORTS PURSUANT 3
TO TITLE 61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, MAY CONTRACT WITH COMPANIES 4
FOR FINANCING, DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING, OPERATING OR MAINTAINING 5
OF AIRPORT FACILITIES IN THE SAME MANNER AS PROVIDED FOR TOLL 6
ROADS OR TOLL BRIDGES PURSUANT TO SECTION 65-4-3, THROUGH A LEASE 7
OF AIRPORT PROPERTY OR OTHER CONTRACT; TO PROVIDE THAT FACILITIES 8
LEASED OR CONTRACTED PURSUANT TO THIS ACT ARE EXEMPT FROM THE 9
REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 31-7-13; TO AMEND SECTION 31-7-13, 10
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS 11
ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 12
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 13
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 14
61-5-93, Mississippi Code of 1972: 15
61-5-93. (1) Airport authorities, municipalities, or other 16
governmental entities who own or operate airports pursuant to 17
Title 61, Mississippi Code of 1972, may contract with companies 18
for financing, designing, constructing, operating or maintaining 19
of airport facilities in the same manner as provided for toll 20
roads or toll bridges pursuant to Section 65-4-3, Mississippi Code 21
of 1972, through a lease of airport property or other contract. 22
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(2) Facilities leased or contracted pursuant to this section 23
shall be exempt from the requirements of Section 31-7-13, 24
Mississippi Code of 1972. 25
(3) This section shall be construed as an additional and 26
alternative method for the purchasing, building, improving, owning 27
or operating of airport facilities under the jurisdiction of 28
governmental entities including, but not limited to, airport 29
authorities, county boards of supervisors or municipal governing 30
authorities, any provision of the laws of the state or any charter 31
of any municipality to the contrary notwithstanding. 32
(4) The powers conferred by this section shall be in 33
addition to the powers conferred by any other law, general, 34
special or local, and shall specifically supplement the powers of 35
airport authorities as provided in Section 61-3-15. 36
SECTION 2. Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 37
amended as follows: 38
31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall 39
purchase their commodities and printing; contract for garbage 40
collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or 41
disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; contract for 42
public construction; and contract for rentals as herein provided. 43
(a) Bidding procedure for purchases not over $5,000.00. 44
Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more than Five 45
Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), exclusive of freight or shipping 46
charges, may be made without advertising or otherwise requesting 47
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competitive bids. However, nothing contained in this paragraph 48
(a) shall be construed to prohibit any agency or governing 49
authority from establishing procedures which require competitive 50
bids on purchases of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or less. 51
(b) Bidding procedure for purchases over $5,000.00 but 52
not over $75,000.00. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 53
more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) but not more than 54
Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of freight 55
and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder 56
without publishing or posting advertisement for bids, provided at 57
least two (2) competitive written bids have been obtained. Any 58
state agency or community or junior college purchasing commodities 59
or procuring construction pursuant to this paragraph (b) may 60
authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, to accept the 61
lowest competitive written bid under Seventy-five Thousand Dollars 62
($75,000.00). Any governing authority purchasing commodities 63
pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, 64
or his designee, with regard to governing authorities other than 65
counties, or its purchase clerk, or his designee, with regard to 66
counties, to accept the lowest and best competitive written bid. 67
Such authorization shall be made in writing by the governing 68
authority and shall be maintained on file in the primary office of 69
the agency and recorded in the official minutes of the governing 70
authority, as appropriate. The purchasing agent or the purchase 71
clerk, or his designee, as the case may be, and not the governing 72
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authority, shall be liable for any penalties and/or damages as may 73
be imposed by law for any act or omission of the purchasing agent 74
or purchase clerk, or his designee, constituting a violation of 75
law in accepting any bid without approval by the governing 76
authority. The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid 77
submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or 78
governing authority and signed by authorized personnel 79
representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's 80
letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized 81
personnel representing the vendor. "Competitive" shall mean that 82
the bids are developed based upon comparable identification of the 83
needs and are developed independently and without knowledge of 84
other bids or prospective bids. Any bid item for construction in 85
excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) shall be broken down 86
by components to provide detail of component description and 87
pricing. These details shall be submitted with the written bids 88
and become part of the bid evaluation criteria. Bids may be 89
submitted by facsimile, electronic mail or other generally 90
accepted method of information distribution. Bids submitted by 91
electronic transmission shall not require the signature of the 92
vendor's representative unless required by agencies or governing 93
authorities. 94
(c) Bidding procedure for purchases over $75,000.00. 95
(i) Publication requirement. 96
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1. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 97
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of 98
freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best 99
bidder after advertising for competitive bids once each week for 100
two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the 101
county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority 102
is located. However, all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 103
projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) 104
shall be bid. All references to American Recovery and 105
Reinvestment Act projects in this section shall not apply to 106
programs identified in Division B of the American Recovery and 107
Reinvestment Act. 108
2. Reverse auctions shall be the primary 109
method for receiving bids during the bidding process. If a 110
purchasing entity determines that a reverse auction is not in the 111
best interest of the state, then that determination must be 112
approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. The purchasing 113
entity shall submit a detailed explanation of why a reverse 114
auction would not be in the best interest of the state and present 115
an alternative process to be approved by the Public Procurement 116
Review Board. If the Public Procurement Review Board authorizes 117
the purchasing entity to solicit bids with a method other than 118
reverse auction, then the purchasing entity may designate the 119
other methods by which the bids will be received, including, but 120
not limited to, bids sealed in an envelope, bids received 121
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electronically in a secure system, or bids received by any other 122
method that promotes open competition and has been approved by the 123
Office of Purchasing and Travel. However, reverse auction shall 124
not be used for any public contract for design, construction, 125
improvement, repair or remodeling of any public facilities, 126
including the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment or goods 127
for same and including buildings, roads and bridges. The Public 128
Procurement Review Board must approve any contract entered into by 129
alternative process. The provisions of this item 2 shall not 130
apply to the individual state institutions of higher learning. 131
The provisions of this item 2 requiring reverse auction as the 132
primary method of receiving bids shall not apply to term contract 133
purchases as provided in paragraph (n) of this section; however, a 134
purchasing entity may, in its discretion, utilize reverse auction 135
for such purchases. The provisions of this item 2 shall not apply 136
to individual public schools, including public charter schools and 137
public school districts, only when purchasing copyrighted 138
educational supplemental materials and software as a service 139
product. For such purchases, a local school board may authorize a 140
purchasing entity in its jurisdiction to use a Request for 141
Qualifications which promotes open competition and meets the 142
requirements of the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 143
3. The date as published for the bid opening 144
shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last 145
published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction 146
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project in which the estimated cost is in excess of Seventy-five 147
Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in 148
less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is 149
published and the notice for the purchase of such construction 150
shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. 151
The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment 152
shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, 153
list the contracts to be made or types of equipment or supplies to 154
be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not 155
published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. If 156
there is no newspaper published in the county or municipality, 157
then such notice shall be given by posting same at the courthouse, 158
or for municipalities at the city hall, and at two (2) other 159
public places in the county or municipality, and also by 160
publication once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in some 161
newspaper having a general circulation in the county or 162
municipality in the above-provided manner. On the same date that 163
the notice is submitted to the newspaper for publication, the 164
agency or governing authority involved shall mail written notice 165
to, or provide electronic notification to the main office of the 166
Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program under the 167
Mississippi Development Authority that contains the same 168
information as that in the published notice. Within one (1) 169
working day of the contract award, the agency or governing 170
authority shall post to the designated web page maintained by the 171
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Department of Finance and Administration, notice of the award, 172
including the award recipient, the contract amount, and a brief 173
summary of the contract in accordance with rules promulgated by 174
the department. Within one (1) working day of the contract 175
execution, the agency or governing authority shall post to the 176
designated web page maintained by the Department of Finance and 177
Administration a summary of the executed contract and make a copy 178
of the appropriately redacted contract documents available for 179
linking to the designated web page in accordance with the rules 180
promulgated by the department. The information provided by the 181
agency or governing authority shall be posted to the web page 182
until the project is completed. 183
4. Agencies and governing authorities using 184
federal funds for the procurement of any good or service, 185
including exempt personal and professional services, must comply 186
with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and 187
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards - Subpart D - Post Federal 188
Award Requirements Procurement Standards, in accordance with 2 CFR 189
200.317 through 2 CFR 200.327. 190
(ii) Bidding process amendment procedure. If all 191
plans and/or specifications are published in the notification, 192
then the plans and/or specifications may not be amended. If all 193
plans and/or specifications are not published in the notification, 194
then amendments to the plans/specifications, bid opening date, bid 195
opening time and place may be made, provided that the agency or 196
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governing authority maintains a list of all prospective bidders 197
who are known to have received a copy of the bid documents and all 198
such prospective bidders are sent copies of all amendments. This 199
notification of amendments may be made via mail, facsimile, 200
electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information 201
distribution. No addendum to bid specifications may be issued 202
within two (2) working days of the time established for the 203
receipt of bids unless such addendum also amends the bid opening 204
to a date not less than five (5) working days after the date of 205
the addendum. 206
(iii) Filing requirement. In all cases involving 207
governing authorities, before the notice shall be published or 208
posted, the plans or specifications for the construction or 209
equipment being sought shall be filed with the clerk of the board 210
of the governing authority. In addition to these requirements, a 211
bid file shall be established which shall indicate those vendors 212
to whom such solicitations and specifications were issued, and 213
such file shall also contain such information as is pertinent to 214
the bid. 215
(iv) Specification restrictions. 216
1. Specifications pertinent to such bidding 217
shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of 218
domestic manufacture. However, if valid justification is 219
presented, the Department of Finance and Administration or the 220
board of a governing authority may approve a request for specific 221
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equipment necessary to perform a specific job. Further, such 222
justification, when placed on the minutes of the board of a 223
governing authority, may serve as authority for that governing 224
authority to write specifications to require a specific item of 225
equipment needed to perform a specific job. In addition to these 226
requirements, from and after July 1, 1990, vendors of relocatable 227
classrooms and the specifications for the purchase of such 228
relocatable classrooms published by local school boards shall meet 229
all pertinent regulations of the State Board of Education, 230
including prior approval of such bid by the State Department of 231
Education. 232
2. Specifications for construction projects 233
may include an allowance for commodities, equipment, furniture, 234
construction materials or systems in which prospective bidders are 235
instructed to include in their bids specified amounts for such 236
items so long as the allowance items are acquired by the vendor in 237
a commercially reasonable manner and approved by the 238
agency/governing authority. Such acquisitions shall not be made 239
to circumvent the public purchasing laws. 240
(v) Electronic bids. Agencies and governing 241
authorities shall provide a secure electronic interactive system 242
for the submittal of bids requiring competitive bidding that shall 243
be an additional bidding option for those bidders who choose to 244
submit their bids electronically. The Department of Finance and 245
Administration shall provide, by regulation, the standards that 246
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agencies must follow when receiving electronic bids. Agencies and 247
governing authorities shall make the appropriate provisions 248
necessary to accept electronic bids from those bidders who choose 249
to submit their bids electronically for all purchases requiring 250
competitive bidding under this section. Any special condition or 251
requirement for the electronic bid submission shall be specified 252
in the advertisement for bids required by this section. Agencies 253
or governing authorities that are currently without available high 254
speed Internet access shall be exempt from the requirement of this 255
subparagraph (v) until such time that high speed Internet access 256
becomes available. Any county having a population of less than 257
twenty thousand (20,000) shall be exempt from the provisions of 258
this subparagraph (v). Any municipality having a population of 259
less than ten thousand (10,000) shall be exempt from the 260
provisions of this subparagraph (v). The provisions of this 261
subparagraph (v) shall not require any bidder to submit bids 262
electronically. When construction bids are submitted 263
electronically, the requirement for including a certificate of 264
responsibility, or a statement that the bid enclosed does not 265
exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), on the exterior of the 266
bid envelope as indicated in Section 31-3-21(1) and (2) shall be 267
deemed in compliance with by including same as an attachment with 268
the electronic bid submittal. 269
(d) Lowest and best bid decision procedure. 270
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(i) Decision procedure. Purchases may be made 271
from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and 272
best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 273
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 274
buy-back provisions and other relevant provisions may be included 275
in the best bid calculation. All best bid procedures for state 276
agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the 277
Department of Finance and Administration. If any governing 278
authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually 279
submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and 280
narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to 281
be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the 282
accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency 283
or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not 284
included in the specifications. 285
(ii) Decision procedure for Certified Purchasing 286
Offices. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 287
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), Certified Purchasing 288
Offices may also use the following procedure: Purchases may be 289
made from the bidder offering the best value. In determining the 290
best value bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 291
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 292
buy-back provisions, documented previous experience, training 293
costs and other relevant provisions, including, but not limited 294
to, a bidder having a local office and inventory located within 295
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the jurisdiction of the governing authority, may be included in 296
the best value calculation. This provision shall authorize 297
Certified Purchasing Offices to utilize a Request For Proposals 298
(RFP) process when purchasing commodities. All best value 299
procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with 300
regulations established by the Department of Finance and 301
Administration. No agency or governing authority shall accept a 302
bid based on items or criteria not included in the specifications. 303
(iii) Decision procedure for Prequalified 304
Construction. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 305
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), where purchase involves 306
renovation, restoration, or both, of the State Capitol Building or 307
any other historical building designated for at least five (5) 308
years as a Mississippi Landmark by the Board of Trustees of the 309
Department of Archives and History under the authority of Sections 310
39-7-7 and 39-7-11, or for any other construction procurement with 311
a minimum construction cost of Ten Million Dollars 312
($10,000,000.00) where the agency or governing authority has 313
determined that prequalification of bidders is in the best 314
interest of the state, the agency or governing authority may use 315
the following procedure: Purchases may be made from the lowest 316
and best prequalified bidder. Solicitation of the 317
prequalification of bidders shall be in accordance with paragraph 318
(c) of this section and shall be determined not less than fifteen 319
(15) working days before the prequalified bidders are invited to 320
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submit bids. Prequalification criteria shall be limited to 321
bidder's and proposed sub-contractor's knowledge and experience on 322
projects of similar size and scope, past performance, project 323
management team and financial stability. All best bid and 324
prequalification procedures for state agencies must be in 325
compliance with regulations established by the Department of 326
Finance and Administration. If any governing authority accepts a 327
bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place 328
on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing 329
that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best 330
bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the 331
dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority 332
shall accept a bid based on items not included in the 333
specifications. 334
(iv) Construction project negotiations authority. 335
If the lowest and best bid is not more than ten percent (10%) 336
above the amount of funds allocated for a public construction or 337
renovation project, then the agency or governing authority shall 338
be permitted to negotiate with the lowest bidder in order to enter 339
into a contract for an amount not to exceed the funds allocated. 340
(e) Lease-purchase authorization. For the purposes of 341
this section, the term "equipment" shall mean equipment, furniture 342
and, if applicable, associated software and other applicable 343
direct costs associated with the acquisition. Any lease-purchase 344
of equipment which an agency is not required to lease-purchase 345
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under the master lease-purchase program pursuant to Section 346
31-7-10 and any lease-purchase of equipment which a governing 347
authority elects to lease-purchase may be acquired by a 348
lease-purchase agreement under this paragraph (e). Lease-purchase 349
financing may also be obtained from the vendor or from a 350
third-party source after having solicited and obtained at least 351
two (2) written competitive bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of 352
this section, for such financing without advertising for such 353
bids. Solicitation for the bids for financing may occur before or 354
after acceptance of bids for the purchase of such equipment or, 355
where no such bids for purchase are required, at any time before 356
the purchase thereof. No such lease-purchase agreement shall be 357
for an annual rate of interest which is greater than the overall 358
maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation 359
indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101, and the term of 360
such lease-purchase agreement shall not exceed the useful life of 361
equipment covered thereby as determined according to the upper 362
limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the 363
Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the 364
Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal 365
Revenue Code and regulations thereunder as in effect on December 366
31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to 367
any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. Any lease-purchase 368
agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph (e) may contain 369
any of the terms and conditions which a master lease-purchase 370
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agreement may contain under the provisions of Section 31-7-10(5), 371
and shall contain an annual allocation dependency clause 372
substantially similar to that set forth in Section 31-7-10(8). 373
Each agency or governing authority entering into a lease-purchase 374
transaction pursuant to this paragraph (e) shall maintain with 375
respect to each such lease-purchase transaction the same 376
information as required to be maintained by the Department of 377
Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-10(13). 378
However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to 379
permit agencies to acquire items of equipment with a total 380
acquisition cost in the aggregate of less than Ten Thousand 381
Dollars ($10,000.00) by a single lease-purchase transaction. All 382
equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired by 383
lease-purchase under this paragraph and all lease-purchase 384
payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi 385
sales, use and ad valorem taxes. Interest paid on any 386
lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from 387
State of Mississippi income taxation. 388
(f) Alternate bid authorization. When necessary to 389
ensure ready availability of commodities for public works and the 390
timely completion of public projects, no more than two (2) 391
alternate bids may be accepted by a governing authority for 392
commodities. No purchases may be made through use of such 393
alternate bids procedure unless the lowest and best bidder cannot 394
deliver the commodities contained in his bid. In that event, 395
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purchases of such commodities may be made from one (1) of the 396
bidders whose bid was accepted as an alternate. 397
(g) Construction contract change authorization. In the 398
event a determination is made by an agency or governing authority 399
after a construction contract is let that changes or modifications 400
to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the 401
purpose of the agency or the governing authority, such agency or 402
governing authority may, in its discretion, order such changes 403
pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the 404
circumstances without the necessity of further public bids; 405
provided that such change shall be made in a commercially 406
reasonable manner and shall not be made to circumvent the public 407
purchasing statutes. In addition to any other authorized person, 408
the architect or engineer hired by an agency or governing 409
authority with respect to any public construction contract shall 410
have the authority, when granted by an agency or governing 411
authority, to authorize changes or modifications to the original 412
contract without the necessity of prior approval of the agency or 413
governing authority when any such change or modification is less 414
than one percent (1%) of the total contract amount. The agency or 415
governing authority may limit the number, manner or frequency of 416
such emergency changes or modifications. 417
(h) Petroleum purchase alternative. In addition to 418
other methods of purchasing authorized in this chapter, when any 419
agency or governing authority shall have a need for gas, diesel 420
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fuel, oils and/or other petroleum products in excess of the amount 421
set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, such agency or 422
governing authority may purchase the commodity after having 423
solicited and obtained at least two (2) competitive written bids, 424
as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. If two (2) 425
competitive written bids are not obtained, the entity shall comply 426
with the procedures set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. 427
In the event any agency or governing authority shall have 428
advertised for bids for the purchase of gas, diesel fuel, oils and 429
other petroleum products and coal and no acceptable bids can be 430
obtained, such agency or governing authority is authorized and 431
directed to enter into any negotiations necessary to secure the 432
lowest and best contract available for the purchase of such 433
commodities. 434
(i) Road construction petroleum products price 435
adjustment clause authorization. Any agency or governing 436
authority authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, 437
maintenance, surfacing or repair of highways, roads or streets, 438
may include in its bid proposal and contract documents a price 439
adjustment clause with relation to the cost to the contractor, 440
including taxes, based upon an industry-wide cost index, of 441
petroleum products including asphalt used in the performance or 442
execution of the contract or in the production or manufacture of 443
materials for use in such performance. Such industry-wide index 444
shall be established and published monthly by the Mississippi 445
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Department of Transportation with a copy thereof to be mailed, 446
upon request, to the clerks of the governing authority of each 447
municipality and the clerks of each board of supervisors 448
throughout the state. The price adjustment clause shall be based 449
on the cost of such petroleum products only and shall not include 450
any additional profit or overhead as part of the adjustment. The 451
bid proposals or document contract shall contain the basis and 452
methods of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of 453
such petroleum products. 454
(j) State agency emergency purchase procedure. If the 455
governing board or the executive head, or his designees, of any 456
agency of the state shall determine that an emergency exists in 457
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 458
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 459
bidding would be detrimental to the interests of the state, then 460
the head of such agency, or his designees, shall file with the 461
Department of Finance and Administration (i) a statement 462
explaining the conditions and circumstances of the emergency, 463
which shall include a detailed description of the events leading 464
up to the situation and the negative impact to the entity if the 465
purchase is made following the statutory requirements set forth in 466
paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section, and (ii) a certified 467
copy of the appropriate minutes of the board of such agency 468
requesting the emergency purchase, if applicable. Upon receipt of 469
the statement and applicable board certification, the State Fiscal 470
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Officer, or his designees, may, in writing, authorize the purchase 471
or repair without having to comply with competitive bidding 472
requirements. 473
If the governing board or the executive head, or his 474
designees, of any agency determines that an emergency exists in 475
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 476
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 477
bidding would threaten the health or safety of any person, or the 478
preservation or protection of property, then the provisions in 479
this section for competitive bidding shall not apply, and any 480
officer or agent of the agency having general or specific 481
authority for making the purchase or repair contract shall approve 482
the bill presented for payment, and he shall certify in writing 483
from whom the purchase was made, or with whom the repair contract 484
was made. 485
Total purchases made under this paragraph (j) shall only be 486
for the purpose of meeting needs created by the emergency 487
situation. Following the emergency purchase, documentation of the 488
purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the 489
purchase price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be 490
filed with the Department of Finance and Administration. Any 491
contract awarded pursuant to this paragraph (j) shall not exceed a 492
term of one (1) year. 493
Purchases under the grant program established under Section 494
37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the directive that school 495
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districts create a distance learning plan and fulfill technology 496
needs expeditiously shall be deemed an emergency purchase for 497
purposes of this paragraph (j). 498
(k) Governing authority emergency purchase procedure. 499
If the governing authority, or the governing authority acting 500
through its designee, shall determine that an emergency exists in 501
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 502
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 503
bidding would be detrimental to the interest of the governing 504
authority, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding 505
shall not apply and any officer or agent of such governing 506
authority having general or special authority therefor in making 507
such purchase or repair shall approve the bill presented therefor, 508
and he shall certify in writing thereon from whom such purchase 509
was made, or with whom such a repair contract was made. At the 510
board meeting next following the emergency purchase or repair 511
contract, documentation of the purchase or repair contract, 512
including a description of the commodity purchased, the price 513
thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the 514
board and shall be placed on the minutes of the board of such 515
governing authority. Purchases under the grant program 516
established under Section 37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the 517
directive that school districts create a distance learning plan 518
and fulfill technology needs expeditiously shall be deemed an 519
emergency purchase for purposes of this paragraph (k). 520
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(l) Hospital purchase, lease-purchase and lease 521
authorization. 522
(i) The commissioners or board of trustees of any 523
public hospital may contract with such lowest and best bidder for 524
the purchase or lease-purchase of any commodity under a contract 525
of purchase or lease-purchase agreement whose obligatory payment 526
terms do not exceed five (5) years. 527
(ii) In addition to the authority granted in 528
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (l), the commissioners or board 529
of trustees is authorized to enter into contracts for the lease of 530
equipment or services, or both, which it considers necessary for 531
the proper care of patients if, in its opinion, it is not 532
financially feasible to purchase the necessary equipment or 533
services. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or 534
services executed by the commissioners or board shall not exceed a 535
maximum of five (5) years' duration and shall include a 536
cancellation clause based on unavailability of funds. If such 537
cancellation clause is exercised, there shall be no further 538
liability on the part of the lessee. Any such contract for the 539
lease of equipment or services executed on behalf of the 540
commissioners or board that complies with the provisions of this 541
subparagraph (ii) shall be excepted from the bid requirements set 542
forth in this section. 543
(m) Exceptions from bidding requirements. Excepted 544
from bid requirements are: 545
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(i) Purchasing agreements approved by department. 546
Purchasing agreements, contracts and maximum price regulations 547
executed or approved by the Department of Finance and 548
Administration. 549
(ii) Outside equipment repairs. Repairs to 550
equipment, when such repairs are made by repair facilities in the 551
private sector; however, engines, transmissions, rear axles and/or 552
other such components shall not be included in this exemption when 553
replaced as a complete unit instead of being repaired and the need 554
for such total component replacement is known before disassembly 555
of the component; however, invoices identifying the equipment, 556
specific repairs made, parts identified by number and name, 557
supplies used in such repairs, and the number of hours of labor 558
and costs therefor shall be required for the payment for such 559
repairs. 560
(iii) In-house equipment repairs. Purchases of 561
parts for repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by 562
personnel of the agency or governing authority; however, entire 563
assemblies, such as engines or transmissions, shall not be 564
included in this exemption when the entire assembly is being 565
replaced instead of being repaired. 566
(iv) Raw gravel or dirt. Raw unprocessed deposits 567
of gravel or fill dirt which are to be removed and transported by 568
the purchaser. 569
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(v) Governmental equipment auctions. Motor 570
vehicles or other equipment purchased from a federal agency or 571
authority, another governing authority or state agency of the 572
State of Mississippi, or any governing authority or state agency 573
of another state at a public auction held for the purpose of 574
disposing of such vehicles or other equipment. Any purchase by a 575
governing authority under the exemption authorized by this 576
subparagraph (v) shall require advance authorization spread upon 577
the minutes of the governing authority to include the listing of 578
the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid 579
authorized to be paid for each item or items. 580
(vi) Intergovernmental sales and transfers. 581
Purchases, sales, transfers or trades by governing authorities or 582
state agencies when such purchases, sales, transfers or trades are 583
made by a private treaty agreement or through means of 584
negotiation, from any federal agency or authority, another 585
governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, 586
or any state agency or governing authority of another state. 587
Nothing in this section shall permit such purchases through public 588
auction except as provided for in subparagraph (v) of this 589
paragraph (m). It is the intent of this section to allow 590
governmental entities to dispose of and/or purchase commodities 591
from other governmental entities at a price that is agreed to by 592
both parties. This shall allow for purchases and/or sales at 593
prices which may be determined to be below the market value if the 594
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selling entity determines that the sale at below market value is 595
in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state. Governing 596
authorities shall place the terms of the agreement and any 597
justification on the minutes, and state agencies shall obtain 598
approval from the Department of Finance and Administration, prior 599
to releasing or taking possession of the commodities. 600
(vii) Perishable supplies or food. Perishable 601
supplies or food purchased for use in connection with hospitals, 602
the school lunch programs, homemaking programs and for the feeding 603
of county or municipal prisoners. 604
(viii) Single-source items. Noncompetitive items 605
available from one (1) source only. In connection with the 606
purchase of noncompetitive items only available from one (1) 607
source, a certification of the conditions and circumstances 608
requiring the purchase shall be filed by the agency with the 609
Department of Finance and Administration and by the governing 610
authority with the board of the governing authority. Upon receipt 611
of that certification the Department of Finance and Administration 612
or the board of the governing authority, as the case may be, may, 613
in writing, authorize the purchase, which authority shall be noted 614
on the minutes of the body at the next regular meeting thereafter. 615
In those situations, a governing authority is not required to 616
obtain the approval of the Department of Finance and 617
Administration. Following the purchase, the executive head of the 618
state agency, or his designees, shall file with the Department of 619
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Finance and Administration, documentation of the purchase, 620
including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase 621
price thereof and the source from whom it was purchased. 622
(ix) Waste disposal facility construction 623
contracts. Construction of incinerators and other facilities for 624
disposal of solid wastes in which products either generated 625
therein, such as steam, or recovered therefrom, such as materials 626
for recycling, are to be sold or otherwise disposed of; however, 627
in constructing such facilities, a governing authority or agency 628
shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised for in the 629
same manner as provided herein for seeking bids for public 630
construction projects, concerning the design, construction, 631
ownership, operation and/or maintenance of such facilities, 632
wherein such requests for proposals when issued shall contain 633
terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 634
technology, environmental compatibility, legal responsibilities 635
and such other matters as are determined by the governing 636
authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; and after 637
responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, 638
the governing authority or agency may select the most qualified 639
proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other 640
relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the 641
terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of 642
the persons or firms submitting proposals. 643
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(x) Hospital group purchase contracts. Supplies, 644
commodities and equipment purchased by hospitals through group 645
purchase programs pursuant to Section 31-7-38. 646
(xi) Information technology products. Purchases 647
of information technology products made by governing authorities 648
under the provisions of purchase schedules, or contracts executed 649
or approved by the Mississippi Department of Information 650
Technology Services and designated for use by governing 651
authorities. 652
(xii) Energy efficiency services and equipment. 653
Energy efficiency services and equipment acquired by school 654
districts, community and junior colleges, institutions of higher 655
learning and state agencies or other applicable governmental 656
entities on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis 657
pursuant to Section 31-7-14. 658
(xiii) Municipal electrical utility system fuel. 659
Purchases of coal and/or natural gas by municipally owned electric 660
power generating systems that have the capacity to use both coal 661
and natural gas for the generation of electric power. 662
(xiv) Library books and other reference materials. 663
Purchases by libraries or for libraries of books and periodicals; 664
processed film, videocassette tapes, filmstrips and slides; 665
recorded audiotapes, cassettes and diskettes; and any such items 666
as would be used for teaching, research or other information 667
distribution; however, equipment such as projectors, recorders, 668
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audio or video equipment, and monitor televisions are not exempt 669
under this subparagraph. 670
(xv) Unmarked vehicles. Purchases of unmarked 671
vehicles when such purchases are made in accordance with 672
purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and 673
Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2). 674
(xvi) Election ballots. Purchases of ballots 675
printed pursuant to Section 23-15-351. 676
(xvii) Multichannel interactive video systems. 677
From and after July 1, 1990, contracts by Mississippi Authority 678
for Educational Television with any private educational 679
institution or private nonprofit organization whose purposes are 680
educational in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or 681
lease-purchase of facilities and equipment and the employment of 682
personnel for providing multichannel interactive video systems 683
(ITSF) in the school districts of this state. 684
(xviii) Purchases of prison industry products by 685
the Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 686
privately owned prisons. Purchases made by the Mississippi 687
Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 688
privately owned prisons involving any item that is manufactured, 689
processed, grown or produced from the state's prison industries. 690
(xix) Undercover operations equipment. Purchases 691
of surveillance equipment or any other high-tech equipment to be 692
used by law enforcement agents in undercover operations, provided 693
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that any such purchase shall be in compliance with regulations 694
established by the Department of Finance and Administration. 695
(xx) Junior college books for rent. Purchases by 696
community or junior colleges of textbooks which are obtained for 697
the purpose of renting such books to students as part of a book 698
service system. 699
(xxi) Certain school district purchases. 700
Purchases of commodities made by school districts from vendors 701
with which any levying authority of the school district, as 702
defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive 703
bidding procedures for purchases of the same commodities. 704
(xxii) Garbage, solid waste and sewage contracts. 705
Contracts for garbage collection or disposal, contracts for solid 706
waste collection or disposal and contracts for sewage collection 707
or disposal. 708
(xxiii) Municipal water tank maintenance 709
contracts. Professional maintenance program contracts for the 710
repair or maintenance of municipal water tanks, which provide 711
professional services needed to maintain municipal water storage 712
tanks for a fixed annual fee for a duration of two (2) or more 713
years. 714
(xxiv) Purchases of Mississippi Industries for the 715
Blind products or services. Purchases made by state agencies or 716
governing authorities involving any item that is manufactured, 717
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processed or produced by, or any services provided by, the 718
Mississippi Industries for the Blind. 719
(xxv) Purchases of state-adopted textbooks. 720
Purchases of state-adopted textbooks by public school districts. 721
(xxvi) Certain purchases under the Mississippi 722
Major Economic Impact Act. Contracts entered into pursuant to the 723
provisions of Section 57-75-9(2), (3) and (4). 724
(xxvii) Used heavy or specialized machinery or 725
equipment for installation of soil and water conservation 726
practices purchased at auction. Used heavy or specialized 727
machinery or equipment used for the installation and 728
implementation of soil and water conservation practices or 729
measures purchased subject to the restrictions provided in 730
Sections 69-27-331 through 69-27-341. Any purchase by the State 731
Soil and Water Conservation Commission under the exemption 732
authorized by this subparagraph shall require advance 733
authorization spread upon the minutes of the commission to include 734
the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and 735
the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items. 736
(xxviii) Hospital lease of equipment or services. 737
Leases by hospitals of equipment or services if the leases are in 738
compliance with paragraph (l)(ii). 739
(xxix) Purchases made pursuant to qualified 740
cooperative purchasing agreements. Purchases made by certified 741
purchasing offices of state agencies or governing authorities 742
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under cooperative purchasing agreements previously approved by the 743
Office of Purchasing and Travel and established by or for any 744
municipality, county, parish or state government or the federal 745
government, provided that the notification to potential 746
contractors includes a clause that sets forth the availability of 747
the cooperative purchasing agreement to other governmental 748
entities. Such purchases shall only be made if the use of the 749
cooperative purchasing agreements is determined to be in the best 750
interest of the governmental entity. 751
(xxx) School yearbooks. Purchases of school 752
yearbooks by state agencies or governing authorities; however, 753
state agencies and governing authorities shall use for these 754
purchases the RFP process as set forth in the Mississippi 755
Procurement Manual adopted by the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 756
(xxxi) Design-build method of contracting and 757
certain other contracts. Contracts entered into under the 758
provisions of Section 31-7-13.1, 37-101-44 or 65-1-85. 759
(xxxii) Toll roads and bridge construction 760
projects. Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 761
65-43-1 or 65-43-3. 762
(xxxiii) Certain purchases under Section 57-1-221. 763
Contracts entered into pursuant to the provisions of Section 764
57-1-221. 765
(xxxiv) Certain transfers made pursuant to the 766
provisions of Section 57-105-1(7). Transfers of public property 767
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or facilities under Section 57-105-1(7) and construction related 768
to such public property or facilities. 769
(xxxv) Certain purchases or transfers entered into 770
with local electrical power associations. Contracts or agreements 771
entered into under the provisions of Section 55-3-33. 772
(xxxvi) Certain purchases by an academic medical 773
center or health sciences school. Purchases by an academic 774
medical center or health sciences school, as defined in Section 775
37-115-50, of commodities that are used for clinical purposes and 776
1. intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other 777
conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of 778
disease, and 2. medical devices, biological, drugs and 779
radiation-emitting devices as defined by the United States Food 780
and Drug Administration. 781
(xxxvii) Certain purchases made under the Alyce G. 782
Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law. Contracts made by the Mississippi 783
Lottery Corporation pursuant to the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi 784
Lottery Law. 785
(xxxviii) Certain purchases made by the Department 786
of Health and the Department of Revenue. Purchases made by the 787
Department of Health and the Department of Revenue solely for the 788
purpose of fulfilling their respective responsibilities under the 789
Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. This subparagraph shall stand 790
repealed on June 30, 2026. 791
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(xxxix) Purchases made by state agencies related 792
to museum exhibits. Purchases made by an agency related to the 793
fabrication, construction, installation or refurbishing of museum 794
exhibits. An agency making a purchase under this exemption in 795
excess of the bid threshold set forth in paragraph (c) of this 796
section shall publicly advertise a Request for Qualifications or 797
Request for Proposals in which price as an evaluation factor is at 798
least twenty percent (20%) out of the one hundred percent (100%) 799
total weight, but shall be otherwise exempt. Any contract arising 800
from a purchase using this exemption must be approved by the 801
Public Procurement Review Board prior to execution by the agency. 802
The agency shall submit a written report on December 1 of each 803
year to the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations 804
Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House Accountability, 805
Efficiency and Transparency Committees and the Chair of the Public 806
Procurement Review Board, identifying all purchases made by the 807
agency using this exemption in which the cost of the option 808
selected by the agency was more than twenty-five percent (25%) 809
higher than the lowest cost option available. 810
(xl) Certain airport facilities contracts. 811
Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 61-5-93. 812
(n) Term contract authorization. All contracts for the 813
purchase of: 814
(i) All contracts for the purchase of commodities, 815
equipment and public construction (including, but not limited to, 816
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repair and maintenance), may be let for periods of not more than 817
sixty (60) months in advance, subject to applicable statutory 818
provisions prohibiting the letting of contracts during specified 819
periods near the end of terms of office. Term contracts for a 820
period exceeding twenty-four (24) months shall also be subject to 821
ratification or cancellation by governing authority boards taking 822
office subsequent to the governing authority board entering the 823
contract. 824
(ii) Bid proposals and contracts may include price 825
adjustment clauses with relation to the cost to the contractor 826
based upon a nationally published industry-wide or nationally 827
published and recognized cost index. The cost index used in a 828
price adjustment clause shall be determined by the Department of 829
Finance and Administration for the state agencies and by the 830
governing board for governing authorities. The bid proposal and 831
contract documents utilizing a price adjustment clause shall 832
contain the basis and method of adjusting unit prices for the 833
change in the cost of such commodities, equipment and public 834
construction. 835
(o) Purchase law violation prohibition and vendor 836
penalty. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be 837
made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this 838
section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any 839
person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within 840
those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value 841
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of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized 842
amount and the invoices therefor are split so as to appear to be 843
authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not 844
required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a 845
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Five Hundred 846
Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), 847
or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or 848
both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims 849
submitted shall be forfeited. 850
(p) Electrical utility petroleum-based equipment 851
purchase procedure. When in response to a proper advertisement 852
therefor, no bid firm as to price is submitted to an electric 853
utility for power transformers, distribution transformers, power 854
breakers, reclosers or other articles containing a petroleum 855
product, the electric utility may accept the lowest and best bid 856
therefor although the price is not firm. 857
(q) Fuel management system bidding procedure. Any 858
governing authority or agency of the state shall, before 859
contracting for the services and products of a fuel management or 860
fuel access system, enter into negotiations with not fewer than 861
two (2) sellers of fuel management or fuel access systems for 862
competitive written bids to provide the services and products for 863
the systems. In the event that the governing authority or agency 864
cannot locate two (2) sellers of such systems or cannot obtain 865
bids from two (2) sellers of such systems, it shall show proof 866
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that it made a diligent, good-faith effort to locate and negotiate 867
with two (2) sellers of such systems. Such proof shall include, 868
but not be limited to, publications of a request for proposals and 869
letters soliciting negotiations and bids. For purposes of this 870
paragraph (q), a fuel management or fuel access system is an 871
automated system of acquiring fuel for vehicles as well as 872
management reports detailing fuel use by vehicles and drivers, and 873
the term "competitive written bid" shall have the meaning as 874
defined in paragraph (b) of this section. Governing authorities 875
and agencies shall be exempt from this process when contracting 876
for the services and products of fuel management or fuel access 877
systems under the terms of a state contract established by the 878
Office of Purchasing and Travel. 879
(r) Solid waste contract proposal procedure. Before 880
entering into any contract for garbage collection or disposal, 881
contract for solid waste collection or disposal or contract for 882
sewage collection or disposal, which involves an expenditure of 883
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), a governing 884
authority or agency shall issue publicly a request for proposals 885
concerning the specifications for such services which shall be 886
advertised for in the same manner as provided in this section for 887
seeking bids for purchases which involve an expenditure of more 888
than the amount provided in paragraph (c) of this section. Any 889
request for proposals when issued shall contain terms and 890
conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 891
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technology, legal responsibilities and other relevant factors as 892
are determined by the governing authority or agency to be 893
appropriate for inclusion; all factors determined relevant by the 894
governing authority or agency or required by this paragraph (r) 895
shall be duly included in the advertisement to elicit proposals. 896
After responses to the request for proposals have been duly 897
received, the governing authority or agency shall select the most 898
qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology 899
and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not 900
limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter into contracts 901
with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. If 902
the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to 903
be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals 904
process may be reinitiated. Notwithstanding any other provisions 905
of this paragraph, where a county with at least thirty-five 906
thousand (35,000) nor more than forty thousand (40,000) 907
population, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, owns 908
or operates a solid waste landfill, the governing authorities of 909
any other county or municipality may contract with the governing 910
authorities of the county owning or operating the landfill, 911
pursuant to a resolution duly adopted and spread upon the minutes 912
of each governing authority involved, for garbage or solid waste 913
collection or disposal services through contract negotiations. 914
(s) Minority set-aside authorization. Notwithstanding 915
any provision of this section to the contrary, any agency or 916
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governing authority, by order placed on its minutes, may, in its 917
discretion, set aside not more than twenty percent (20%) of its 918
anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities 919
from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases 920
shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the 921
Department of Finance and Administration and shall be subject to 922
bid requirements under this section. Set-aside purchases for 923
which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest 924
and best minority business bidder. For the purposes of this 925
paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is 926
owned by a majority of persons who are United States citizens or 927
permanent resident aliens (as defined by the Immigration and 928
Naturalization Service) of the United States, and who are Asian, 929
Black, Hispanic or Native American, according to the following 930
definitions: 931
(i) "Asian" means persons having origins in any of 932
the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian 933
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. 934
(ii) "Black" means persons having origins in any 935
black racial group of Africa. 936
(iii) "Hispanic" means persons of Spanish or 937
Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central 938
America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race. 939
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(iv) "Native American" means persons having 940
origins in any of the original people of North America, including 941
American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. 942
(t) Construction punch list restriction. The 943
architect, engineer or other representative designated by the 944
agency or governing authority that is contracting for public 945
construction or renovation may prepare and submit to the 946
contractor only one (1) preliminary punch list of items that do 947
not meet the contract requirements at the time of substantial 948
completion and one (1) final list immediately before final 949
completion and final payment. 950
(u) Procurement of construction services by state 951
institutions of higher learning. Contracts for privately financed 952
construction of auxiliary facilities on the campus of a state 953
institution of higher learning may be awarded by the Board of 954
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to the lowest 955
and best bidder, where sealed bids are solicited, or to the 956
offeror whose proposal is determined to represent the best value 957
to the citizens of the State of Mississippi, where requests for 958
proposals are solicited. 959
(v) Insurability of bidders for public construction or 960
other public contracts. In any solicitation for bids to perform 961
public construction or other public contracts to which this 962
section applies, including, but not limited to, contracts for 963
repair and maintenance, for which the contract will require 964
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insurance coverage in an amount of not less than One Million 965
Dollars ($1,000,000.00), bidders shall be permitted to either 966
submit proof of current insurance coverage in the specified amount 967
or demonstrate ability to obtain the required coverage amount of 968
insurance if the contract is awarded to the bidder. Proof of 969
insurance coverage shall be submitted within five (5) business 970
days from bid acceptance. 971
(w) Purchase authorization clarification. Nothing in 972
this section shall be construed as authorizing any purchase not 973
authorized by law. 974
(x) Mississippi Regional Pre-Need Disaster Clean Up 975
Act. (i) The Department of Finance and Administration shall 976
develop and implement a process that creates a preferred vendor 977
list for both disaster debris removal and monitoring. 978
(ii) Any board of supervisors of any county or any 979
governing authority of any municipality may opt in to the benefits 980
and services provided under the appropriate and relevant contract 981
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph at the time of a 982
disaster event in that county or municipality. At the time of opt 983
in, the county or municipality shall assume responsibility for 984
payment in full to the contractor for the disaster-related solid 985
waste collection, disposal or monitoring services provided. 986
Nothing in this subparagraph (ii) shall be construed as requiring 987
a county or municipality to opt in to any such contract 988
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. 989
H. B. No. 1442 *HR26/R1970* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: Airports; authorize public entities
owning/operating to contract for certain
purposes relating to.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 990
and after July 1, 2026. 991