MS Medical Cannabis Act; extend repealers on exemptions to certain laws for Departments of Health and Revenue in relation to.

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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Shanks

HOUSE BILL NO. 1768

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-9-107, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO EXTEND THE DATE OF THE REPEALER ON THE PROVISION OF LAW 2
EXCLUDING FROM THE STATE SERVICE THOSE EMPLOYEES OF THE STATE 3
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE WHOSE 4
EMPLOYMENT IS SOLELY RELATED TO THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS 5
ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 25-43-1.103, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 6
EXTEND THE DATE OF THE REPEALER ON THOSE DEPARTMENTS' EXEMPTION 7
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES LAW FOR PURPOSES 8
RELATED TO THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 9
27-104-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE DATE OF THE 10
EXEMPTION FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS' PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE 11
CONTRACTS RELATING TO THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT FROM 12
THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REVIEW BOARD AND TO 13
EXTEND THE DATE OF OTHER EXEMPTIONS IN THAT CODE SECTION WHICH ARE 14
NOT RELATED TO THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT BUT WHICH ARE 15
ALSO SET TO EXPIRE IN 2026; TO AMEND SECTION 31-7-13, MISSISSIPPI 16
CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE DATE OF THE REPEALER ON THE EXEMPTION 17
FROM STATE BID REQUIREMENTS FOR PURCHASES MADE BY THOSE 18
DEPARTMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE 19
MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 21
SECTION 1. Section 25-9-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 22
amended as follows: 23
25-9-107. The following terms, when used in this chapter, 24
unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, 25
shall have the following meanings: 26
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(a) "Board" means the State Personnel Board created 27
under the provisions of this chapter. 28
(b) "State service" means all employees of state 29
departments, agencies and institutions as defined herein, except 30
those officers and employees excluded by this chapter. 31
(c) "Nonstate service" means the following officers and 32
employees excluded from the state service by this chapter. The 33
following are excluded from the state service: 34
(i) Members of the State Legislature, their staff 35
and other employees of the legislative branch; 36
(ii) The Governor and staff members of the 37
immediate Office of the Governor; 38
(iii) Justices and judges of the judicial branch 39
or members of appeals boards on a per diem basis; 40
(iv) The Lieutenant Governor, staff members of the 41
immediate Office of the Lieutenant Governor and officers and 42
employees directly appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; 43
(v) Officers and officials elected by popular vote 44
and persons appointed to fill vacancies in elective offices; 45
(vi) Members of boards and commissioners appointed 46
by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor or the State Legislature; 47
(vii) All academic officials, members of the 48
teaching staffs and employees of the state institutions of higher 49
learning, the Mississippi Community College Board, and community 50
and junior colleges; 51
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(viii) Officers and enlisted members of the 52
National Guard of the state; 53
(ix) Prisoners, inmates, student or patient help 54
working in or about institutions; 55
(x) Contract personnel; provided that any agency 56
which employs state service employees may enter into contracts for 57
personal and professional services only if such contracts are 58
approved in compliance with the rules and regulations promulgated 59
by the Public Procurement Review Board under Section 27-104-7. 60
Before paying any warrant for such contractual services in excess 61
of Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), the Auditor of 62
Public Accounts, or the successor to those duties, shall determine 63
whether the contract involved was for personal or professional 64
services, and, if so, was approved by the Public Procurement 65
Review Board as required by law; 66
(xi) Part-time employees; however, part-time 67
employees shall only be hired into authorized employment positions 68
classified by the board, shall meet minimum qualifications as set 69
by the board, and shall be paid in accordance with the Variable 70
Compensation Plan as certified by the board; 71
(xii) Persons appointed on an emergency basis for 72
the duration of the emergency; the effective date of the emergency 73
appointments shall not be earlier than the date approved by the 74
State Personnel Director, and shall be limited to thirty (30) 75
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working days. Emergency appointments may be extended to sixty 76
(60) working days by the State Personnel Board; 77
(xiii) Physicians, dentists, veterinarians, nurse 78
practitioners and attorneys, while serving in their professional 79
capacities in authorized employment positions who are required by 80
statute to be licensed, registered or otherwise certified as such, 81
provided that the State Personnel Director shall verify that the 82
statutory qualifications are met prior to issuance of a payroll 83
warrant by the Auditor; 84
(xiv) Personnel who are employed and paid from 85
funds received from a federal grant program which has been 86
approved by the Legislature or the Department of Finance and 87
Administration whose length of employment has been determined to 88
be time-limited in nature. This subparagraph shall apply to 89
personnel employed under the provisions of the Comprehensive 90
Employment and Training Act of 1973, as amended, and other special 91
federal grant programs which are not a part of regular federally 92
funded programs wherein appropriations and employment positions 93
are appropriated by the Legislature. Such employees shall be paid 94
in accordance with the Variable Compensation Plan and shall meet 95
all qualifications required by federal statutes or by the 96
Mississippi Classification Plan; 97
(xv) The administrative head who is in charge of 98
any state department, agency, institution, board or commission, 99
wherein the statute specifically authorizes the Governor, board, 100
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commission or other authority to appoint said administrative head; 101
however, the salary of such administrative head shall be 102
determined by the State Personnel Board in accordance with the 103
Variable Compensation Plan unless otherwise fixed by statute; 104
(xvi) The State Personnel Board shall exclude 105
top-level positions if the incumbents determine and publicly 106
advocate substantive program policy and report directly to the 107
agency head, or the incumbents are required to maintain a direct 108
confidential working relationship with a key excluded official. 109
Further, a written job classification shall be approved by the 110
board for each such position, and positions so excluded shall be 111
paid in conformity with the Variable Compensation Plan; 112
(xvii) Employees whose employment is solely in 113
connection with an agency's contract to produce, store or 114
transport goods, and whose compensation is derived therefrom; 115
(xviii) Repealed; 116
(xix) The associate director, deputy directors and 117
bureau directors within the Department of Agriculture and 118
Commerce; 119
(xx) Personnel employed by the Mississippi 120
Industries for the Blind; provided that any agency may enter into 121
contracts for the personal services of MIB employees without the 122
prior approval of the State Personnel Board or the State Personal 123
Service Contract Review Board; however, any agency contracting for 124
the personal services of an MIB employee shall provide the MIB 125
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employee with not less than the entry-level compensation and 126
benefits that the agency would provide to a full-time employee of 127
the agency who performs the same services; 128
(xxi) Personnel employed by the Mississippi 129
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the Mississippi 130
Department of Marine Resources as law enforcement trainees 131
(cadets); such personnel shall be paid in accordance with the 132
Colonel Guy Groff State Variable Compensation Plan; 133
(xxii) Administrators and instructional employees 134
under contract or employed by the Mississippi School of the Arts 135
(MSA) established in Section 37-140-1 et seq.; 136
(xxiii) The President of the Mississippi Lottery 137
Corporation and personnel employed by the Mississippi Lottery 138
Corporation; 139
(xxiv) Employees, excluding administrative 140
employees, of the State Veterans Affairs Board who are employed at 141
a veterans home established by the State Veterans Affairs Board 142
under Section 35-1-19; 143
(xxv) Personnel employed by the Mississippi 144
Department of Health whose employment is solely in connection with 145
the department's responsibilities in implementing, administering 146
and enforcing provisions of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. 147
This subparagraph shall stand repealed on June 30, * * * 2029; and 148
(xxvi) Personnel employed by the Mississippi 149
Department of Revenue whose employment is solely in connection 150
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with the department's responsibilities in implementing, 151
administering and enforcing provisions of the Mississippi Medical 152
Cannabis Act. This subparagraph shall stand repealed on June 153
30, * * * 2029. 154
(d) "Agency" means any state board, commission, 155
committee, council, department or unit thereof created by the 156
Constitution or statutes if such board, commission, committee, 157
council, department, unit or the head thereof, is authorized to 158
appoint subordinate staff by the Constitution or statute, except a 159
legislative or judicial board, commission, committee, council, 160
department or unit thereof. 161
SECTION 2. Section 25-43-1.103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 162
amended as follows: 163
25-43-1.103. (1) This chapter applies to all agencies and 164
all proceedings not expressly exempted under this chapter. 165
(2) This chapter creates only procedural rights and imposes 166
only procedural duties. They are in addition to those created and 167
imposed by other statutes. 168
(3) Specific statutory provisions which govern agency 169
proceedings and which are in conflict with any of the provisions 170
of this chapter shall continue to be applied to all proceedings of 171
any such agency to the extent of such conflict only. 172
(4) The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to 173
amend, repeal or supersede the provisions of any other law; and, 174
to the extent that the provisions of any other law conflict or are 175
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inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter, the provisions 176
of such other law shall govern and control. 177
(5) An agency may grant procedural rights to persons in 178
addition to those conferred by this chapter so long as rights 179
conferred upon other persons by any provision of law are not 180
substantially prejudiced. 181
(6) For the purposes of implementing, administering and/or 182
enforcing the provisions of rules and regulations promulgated 183
pursuant to the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, the Mississippi 184
State Department of Health and the Mississippi Department of 185
Revenue shall be exempted from this chapter from February 2, 2022, 186
through June 30, * * * 2029. This subsection shall stand repealed 187
on June 30, * * * 2029. 188
SECTION 3. Section 27-104-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 189
amended as follows: 190
27-104-7. (1) (a) There is created the Public Procurement 191
Review Board, which shall be reconstituted on January 1, 2018, and 192
shall be composed of the following members: 193
(i) Three (3) individuals appointed by the 194
Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; 195
(ii) Two (2) individuals appointed by the 196
Lieutenant Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 197
(iii) The Executive Director of the Department of 198
Finance and Administration, serving as an ex officio and nonvoting 199
member. 200
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(b) The initial terms of each appointee shall be as 201
follows: 202
(i) One (1) member appointed by the Governor to 203
serve for a term ending on June 30, 2019; 204
(ii) One (1) member appointed by the Governor to 205
serve for a term ending on June 30, 2020; 206
(iii) One (1) member appointed by the Governor to 207
serve for a term ending on June 30, 2021; 208
(iv) One (1) member appointed by the Lieutenant 209
Governor to serve for a term ending on June 30, 2019; and 210
(v) One (1) member appointed by the Lieutenant 211
Governor to serve for a term ending on June 30, 2020. 212
After the expiration of the initial terms, all appointed 213
members' terms shall be for a period of four (4) years from the 214
expiration date of the previous term, and until such time as the 215
member's successor is duly appointed and qualified. 216
(c) When appointing members to the Public Procurement 217
Review Board, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall take into 218
consideration persons who possess at least five (5) years of 219
management experience in general business, health care or finance 220
for an organization, corporation or other public or private 221
entity. Any person, or any employee or owner of a company, who 222
receives any grants, procurements or contracts that are subject to 223
approval under this section shall not be appointed to the Public 224
Procurement Review Board. Any person, or any employee or owner of 225
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a company, who is a principal of the source providing a personal 226
or professional service shall not be appointed to the Public 227
Procurement Review Board if the principal owns or controls a 228
greater than five percent (5%) interest or has an ownership value 229
of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in the source's business, 230
whichever is smaller. No member shall be an officer or employee 231
of the State of Mississippi while serving as a voting member on 232
the Public Procurement Review Board. 233
(d) Members of the Public Procurement Review Board 234
shall be entitled to per diem as authorized by Section 25-3-69 and 235
travel reimbursement as authorized by Section 25-3-41. 236
(e) The members of the Public Procurement Review Board 237
shall elect a chair from among the membership, and he or she shall 238
preside over the meetings of the board. The board shall annually 239
elect a vice chair, who shall serve in the absence of the chair. 240
No business shall be transacted, including adoption of rules of 241
procedure, without the presence of a quorum of the board. Three 242
(3) members shall be a quorum. No action shall be valid unless 243
approved by a majority of the members present and voting, entered 244
upon the minutes of the board and signed by the chair. Necessary 245
clerical and administrative support for the board shall be 246
provided by the Department of Finance and Administration. Minutes 247
shall be kept of the proceedings of each meeting, copies of which 248
shall be filed on a monthly basis with the chairs of the 249
Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees of the 250
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Senate and House of Representatives and the chairs of the 251
Appropriations Committees of the Senate and House of 252
Representatives. 253
(2) The Public Procurement Review Board shall have the 254
following powers and responsibilities: 255
(a) Approve all purchasing regulations governing the 256
purchase or lease by any agency, as defined in Section 31-7-1, of 257
commodities and equipment, except computer equipment acquired 258
pursuant to Sections 25-53-1 through 25-53-29; 259
(b) Adopt regulations governing the approval of 260
contracts let for the construction and maintenance of state 261
buildings and other state facilities as well as related contracts 262
for architectural and engineering services. 263
The provisions of this paragraph (b) shall not apply to such 264
contracts involving buildings and other facilities of state 265
institutions of higher learning which are self-administered as 266
provided under this paragraph (b) or Section 37-101-15(m); 267
(c) Adopt regulations governing any lease or rental 268
agreement by any state agency or department, including any state 269
agency financed entirely by federal funds, for space outside the 270
buildings under the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance and 271
Administration. These regulations shall require each agency 272
requesting to lease such space to provide the following 273
information that shall be published by the Department of Finance 274
and Administration on its website: the agency to lease the space; 275
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the terms of the lease; the approximate square feet to be leased; 276
the use for the space; a description of a suitable space; the 277
general location desired for the leased space; the contact 278
information for a person from the agency; the deadline date for 279
the agency to have received a lease proposal; any other specific 280
terms or conditions of the agency; and any other information 281
deemed appropriate by the Division of Real Property Management of 282
the Department of Finance and Administration or the Public 283
Procurement Review Board. The information shall be provided 284
sufficiently in advance of the time the space is needed to allow 285
the Division of Real Property Management of the Department of 286
Finance and Administration to review and preapprove the lease 287
before the time for advertisement begins; 288
(d) Adopt, in its discretion, regulations to set aside 289
at least five percent (5%) of anticipated annual expenditures for 290
the purchase of commodities from minority businesses; however, all 291
such set-aside purchases shall comply with all purchasing 292
regulations promulgated by the department and shall be subject to 293
all bid requirements. Set-aside purchases for which competitive 294
bids are required shall be made from the lowest and best minority 295
business bidder; however, if no minority bid is available or if 296
the minority bid is more than two percent (2%) higher than the 297
lowest bid, then bids shall be accepted and awarded to the lowest 298
and best bidder. However, the provisions in this paragraph shall 299
not be construed to prohibit the rejection of a bid when only one 300
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(1) bid is received. Such rejection shall be placed in the 301
minutes. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "minority 302
business" means a business which is owned by a person who is a 303
citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who 304
is: 305
(i) Black: having origins in any of the black 306
racial groups of Africa; 307
(ii) Hispanic: of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, 308
Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture 309
or origin regardless of race; 310
(iii) Asian-American: having origins in any of 311
the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian 312
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands; 313
(iv) American Indian or Alaskan Native: having 314
origins in any of the original people of North America; or 315
(v) Female; 316
(e) In consultation with and approval by the Chairs of 317
the Senate and House Public Property Committees, approve leases, 318
for a term not to exceed eighteen (18) months, entered into by 319
state agencies for the purpose of providing parking arrangements 320
for state employees who work in the Woolfolk Building, the Carroll 321
Gartin Justice Building or the Walter Sillers Office Building; 322
(f) (i) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph 323
(ii) of this paragraph, promulgate rules and regulations governing 324
the solicitation and selection of contractual services personnel, 325
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including personal and professional services contracts for any 326
form of consulting, policy analysis, public relations, marketing, 327
public affairs, legislative advocacy services or any other 328
contract that the board deems appropriate for oversight, with the 329
exception of: 330
1. Any personal service contracts entered 331
into by any agency that employs only nonstate service employees as 332
defined in Section 25-9-107(c); 333
2. Any personal service contracts entered 334
into for computer or information technology-related services 335
governed by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology 336
Services; 337
3. Any personal service contracts entered 338
into by the individual state institutions of higher learning; 339
4. Any personal service contracts entered 340
into by the Mississippi Department of Transportation; 341
5. Any personal service contracts entered 342
into by the Department of Human Services through June 30, 2019, 343
which the Executive Director of the Department of Human Services 344
determines would be useful in establishing and operating the 345
Department of Child Protection Services; 346
6. Any personal service contracts entered 347
into by the Department of Child Protection Services through June 348
30, 2019; 349
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7. Any contracts for entertainers and/or 350
performers at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds entered into by 351
the Mississippi Fair Commission; 352
8. Any contracts entered into by the 353
Department of Finance and Administration when procuring aircraft 354
maintenance, parts, equipment and/or services; 355
9. Any contract entered into by the 356
Department of Public Safety for service on specialized equipment 357
and/or software required for the operation of such specialized 358
equipment for use by the Office of Forensics Laboratories; 359
10. Any personal or professional service 360
contract entered into by the Mississippi Department of Health or 361
the Department of Revenue solely in connection with their 362
respective responsibilities under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis 363
Act from February 2, 2022, through June 30, * * * 2029; 364
11. Any contract for attorney, accountant, 365
actuary auditor, architect, engineer, anatomical pathologist, or 366
utility rate expert services; 367
12. Any personal service contracts approved 368
by the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and 369
Administration and entered into by the Coordinator of Mental 370
Health Accessibility through June 30, 2022; 371
13. Any personal or professional services 372
contract entered into by the State Department of Health in 373
carrying out its responsibilities under the ARPA Rural Water 374
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Associations Infrastructure Grant Program through June 30, * * * 375
2029; 376
14. And any personal or professional services 377
contract entered into by the Mississippi Department of 378
Environmental Quality in carrying out its responsibilities under 379
the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure Grant 380
Program Act of 2022, through June 30, * * * 2029; 381
15. Any personal or professional services 382
contract entered into by an agency for the design, operation or 383
maintenance of museum exhibits. An agency making a purchase under 384
this exemption shall publicly advertise a Request for 385
Qualifications but shall be otherwise exempt. Any contracts 386
arising from the use of this exemption must be approved by the 387
Public Procurement Review Board prior to execution by the agency; 388
16. Any personal or professional services 389
contract entered into by the Mississippi Department of 390
Environmental Quality in carrying out its responsibilities under 391
Section 49-2-13(l). This item 16 shall stand repealed on July 1, 392
2028; and 393
17. Any contract entered into by the State 394
Department of Health for service on specialized equipment and/or 395
software required for the operation of such specialized equipment 396
for the use by the Public Health Laboratory. 397
Any such rules and regulations shall provide for maintaining 398
continuous internal audit covering the activities of such agency 399
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affecting its revenue and expenditures as required under Section 400
7-7-3(6)(d). Any rules and regulation changes related to personal 401
and professional services contracts that the Public Procurement 402
Review Board may propose shall be submitted to the Chairs of the 403
Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees of the 404
Senate and House of Representatives and the Chairs of the 405
Appropriation Committees of the Senate and House of 406
Representatives at least fifteen (15) days before the board votes 407
on the proposed changes, and those rules and regulation changes, 408
if adopted, shall be promulgated in accordance with the 409
Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act. 410
(ii) From and after July 1, 2024, the Public 411
Procurement Review Board shall promulgate rules and regulations 412
that require the Department of Finance and Administration to 413
conduct personal and professional services solicitations as 414
provided in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph for those services 415
in excess of Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) for the 416
Department of Marine Resources, the Department of Wildlife, 417
Fisheries and Parks, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency 418
and the Mississippi Development Authority, with assistance to be 419
provided from these entities. Any powers that have been conferred 420
upon agencies in order to comply with the provisions of this 421
section for personal and professional services solicitations shall 422
be conferred upon the Department of Finance and Administration to 423
conduct personal and professional services solicitations for the 424
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Department of Marine Resources, the Department of Wildlife, 425
Fisheries and Parks, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency 426
and the Mississippi Development Authority for those services in 427
excess of Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00). The 428
Department of Finance and Administration shall make any 429
submissions that are required to be made by other agencies to the 430
Public Procurement Review Board for the Department of Marine 431
Resources, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the 432
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi 433
Development Authority. 434
The provisions of this subparagraph (ii) shall stand repealed 435
on June 30, 2027; 436
(g) Approve all personal and professional services 437
contracts involving the expenditures of funds in excess of 438
Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), except as provided in 439
paragraph (f) of this subsection (2) and in subsection (8); 440
(h) Develop mandatory standards with respect to 441
contractual services personnel that require invitations for public 442
bid, requests for proposals, record keeping and financial 443
responsibility of contractors. The Public Procurement Review 444
Board shall, unless exempted under this paragraph (h) or under 445
paragraph (i) or (o) of this subsection (2), require the agency 446
involved to submit the procurement to a competitive procurement 447
process, and may reserve the right to reject any or all resulting 448
procurements; 449
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(i) Prescribe certain circumstances by which agency 450
heads may enter into contracts for personal and professional 451
services without receiving prior approval from the Public 452
Procurement Review Board. The Public Procurement Review Board may 453
establish a preapproved list of providers of various personal and 454
professional services for set prices with which state agencies may 455
contract without bidding or prior approval from the board; 456
(i) Agency requirements may be fulfilled by 457
procuring services performed incident to the state's own programs. 458
The agency head shall determine in writing whether the price 459
represents a fair market value for the services. When the 460
procurements are made from other governmental entities, the 461
private sector need not be solicited; however, these contracts 462
shall still be submitted for approval to the Public Procurement 463
Review Board. 464
(ii) Contracts between two (2) state agencies, 465
both under Public Procurement Review Board purview, shall not 466
require Public Procurement Review Board approval. However, the 467
contracts shall still be entered into the enterprise resource 468
planning system; 469
(j) Provide standards for the issuance of requests for 470
proposals, the evaluation of proposals received, consideration of 471
costs and quality of services proposed, contract negotiations, the 472
administrative monitoring of contract performance by the agency 473
and successful steps in terminating a contract; 474
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(k) Present recommendations for governmental 475
privatization and to evaluate privatization proposals submitted by 476
any state agency; 477
(l) Authorize personal and professional service 478
contracts to be effective for more than one (1) year provided a 479
funding condition is included in any such multiple year contract, 480
except the State Board of Education, which shall have the 481
authority to enter into contractual agreements for student 482
assessment for a period up to ten (10) years. The State Board of 483
Education shall procure these services in accordance with the 484
Public Procurement Review Board procurement regulations; 485
(m) Request the State Auditor to conduct a performance 486
audit on any personal or professional service contract; 487
(n) Prepare an annual report to the Legislature 488
concerning the issuance of personal and professional services 489
contracts during the previous year, collecting any necessary 490
information from state agencies in making such report; 491
(o) Develop and implement the following standards and 492
procedures for the approval of any sole source contract for 493
personal and professional services regardless of the value of the 494
procurement: 495
(i) For the purposes of this paragraph (o), the 496
term "sole source" means only one (1) source is available that can 497
provide the required personal or professional service. 498
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(ii) An agency that has been issued a binding, 499
valid court order mandating that a particular source or provider 500
must be used for the required service must include a copy of the 501
applicable court order in all future sole source contract reviews 502
for the particular personal or professional service referenced in 503
the court order. 504
(iii) Any agency alleging to have a sole source 505
for any personal or professional service, other than those 506
exempted under paragraph (f) of this subsection (2) and subsection 507
(8), shall publish on the procurement portal website established 508
by Sections 25-53-151 and 27-104-165, for at least fourteen (14) 509
days, the terms of the proposed contract for those services. In 510
addition, the publication shall include, but is not limited to, 511
the following information: 512
1. The personal or professional service 513
offered in the contract; 514
2. An explanation of why the personal or 515
professional service is the only one that can meet the needs of 516
the agency; 517
3. An explanation of why the source is the 518
only person or entity that can provide the required personal or 519
professional service; 520
4. An explanation of why the amount to be 521
expended for the personal or professional service is reasonable; 522
and 523
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5. The efforts that the agency went through 524
to obtain the best possible price for the personal or professional 525
service. 526
(iv) If any person or entity objects and proposes 527
that the personal or professional service published under 528
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (o) is not a sole source 529
service and can be provided by another person or entity, then the 530
objecting person or entity shall notify the Public Procurement 531
Review Board and the agency that published the proposed sole 532
source contract with a detailed explanation of why the personal or 533
professional service is not a sole source service. 534
(v) 1. If the agency determines after review that 535
the personal or professional service in the proposed sole source 536
contract can be provided by another person or entity, then the 537
agency must withdraw the sole source contract publication from the 538
procurement portal website and submit the procurement of the 539
personal or professional service to an advertised competitive bid 540
or selection process. 541
2. If the agency determines after review that 542
there is only one (1) source for the required personal or 543
professional service, then the agency may appeal to the Public 544
Procurement Review Board. The agency has the burden of proving 545
that the personal or professional service is only provided by one 546
(1) source. 547
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3. If the Public Procurement Review Board has 548
any reasonable doubt as to whether the personal or professional 549
service can only be provided by one (1) source, then the agency 550
must submit the procurement of the personal or professional 551
service to an advertised competitive bid or selection process. No 552
action taken by the Public Procurement Review Board in this appeal 553
process shall be valid unless approved by a majority of the 554
members of the Public Procurement Review Board present and voting. 555
(vi) The Public Procurement Review Board shall 556
prepare and submit a quarterly report to the House of 557
Representatives and Senate Accountability, Efficiency and 558
Transparency Committees that details the sole source contracts 559
presented to the Public Procurement Review Board and the reasons 560
that the Public Procurement Review Board approved or rejected each 561
contract. These quarterly reports shall also include the 562
documentation and memoranda required in subsection (4) of this 563
section. An agency that submitted a sole source contract shall be 564
prepared to explain the sole source contract to each committee by 565
December 15 of each year upon request by the committee; 566
(p) Assess any fines and administrative penalties 567
provided for in Sections 31-7-401 through 31-7-423. 568
(3) All submissions shall be made sufficiently in advance of 569
each monthly meeting of the Public Procurement Review Board as 570
prescribed by the Public Procurement Review Board. If the Public 571
Procurement Review Board rejects any contract submitted for review 572
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or approval, the Public Procurement Review Board shall clearly set 573
out the reasons for its action, including, but not limited to, the 574
policy that the agency has violated in its submitted contract and 575
any corrective actions that the agency may take to amend the 576
contract to comply with the rules and regulations of the Public 577
Procurement Review Board. 578
(4) All sole source contracts for personal and professional 579
services awarded by state agencies, other than those exempted 580
under Section 27-104-7(2)(f) and (8), whether approved by an 581
agency head or the Public Procurement Review Board, shall contain 582
in the procurement file a written determination for the approval, 583
using a request form furnished by the Public Procurement Review 584
Board. The written determination shall document the basis for the 585
determination, including any market analysis conducted in order to 586
ensure that the service required was practicably available from 587
only one (1) source. A memorandum shall accompany the request 588
form and address the following four (4) points: 589
(a) Explanation of why this service is the only service 590
that can meet the needs of the purchasing agency; 591
(b) Explanation of why this vendor is the only 592
practicably available source from which to obtain this service; 593
(c) Explanation of why the price is considered 594
reasonable; and 595
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(d) Description of the efforts that were made to 596
conduct a noncompetitive negotiation to get the best possible 597
price for the taxpayers. 598
(5) In conjunction with the State Personnel Board, the 599
Public Procurement Review Board shall develop and promulgate rules 600
and regulations to define the allowable legal relationship between 601
contract employees and the contracting departments, agencies and 602
institutions of state government under the jurisdiction of the 603
State Personnel Board, in compliance with the applicable rules and 604
regulations of the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for 605
federal employment tax purposes. Under these regulations, the 606
usual common law rules are applicable to determine and require 607
that such worker is an independent contractor and not an employee, 608
requiring evidence of lawful behavioral control, lawful financial 609
control and lawful relationship of the parties. Any state 610
department, agency or institution shall only be authorized to 611
contract for personnel services in compliance with those 612
regulations. 613
(6) No member of the Public Procurement Review Board shall 614
use his or her official authority or influence to coerce, by 615
threat of discharge from employment, or otherwise, the purchase of 616
commodities, the contracting for personal or professional 617
services, or the contracting for public construction under this 618
chapter. 619
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(7) Notwithstanding any other laws or rules to the contrary, 620
the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall not be 621
applicable to the Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport. 622
(8) Nothing in this section shall impair or limit the 623
authority of the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' 624
Retirement System to enter into any personal or professional 625
services contracts directly related to their constitutional 626
obligation to manage the trust funds, including, but not limited 627
to, actuarial, custodial banks, cash management, investment 628
consultant and investment management contracts. Nothing in this 629
section shall impair or limit the authority of the State Treasurer 630
to enter into any personal or professional services contracts 631
involving the management of trust funds, including, but not 632
limited to, actuarial, custodial banks, cash management, 633
investment consultant and investment management contracts. 634
(9) Through December 31, * * * 2029, the provisions of this 635
section related to rental agreements or leasing of real property 636
for the purpose of conducting agency business shall not apply to 637
the Office of Workforce Development created in Section 37-153-7. 638
SECTION 4. Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 639
amended as follows: 640
31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall 641
purchase their commodities and printing; contract for garbage 642
collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or 643
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disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; contract for 644
public construction; and contract for rentals as herein provided. 645
(a) Bidding procedure for purchases not over $5,000.00. 646
Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more than Five 647
Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), exclusive of freight or shipping 648
charges, may be made without advertising or otherwise requesting 649
competitive bids. However, nothing contained in this paragraph 650
(a) shall be construed to prohibit any agency or governing 651
authority from establishing procedures which require competitive 652
bids on purchases of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or less. 653
(b) Bidding procedure for purchases over $5,000.00 but 654
not over $75,000.00. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 655
more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) but not more than 656
Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of freight 657
and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder 658
without publishing or posting advertisement for bids, provided at 659
least two (2) competitive written bids have been obtained. Any 660
state agency or community or junior college purchasing commodities 661
or procuring construction pursuant to this paragraph (b) may 662
authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, to accept the 663
lowest competitive written bid under Seventy-five Thousand Dollars 664
($75,000.00). Any governing authority purchasing commodities 665
pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, 666
or his designee, with regard to governing authorities other than 667
counties, or its purchase clerk, or his designee, with regard to 668
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counties, to accept the lowest and best competitive written bid. 669
Such authorization shall be made in writing by the governing 670
authority and shall be maintained on file in the primary office of 671
the agency and recorded in the official minutes of the governing 672
authority, as appropriate. The purchasing agent or the purchase 673
clerk, or his designee, as the case may be, and not the governing 674
authority, shall be liable for any penalties and/or damages as may 675
be imposed by law for any act or omission of the purchasing agent 676
or purchase clerk, or his designee, constituting a violation of 677
law in accepting any bid without approval by the governing 678
authority. The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid 679
submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or 680
governing authority and signed by authorized personnel 681
representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's 682
letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized 683
personnel representing the vendor. "Competitive" shall mean that 684
the bids are developed based upon comparable identification of the 685
needs and are developed independently and without knowledge of 686
other bids or prospective bids. Any bid item for construction in 687
excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) shall be broken down 688
by components to provide detail of component description and 689
pricing. These details shall be submitted with the written bids 690
and become part of the bid evaluation criteria. Bids may be 691
submitted by facsimile, electronic mail or other generally 692
accepted method of information distribution. Bids submitted by 693
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electronic transmission shall not require the signature of the 694
vendor's representative unless required by agencies or governing 695
authorities. 696
(c) Bidding procedure for purchases over $75,000.00. 697
(i) Publication requirement. 698
1. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 699
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of 700
freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best 701
bidder after advertising for competitive bids once each week for 702
two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the 703
county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority 704
is located. However, all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 705
projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) 706
shall be bid. All references to American Recovery and 707
Reinvestment Act projects in this section shall not apply to 708
programs identified in Division B of the American Recovery and 709
Reinvestment Act. 710
2. Reverse auctions shall be the primary 711
method for receiving bids during the bidding process. If a 712
purchasing entity determines that a reverse auction is not in the 713
best interest of the state, then that determination must be 714
approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. The purchasing 715
entity shall submit a detailed explanation of why a reverse 716
auction would not be in the best interest of the state and present 717
an alternative process to be approved by the Public Procurement 718
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Review Board. If the Public Procurement Review Board authorizes 719
the purchasing entity to solicit bids with a method other than 720
reverse auction, then the purchasing entity may designate the 721
other methods by which the bids will be received, including, but 722
not limited to, bids sealed in an envelope, bids received 723
electronically in a secure system, or bids received by any other 724
method that promotes open competition and has been approved by the 725
Office of Purchasing and Travel. However, reverse auction shall 726
not be used for any public contract for design, construction, 727
improvement, repair or remodeling of any public facilities, 728
including the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment or goods 729
for same and including buildings, roads and bridges. The Public 730
Procurement Review Board must approve any contract entered into by 731
alternative process. The provisions of this item 2 shall not 732
apply to the individual state institutions of higher learning. 733
The provisions of this item 2 requiring reverse auction as the 734
primary method of receiving bids shall not apply to term contract 735
purchases as provided in paragraph (n) of this section; however, a 736
purchasing entity may, in its discretion, utilize reverse auction 737
for such purchases. The provisions of this item 2 shall not apply 738
to individual public schools, including public charter schools and 739
public school districts, only when purchasing copyrighted 740
educational supplemental materials and software as a service 741
product. For such purchases, a local school board may authorize a 742
purchasing entity in its jurisdiction to use a Request for 743
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Qualifications which promotes open competition and meets the 744
requirements of the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 745
3. The date as published for the bid opening 746
shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last 747
published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction 748
project in which the estimated cost is in excess of Seventy-five 749
Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in 750
less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is 751
published and the notice for the purchase of such construction 752
shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. 753
The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment 754
shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, 755
list the contracts to be made or types of equipment or supplies to 756
be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not 757
published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. If 758
there is no newspaper published in the county or municipality, 759
then such notice shall be given by posting same at the courthouse, 760
or for municipalities at the city hall, and at two (2) other 761
public places in the county or municipality, and also by 762
publication once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in some 763
newspaper having a general circulation in the county or 764
municipality in the above-provided manner. On the same date that 765
the notice is submitted to the newspaper for publication, the 766
agency or governing authority involved shall mail written notice 767
to, or provide electronic notification to the main office of the 768
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Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program under the 769
Mississippi Development Authority that contains the same 770
information as that in the published notice. Within one (1) 771
working day of the contract award, the agency or governing 772
authority shall post to the designated web page maintained by the 773
Department of Finance and Administration, notice of the award, 774
including the award recipient, the contract amount, and a brief 775
summary of the contract in accordance with rules promulgated by 776
the department. Within one (1) working day of the contract 777
execution, the agency or governing authority shall post to the 778
designated web page maintained by the Department of Finance and 779
Administration a summary of the executed contract and make a copy 780
of the appropriately redacted contract documents available for 781
linking to the designated web page in accordance with the rules 782
promulgated by the department. The information provided by the 783
agency or governing authority shall be posted to the web page 784
until the project is completed. 785
4. Agencies and governing authorities using 786
federal funds for the procurement of any good or service, 787
including exempt personal and professional services, must comply 788
with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and 789
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards - Subpart D - Post Federal 790
Award Requirements Procurement Standards, in accordance with 2 CFR 791
200.317 through 2 CFR 200.327. 792
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(ii) Bidding process amendment procedure. If all 793
plans and/or specifications are published in the notification, 794
then the plans and/or specifications may not be amended. If all 795
plans and/or specifications are not published in the notification, 796
then amendments to the plans/specifications, bid opening date, bid 797
opening time and place may be made, provided that the agency or 798
governing authority maintains a list of all prospective bidders 799
who are known to have received a copy of the bid documents and all 800
such prospective bidders are sent copies of all amendments. This 801
notification of amendments may be made via mail, facsimile, 802
electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information 803
distribution. No addendum to bid specifications may be issued 804
within two (2) working days of the time established for the 805
receipt of bids unless such addendum also amends the bid opening 806
to a date not less than five (5) working days after the date of 807
the addendum. 808
(iii) Filing requirement. In all cases involving 809
governing authorities, before the notice shall be published or 810
posted, the plans or specifications for the construction or 811
equipment being sought shall be filed with the clerk of the board 812
of the governing authority. In addition to these requirements, a 813
bid file shall be established which shall indicate those vendors 814
to whom such solicitations and specifications were issued, and 815
such file shall also contain such information as is pertinent to 816
the bid. 817
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(iv) Specification restrictions. 818
1. Specifications pertinent to such bidding 819
shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of 820
domestic manufacture. However, if valid justification is 821
presented, the Department of Finance and Administration or the 822
board of a governing authority may approve a request for specific 823
equipment necessary to perform a specific job. Further, such 824
justification, when placed on the minutes of the board of a 825
governing authority, may serve as authority for that governing 826
authority to write specifications to require a specific item of 827
equipment needed to perform a specific job. In addition to these 828
requirements, from and after July 1, 1990, vendors of relocatable 829
classrooms and the specifications for the purchase of such 830
relocatable classrooms published by local school boards shall meet 831
all pertinent regulations of the State Board of Education, 832
including prior approval of such bid by the State Department of 833
Education. 834
2. Specifications for construction projects 835
may include an allowance for commodities, equipment, furniture, 836
construction materials or systems in which prospective bidders are 837
instructed to include in their bids specified amounts for such 838
items so long as the allowance items are acquired by the vendor in 839
a commercially reasonable manner and approved by the 840
agency/governing authority. Such acquisitions shall not be made 841
to circumvent the public purchasing laws. 842
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(v) Electronic bids. Agencies and governing 843
authorities shall provide a secure electronic interactive system 844
for the submittal of bids requiring competitive bidding that shall 845
be an additional bidding option for those bidders who choose to 846
submit their bids electronically. The Department of Finance and 847
Administration shall provide, by regulation, the standards that 848
agencies must follow when receiving electronic bids. Agencies and 849
governing authorities shall make the appropriate provisions 850
necessary to accept electronic bids from those bidders who choose 851
to submit their bids electronically for all purchases requiring 852
competitive bidding under this section. Any special condition or 853
requirement for the electronic bid submission shall be specified 854
in the advertisement for bids required by this section. Agencies 855
or governing authorities that are currently without available high 856
speed Internet access shall be exempt from the requirement of this 857
subparagraph (v) until such time that high speed Internet access 858
becomes available. Any county having a population of less than 859
twenty thousand (20,000) shall be exempt from the provisions of 860
this subparagraph (v). Any municipality having a population of 861
less than ten thousand (10,000) shall be exempt from the 862
provisions of this subparagraph (v). The provisions of this 863
subparagraph (v) shall not require any bidder to submit bids 864
electronically. When construction bids are submitted 865
electronically, the requirement for including a certificate of 866
responsibility, or a statement that the bid enclosed does not 867
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exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), on the exterior of the 868
bid envelope as indicated in Section 31-3-21(1) and (2) shall be 869
deemed in compliance with by including same as an attachment with 870
the electronic bid submittal. 871
(d) Lowest and best bid decision procedure. 872
(i) Decision procedure. Purchases may be made 873
from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and 874
best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 875
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 876
buy-back provisions and other relevant provisions may be included 877
in the best bid calculation. All best bid procedures for state 878
agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the 879
Department of Finance and Administration. If any governing 880
authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually 881
submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and 882
narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to 883
be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the 884
accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency 885
or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not 886
included in the specifications. 887
(ii) Decision procedure for Certified Purchasing 888
Offices. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 889
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), Certified Purchasing 890
Offices may also use the following procedure: Purchases may be 891
made from the bidder offering the best value. In determining the 892
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best value bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 893
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 894
buy-back provisions, documented previous experience, training 895
costs and other relevant provisions, including, but not limited 896
to, a bidder having a local office and inventory located within 897
the jurisdiction of the governing authority, may be included in 898
the best value calculation. This provision shall authorize 899
Certified Purchasing Offices to utilize a Request For Proposals 900
(RFP) process when purchasing commodities. All best value 901
procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with 902
regulations established by the Department of Finance and 903
Administration. No agency or governing authority shall accept a 904
bid based on items or criteria not included in the specifications. 905
(iii) Decision procedure for Prequalified 906
Construction. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 907
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), where purchase involves 908
renovation, restoration, or both, of the State Capitol Building or 909
any other historical building designated for at least five (5) 910
years as a Mississippi Landmark by the Board of Trustees of the 911
Department of Archives and History under the authority of Sections 912
39-7-7 and 39-7-11, or for any other construction procurement with 913
a minimum construction cost of Ten Million Dollars 914
($10,000,000.00) where the agency or governing authority has 915
determined that prequalification of bidders is in the best 916
interest of the state, the agency or governing authority may use 917
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the following procedure: Purchases may be made from the lowest 918
and best prequalified bidder. Solicitation of the 919
prequalification of bidders shall be in accordance with paragraph 920
(c) of this section and shall be determined not less than fifteen 921
(15) working days before the prequalified bidders are invited to 922
submit bids. Prequalification criteria shall be limited to 923
bidder's and proposed sub-contractor's knowledge and experience on 924
projects of similar size and scope, past performance, project 925
management team and financial stability. All best bid and 926
prequalification procedures for state agencies must be in 927
compliance with regulations established by the Department of 928
Finance and Administration. If any governing authority accepts a 929
bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place 930
on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing 931
that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best 932
bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the 933
dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority 934
shall accept a bid based on items not included in the 935
specifications. 936
(iv) Construction project negotiations authority. 937
If the lowest and best bid is not more than ten percent (10%) 938
above the amount of funds allocated for a public construction or 939
renovation project, then the agency or governing authority shall 940
be permitted to negotiate with the lowest bidder in order to enter 941
into a contract for an amount not to exceed the funds allocated. 942
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(e) Lease-purchase authorization. For the purposes of 943
this section, the term "equipment" shall mean equipment, furniture 944
and, if applicable, associated software and other applicable 945
direct costs associated with the acquisition. Any lease-purchase 946
of equipment which an agency is not required to lease-purchase 947
under the master lease-purchase program pursuant to Section 948
31-7-10 and any lease-purchase of equipment which a governing 949
authority elects to lease-purchase may be acquired by a 950
lease-purchase agreement under this paragraph (e). Lease-purchase 951
financing may also be obtained from the vendor or from a 952
third-party source after having solicited and obtained at least 953
two (2) written competitive bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of 954
this section, for such financing without advertising for such 955
bids. Solicitation for the bids for financing may occur before or 956
after acceptance of bids for the purchase of such equipment or, 957
where no such bids for purchase are required, at any time before 958
the purchase thereof. No such lease-purchase agreement shall be 959
for an annual rate of interest which is greater than the overall 960
maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation 961
indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101, and the term of 962
such lease-purchase agreement shall not exceed the useful life of 963
equipment covered thereby as determined according to the upper 964
limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the 965
Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the 966
Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal 967
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Revenue Code and regulations thereunder as in effect on December 968
31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to 969
any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. Any lease-purchase 970
agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph (e) may contain 971
any of the terms and conditions which a master lease-purchase 972
agreement may contain under the provisions of Section 31-7-10(5), 973
and shall contain an annual allocation dependency clause 974
substantially similar to that set forth in Section 31-7-10(8). 975
Each agency or governing authority entering into a lease-purchase 976
transaction pursuant to this paragraph (e) shall maintain with 977
respect to each such lease-purchase transaction the same 978
information as required to be maintained by the Department of 979
Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-10(13). 980
However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to 981
permit agencies to acquire items of equipment with a total 982
acquisition cost in the aggregate of less than Ten Thousand 983
Dollars ($10,000.00) by a single lease-purchase transaction. All 984
equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired by 985
lease-purchase under this paragraph and all lease-purchase 986
payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi 987
sales, use and ad valorem taxes. Interest paid on any 988
lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from 989
State of Mississippi income taxation. 990
(f) Alternate bid authorization. When necessary to 991
ensure ready availability of commodities for public works and the 992
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timely completion of public projects, no more than two (2) 993
alternate bids may be accepted by a governing authority for 994
commodities. No purchases may be made through use of such 995
alternate bids procedure unless the lowest and best bidder cannot 996
deliver the commodities contained in his bid. In that event, 997
purchases of such commodities may be made from one (1) of the 998
bidders whose bid was accepted as an alternate. 999
(g) Construction contract change authorization. In the 1000
event a determination is made by an agency or governing authority 1001
after a construction contract is let that changes or modifications 1002
to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the 1003
purpose of the agency or the governing authority, such agency or 1004
governing authority may, in its discretion, order such changes 1005
pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the 1006
circumstances without the necessity of further public bids; 1007
provided that such change shall be made in a commercially 1008
reasonable manner and shall not be made to circumvent the public 1009
purchasing statutes. In addition to any other authorized person, 1010
the architect or engineer hired by an agency or governing 1011
authority with respect to any public construction contract shall 1012
have the authority, when granted by an agency or governing 1013
authority, to authorize changes or modifications to the original 1014
contract without the necessity of prior approval of the agency or 1015
governing authority when any such change or modification is less 1016
than one percent (1%) of the total contract amount. The agency or 1017
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governing authority may limit the number, manner or frequency of 1018
such emergency changes or modifications. 1019
(h) Petroleum purchase alternative. In addition to 1020
other methods of purchasing authorized in this chapter, when any 1021
agency or governing authority shall have a need for gas, diesel 1022
fuel, oils and/or other petroleum products in excess of the amount 1023
set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, such agency or 1024
governing authority may purchase the commodity after having 1025
solicited and obtained at least two (2) competitive written bids, 1026
as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. If two (2) 1027
competitive written bids are not obtained, the entity shall comply 1028
with the procedures set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. 1029
In the event any agency or governing authority shall have 1030
advertised for bids for the purchase of gas, diesel fuel, oils and 1031
other petroleum products and coal and no acceptable bids can be 1032
obtained, such agency or governing authority is authorized and 1033
directed to enter into any negotiations necessary to secure the 1034
lowest and best contract available for the purchase of such 1035
commodities. 1036
(i) Road construction petroleum products price 1037
adjustment clause authorization. Any agency or governing 1038
authority authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, 1039
maintenance, surfacing or repair of highways, roads or streets, 1040
may include in its bid proposal and contract documents a price 1041
adjustment clause with relation to the cost to the contractor, 1042
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including taxes, based upon an industry-wide cost index, of 1043
petroleum products including asphalt used in the performance or 1044
execution of the contract or in the production or manufacture of 1045
materials for use in such performance. Such industry-wide index 1046
shall be established and published monthly by the Mississippi 1047
Department of Transportation with a copy thereof to be mailed, 1048
upon request, to the clerks of the governing authority of each 1049
municipality and the clerks of each board of supervisors 1050
throughout the state. The price adjustment clause shall be based 1051
on the cost of such petroleum products only and shall not include 1052
any additional profit or overhead as part of the adjustment. The 1053
bid proposals or document contract shall contain the basis and 1054
methods of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of 1055
such petroleum products. 1056
(j) State agency emergency purchase procedure. If the 1057
governing board or the executive head, or his designees, of any 1058
agency of the state shall determine that an emergency exists in 1059
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 1060
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 1061
bidding would be detrimental to the interests of the state, then 1062
the head of such agency, or his designees, shall file with the 1063
Department of Finance and Administration (i) a statement 1064
explaining the conditions and circumstances of the emergency, 1065
which shall include a detailed description of the events leading 1066
up to the situation and the negative impact to the entity if the 1067
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purchase is made following the statutory requirements set forth in 1068
paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section, and (ii) a certified 1069
copy of the appropriate minutes of the board of such agency 1070
requesting the emergency purchase, if applicable. Upon receipt of 1071
the statement and applicable board certification, the State Fiscal 1072
Officer, or his designees, may, in writing, authorize the purchase 1073
or repair without having to comply with competitive bidding 1074
requirements. 1075
If the governing board or the executive head, or his 1076
designees, of any agency determines that an emergency exists in 1077
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 1078
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 1079
bidding would threaten the health or safety of any person, or the 1080
preservation or protection of property, then the provisions in 1081
this section for competitive bidding shall not apply, and any 1082
officer or agent of the agency having general or specific 1083
authority for making the purchase or repair contract shall approve 1084
the bill presented for payment, and he shall certify in writing 1085
from whom the purchase was made, or with whom the repair contract 1086
was made. 1087
Total purchases made under this paragraph (j) shall only be 1088
for the purpose of meeting needs created by the emergency 1089
situation. Following the emergency purchase, documentation of the 1090
purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the 1091
purchase price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be 1092
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filed with the Department of Finance and Administration. Any 1093
contract awarded pursuant to this paragraph (j) shall not exceed a 1094
term of one (1) year. 1095
Purchases under the grant program established under Section 1096
37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the directive that school 1097
districts create a distance learning plan and fulfill technology 1098
needs expeditiously shall be deemed an emergency purchase for 1099
purposes of this paragraph (j). 1100
(k) Governing authority emergency purchase procedure. 1101
If the governing authority, or the governing authority acting 1102
through its designee, shall determine that an emergency exists in 1103
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 1104
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 1105
bidding would be detrimental to the interest of the governing 1106
authority, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding 1107
shall not apply and any officer or agent of such governing 1108
authority having general or special authority therefor in making 1109
such purchase or repair shall approve the bill presented therefor, 1110
and he shall certify in writing thereon from whom such purchase 1111
was made, or with whom such a repair contract was made. At the 1112
board meeting next following the emergency purchase or repair 1113
contract, documentation of the purchase or repair contract, 1114
including a description of the commodity purchased, the price 1115
thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the 1116
board and shall be placed on the minutes of the board of such 1117
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governing authority. Purchases under the grant program 1118
established under Section 37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the 1119
directive that school districts create a distance learning plan 1120
and fulfill technology needs expeditiously shall be deemed an 1121
emergency purchase for purposes of this paragraph (k). 1122
(l) Hospital purchase, lease-purchase and lease 1123
authorization. 1124
(i) The commissioners or board of trustees of any 1125
public hospital may contract with such lowest and best bidder for 1126
the purchase or lease-purchase of any commodity under a contract 1127
of purchase or lease-purchase agreement whose obligatory payment 1128
terms do not exceed five (5) years. 1129
(ii) In addition to the authority granted in 1130
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (l), the commissioners or board 1131
of trustees is authorized to enter into contracts for the lease of 1132
equipment or services, or both, which it considers necessary for 1133
the proper care of patients if, in its opinion, it is not 1134
financially feasible to purchase the necessary equipment or 1135
services. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or 1136
services executed by the commissioners or board shall not exceed a 1137
maximum of five (5) years' duration and shall include a 1138
cancellation clause based on unavailability of funds. If such 1139
cancellation clause is exercised, there shall be no further 1140
liability on the part of the lessee. Any such contract for the 1141
lease of equipment or services executed on behalf of the 1142
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commissioners or board that complies with the provisions of this 1143
subparagraph (ii) shall be excepted from the bid requirements set 1144
forth in this section. 1145
(m) Exceptions from bidding requirements. Excepted 1146
from bid requirements are: 1147
(i) Purchasing agreements approved by department. 1148
Purchasing agreements, contracts and maximum price regulations 1149
executed or approved by the Department of Finance and 1150
Administration. 1151
(ii) Outside equipment repairs. Repairs to 1152
equipment, when such repairs are made by repair facilities in the 1153
private sector; however, engines, transmissions, rear axles and/or 1154
other such components shall not be included in this exemption when 1155
replaced as a complete unit instead of being repaired and the need 1156
for such total component replacement is known before disassembly 1157
of the component; however, invoices identifying the equipment, 1158
specific repairs made, parts identified by number and name, 1159
supplies used in such repairs, and the number of hours of labor 1160
and costs therefor shall be required for the payment for such 1161
repairs. 1162
(iii) In-house equipment repairs. Purchases of 1163
parts for repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by 1164
personnel of the agency or governing authority; however, entire 1165
assemblies, such as engines or transmissions, shall not be 1166
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included in this exemption when the entire assembly is being 1167
replaced instead of being repaired. 1168
(iv) Raw gravel or dirt. Raw unprocessed deposits 1169
of gravel or fill dirt which are to be removed and transported by 1170
the purchaser. 1171
(v) Governmental equipment auctions. Motor 1172
vehicles or other equipment purchased from a federal agency or 1173
authority, another governing authority or state agency of the 1174
State of Mississippi, or any governing authority or state agency 1175
of another state at a public auction held for the purpose of 1176
disposing of such vehicles or other equipment. Any purchase by a 1177
governing authority under the exemption authorized by this 1178
subparagraph (v) shall require advance authorization spread upon 1179
the minutes of the governing authority to include the listing of 1180
the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid 1181
authorized to be paid for each item or items. 1182
(vi) Intergovernmental sales and transfers. 1183
Purchases, sales, transfers or trades by governing authorities or 1184
state agencies when such purchases, sales, transfers or trades are 1185
made by a private treaty agreement or through means of 1186
negotiation, from any federal agency or authority, another 1187
governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, 1188
or any state agency or governing authority of another state. 1189
Nothing in this section shall permit such purchases through public 1190
auction except as provided for in subparagraph (v) of this 1191
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paragraph (m). It is the intent of this section to allow 1192
governmental entities to dispose of and/or purchase commodities 1193
from other governmental entities at a price that is agreed to by 1194
both parties. This shall allow for purchases and/or sales at 1195
prices which may be determined to be below the market value if the 1196
selling entity determines that the sale at below market value is 1197
in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state. Governing 1198
authorities shall place the terms of the agreement and any 1199
justification on the minutes, and state agencies shall obtain 1200
approval from the Department of Finance and Administration, prior 1201
to releasing or taking possession of the commodities. 1202
(vii) Perishable supplies or food. Perishable 1203
supplies or food purchased for use in connection with hospitals, 1204
the school lunch programs, homemaking programs and for the feeding 1205
of county or municipal prisoners. 1206
(viii) Single-source items. Noncompetitive items 1207
available from one (1) source only. In connection with the 1208
purchase of noncompetitive items only available from one (1) 1209
source, a certification of the conditions and circumstances 1210
requiring the purchase shall be filed by the agency with the 1211
Department of Finance and Administration and by the governing 1212
authority with the board of the governing authority. Upon receipt 1213
of that certification the Department of Finance and Administration 1214
or the board of the governing authority, as the case may be, may, 1215
in writing, authorize the purchase, which authority shall be noted 1216
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on the minutes of the body at the next regular meeting thereafter. 1217
In those situations, a governing authority is not required to 1218
obtain the approval of the Department of Finance and 1219
Administration. Following the purchase, the executive head of the 1220
state agency, or his designees, shall file with the Department of 1221
Finance and Administration, documentation of the purchase, 1222
including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase 1223
price thereof and the source from whom it was purchased. 1224
(ix) Waste disposal facility construction 1225
contracts. Construction of incinerators and other facilities for 1226
disposal of solid wastes in which products either generated 1227
therein, such as steam, or recovered therefrom, such as materials 1228
for recycling, are to be sold or otherwise disposed of; however, 1229
in constructing such facilities, a governing authority or agency 1230
shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised for in the 1231
same manner as provided herein for seeking bids for public 1232
construction projects, concerning the design, construction, 1233
ownership, operation and/or maintenance of such facilities, 1234
wherein such requests for proposals when issued shall contain 1235
terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 1236
technology, environmental compatibility, legal responsibilities 1237
and such other matters as are determined by the governing 1238
authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; and after 1239
responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, 1240
the governing authority or agency may select the most qualified 1241
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proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other 1242
relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the 1243
terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of 1244
the persons or firms submitting proposals. 1245
(x) Hospital group purchase contracts. Supplies, 1246
commodities and equipment purchased by hospitals through group 1247
purchase programs pursuant to Section 31-7-38. 1248
(xi) Information technology products. Purchases 1249
of information technology products made by governing authorities 1250
under the provisions of purchase schedules, or contracts executed 1251
or approved by the Mississippi Department of Information 1252
Technology Services and designated for use by governing 1253
authorities. 1254
(xii) Energy efficiency services and equipment. 1255
Energy efficiency services and equipment acquired by school 1256
districts, community and junior colleges, institutions of higher 1257
learning and state agencies or other applicable governmental 1258
entities on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis 1259
pursuant to Section 31-7-14. 1260
(xiii) Municipal electrical utility system fuel. 1261
Purchases of coal and/or natural gas by municipally owned electric 1262
power generating systems that have the capacity to use both coal 1263
and natural gas for the generation of electric power. 1264
(xiv) Library books and other reference materials. 1265
Purchases by libraries or for libraries of books and periodicals; 1266
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processed film, videocassette tapes, filmstrips and slides; 1267
recorded audiotapes, cassettes and diskettes; and any such items 1268
as would be used for teaching, research or other information 1269
distribution; however, equipment such as projectors, recorders, 1270
audio or video equipment, and monitor televisions are not exempt 1271
under this subparagraph. 1272
(xv) Unmarked vehicles. Purchases of unmarked 1273
vehicles when such purchases are made in accordance with 1274
purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and 1275
Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2). 1276
(xvi) Election ballots. Purchases of ballots 1277
printed pursuant to Section 23-15-351. 1278
(xvii) Multichannel interactive video systems. 1279
From and after July 1, 1990, contracts by Mississippi Authority 1280
for Educational Television with any private educational 1281
institution or private nonprofit organization whose purposes are 1282
educational in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or 1283
lease-purchase of facilities and equipment and the employment of 1284
personnel for providing multichannel interactive video systems 1285
(ITSF) in the school districts of this state. 1286
(xviii) Purchases of prison industry products by 1287
the Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 1288
privately owned prisons. Purchases made by the Mississippi 1289
Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 1290
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privately owned prisons involving any item that is manufactured, 1291
processed, grown or produced from the state's prison industries. 1292
(xix) Undercover operations equipment. Purchases 1293
of surveillance equipment or any other high-tech equipment to be 1294
used by law enforcement agents in undercover operations, provided 1295
that any such purchase shall be in compliance with regulations 1296
established by the Department of Finance and Administration. 1297
(xx) Junior college books for rent. Purchases by 1298
community or junior colleges of textbooks which are obtained for 1299
the purpose of renting such books to students as part of a book 1300
service system. 1301
(xxi) Certain school district purchases. 1302
Purchases of commodities made by school districts from vendors 1303
with which any levying authority of the school district, as 1304
defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive 1305
bidding procedures for purchases of the same commodities. 1306
(xxii) Garbage, solid waste and sewage contracts. 1307
Contracts for garbage collection or disposal, contracts for solid 1308
waste collection or disposal and contracts for sewage collection 1309
or disposal. 1310
(xxiii) Municipal water tank maintenance 1311
contracts. Professional maintenance program contracts for the 1312
repair or maintenance of municipal water tanks, which provide 1313
professional services needed to maintain municipal water storage 1314
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tanks for a fixed annual fee for a duration of two (2) or more 1315
years. 1316
(xxiv) Purchases of Mississippi Industries for the 1317
Blind products or services. Purchases made by state agencies or 1318
governing authorities involving any item that is manufactured, 1319
processed or produced by, or any services provided by, the 1320
Mississippi Industries for the Blind. 1321
(xxv) Purchases of state-adopted textbooks. 1322
Purchases of state-adopted textbooks by public school districts. 1323
(xxvi) Certain purchases under the Mississippi 1324
Major Economic Impact Act. Contracts entered into pursuant to the 1325
provisions of Section 57-75-9(2), (3) and (4). 1326
(xxvii) Used heavy or specialized machinery or 1327
equipment for installation of soil and water conservation 1328
practices purchased at auction. Used heavy or specialized 1329
machinery or equipment used for the installation and 1330
implementation of soil and water conservation practices or 1331
measures purchased subject to the restrictions provided in 1332
Sections 69-27-331 through 69-27-341. Any purchase by the State 1333
Soil and Water Conservation Commission under the exemption 1334
authorized by this subparagraph shall require advance 1335
authorization spread upon the minutes of the commission to include 1336
the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and 1337
the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items. 1338
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(xxviii) Hospital lease of equipment or services. 1339
Leases by hospitals of equipment or services if the leases are in 1340
compliance with paragraph (l)(ii). 1341
(xxix) Purchases made pursuant to qualified 1342
cooperative purchasing agreements. Purchases made by certified 1343
purchasing offices of state agencies or governing authorities 1344
under cooperative purchasing agreements previously approved by the 1345
Office of Purchasing and Travel and established by or for any 1346
municipality, county, parish or state government or the federal 1347
government, provided that the notification to potential 1348
contractors includes a clause that sets forth the availability of 1349
the cooperative purchasing agreement to other governmental 1350
entities. Such purchases shall only be made if the use of the 1351
cooperative purchasing agreements is determined to be in the best 1352
interest of the governmental entity. 1353
(xxx) School yearbooks. Purchases of school 1354
yearbooks by state agencies or governing authorities; however, 1355
state agencies and governing authorities shall use for these 1356
purchases the RFP process as set forth in the Mississippi 1357
Procurement Manual adopted by the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 1358
(xxxi) Design-build method of contracting and 1359
certain other contracts. Contracts entered into under the 1360
provisions of Section 31-7-13.1, 37-101-44 or 65-1-85. 1361
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(xxxii) Toll roads and bridge construction 1362
projects. Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 1363
65-43-1 or 65-43-3. 1364
(xxxiii) Certain purchases under Section 57-1-221. 1365
Contracts entered into pursuant to the provisions of Section 1366
57-1-221. 1367
(xxxiv) Certain transfers made pursuant to the 1368
provisions of Section 57-105-1(7). Transfers of public property 1369
or facilities under Section 57-105-1(7) and construction related 1370
to such public property or facilities. 1371
(xxxv) Certain purchases or transfers entered into 1372
with local electrical power associations. Contracts or agreements 1373
entered into under the provisions of Section 55-3-33. 1374
(xxxvi) Certain purchases by an academic medical 1375
center or health sciences school. Purchases by an academic 1376
medical center or health sciences school, as defined in Section 1377
37-115-50, of commodities that are used for clinical purposes and 1378
1. intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other 1379
conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of 1380
disease, and 2. medical devices, biological, drugs and 1381
radiation-emitting devices as defined by the United States Food 1382
and Drug Administration. 1383
(xxxvii) Certain purchases made under the Alyce G. 1384
Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law. Contracts made by the Mississippi 1385
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Lottery Corporation pursuant to the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi 1386
Lottery Law. 1387
(xxxviii) Certain purchases made by the Department 1388
of Health and the Department of Revenue. Purchases made by the 1389
Department of Health and the Department of Revenue solely for the 1390
purpose of fulfilling their respective responsibilities under the 1391
Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. This subparagraph shall stand 1392
repealed on June 30, * * * 2029. 1393
(xxxix) Purchases made by state agencies related 1394
to museum exhibits. Purchases made by an agency related to the 1395
fabrication, construction, installation or refurbishing of museum 1396
exhibits. An agency making a purchase under this exemption in 1397
excess of the bid threshold set forth in paragraph (c) of this 1398
section shall publicly advertise a Request for Qualifications or 1399
Request for Proposals in which price as an evaluation factor is at 1400
least twenty percent (20%) out of the one hundred percent (100%) 1401
total weight, but shall be otherwise exempt. Any contract arising 1402
from a purchase using this exemption must be approved by the 1403
Public Procurement Review Board prior to execution by the agency. 1404
The agency shall submit a written report on December 1 of each 1405
year to the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations 1406
Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House Accountability, 1407
Efficiency and Transparency Committees and the Chair of the Public 1408
Procurement Review Board, identifying all purchases made by the 1409
agency using this exemption in which the cost of the option 1410
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selected by the agency was more than twenty-five percent (25%) 1411
higher than the lowest cost option available. 1412
(n) Term contract authorization. All contracts for the 1413
purchase of: 1414
(i) All contracts for the purchase of commodities, 1415
equipment and public construction (including, but not limited to, 1416
repair and maintenance), may be let for periods of not more than 1417
sixty (60) months in advance, subject to applicable statutory 1418
provisions prohibiting the letting of contracts during specified 1419
periods near the end of terms of office. Term contracts for a 1420
period exceeding twenty-four (24) months shall also be subject to 1421
ratification or cancellation by governing authority boards taking 1422
office subsequent to the governing authority board entering the 1423
contract. 1424
(ii) Bid proposals and contracts may include price 1425
adjustment clauses with relation to the cost to the contractor 1426
based upon a nationally published industry-wide or nationally 1427
published and recognized cost index. The cost index used in a 1428
price adjustment clause shall be determined by the Department of 1429
Finance and Administration for the state agencies and by the 1430
governing board for governing authorities. The bid proposal and 1431
contract documents utilizing a price adjustment clause shall 1432
contain the basis and method of adjusting unit prices for the 1433
change in the cost of such commodities, equipment and public 1434
construction. 1435
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(o) Purchase law violation prohibition and vendor 1436
penalty. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be 1437
made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this 1438
section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any 1439
person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within 1440
those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value 1441
of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized 1442
amount and the invoices therefor are split so as to appear to be 1443
authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not 1444
required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a 1445
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Five Hundred 1446
Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), 1447
or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or 1448
both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims 1449
submitted shall be forfeited. 1450
(p) Electrical utility petroleum-based equipment 1451
purchase procedure. When in response to a proper advertisement 1452
therefor, no bid firm as to price is submitted to an electric 1453
utility for power transformers, distribution transformers, power 1454
breakers, reclosers or other articles containing a petroleum 1455
product, the electric utility may accept the lowest and best bid 1456
therefor although the price is not firm. 1457
(q) Fuel management system bidding procedure. Any 1458
governing authority or agency of the state shall, before 1459
contracting for the services and products of a fuel management or 1460
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fuel access system, enter into negotiations with not fewer than 1461
two (2) sellers of fuel management or fuel access systems for 1462
competitive written bids to provide the services and products for 1463
the systems. In the event that the governing authority or agency 1464
cannot locate two (2) sellers of such systems or cannot obtain 1465
bids from two (2) sellers of such systems, it shall show proof 1466
that it made a diligent, good-faith effort to locate and negotiate 1467
with two (2) sellers of such systems. Such proof shall include, 1468
but not be limited to, publications of a request for proposals and 1469
letters soliciting negotiations and bids. For purposes of this 1470
paragraph (q), a fuel management or fuel access system is an 1471
automated system of acquiring fuel for vehicles as well as 1472
management reports detailing fuel use by vehicles and drivers, and 1473
the term "competitive written bid" shall have the meaning as 1474
defined in paragraph (b) of this section. Governing authorities 1475
and agencies shall be exempt from this process when contracting 1476
for the services and products of fuel management or fuel access 1477
systems under the terms of a state contract established by the 1478
Office of Purchasing and Travel. 1479
(r) Solid waste contract proposal procedure. Before 1480
entering into any contract for garbage collection or disposal, 1481
contract for solid waste collection or disposal or contract for 1482
sewage collection or disposal, which involves an expenditure of 1483
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), a governing 1484
authority or agency shall issue publicly a request for proposals 1485
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concerning the specifications for such services which shall be 1486
advertised for in the same manner as provided in this section for 1487
seeking bids for purchases which involve an expenditure of more 1488
than the amount provided in paragraph (c) of this section. Any 1489
request for proposals when issued shall contain terms and 1490
conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 1491
technology, legal responsibilities and other relevant factors as 1492
are determined by the governing authority or agency to be 1493
appropriate for inclusion; all factors determined relevant by the 1494
governing authority or agency or required by this paragraph (r) 1495
shall be duly included in the advertisement to elicit proposals. 1496
After responses to the request for proposals have been duly 1497
received, the governing authority or agency shall select the most 1498
qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology 1499
and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not 1500
limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter into contracts 1501
with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. If 1502
the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to 1503
be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals 1504
process may be reinitiated. Notwithstanding any other provisions 1505
of this paragraph, where a county with at least thirty-five 1506
thousand (35,000) nor more than forty thousand (40,000) 1507
population, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, owns 1508
or operates a solid waste landfill, the governing authorities of 1509
any other county or municipality may contract with the governing 1510
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authorities of the county owning or operating the landfill, 1511
pursuant to a resolution duly adopted and spread upon the minutes 1512
of each governing authority involved, for garbage or solid waste 1513
collection or disposal services through contract negotiations. 1514
(s) Minority set-aside authorization. Notwithstanding 1515
any provision of this section to the contrary, any agency or 1516
governing authority, by order placed on its minutes, may, in its 1517
discretion, set aside not more than twenty percent (20%) of its 1518
anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities 1519
from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases 1520
shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the 1521
Department of Finance and Administration and shall be subject to 1522
bid requirements under this section. Set-aside purchases for 1523
which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest 1524
and best minority business bidder. For the purposes of this 1525
paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is 1526
owned by a majority of persons who are United States citizens or 1527
permanent resident aliens (as defined by the Immigration and 1528
Naturalization Service) of the United States, and who are Asian, 1529
Black, Hispanic or Native American, according to the following 1530
definitions: 1531
(i) "Asian" means persons having origins in any of 1532
the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian 1533
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. 1534
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(ii) "Black" means persons having origins in any 1535
black racial group of Africa. 1536
(iii) "Hispanic" means persons of Spanish or 1537
Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central 1538
America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race. 1539
(iv) "Native American" means persons having 1540
origins in any of the original people of North America, including 1541
American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. 1542
(t) Construction punch list restriction. The 1543
architect, engineer or other representative designated by the 1544
agency or governing authority that is contracting for public 1545
construction or renovation may prepare and submit to the 1546
contractor only one (1) preliminary punch list of items that do 1547
not meet the contract requirements at the time of substantial 1548
completion and one (1) final list immediately before final 1549
completion and final payment. 1550
(u) Procurement of construction services by state 1551
institutions of higher learning. Contracts for privately financed 1552
construction of auxiliary facilities on the campus of a state 1553
institution of higher learning may be awarded by the Board of 1554
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to the lowest 1555
and best bidder, where sealed bids are solicited, or to the 1556
offeror whose proposal is determined to represent the best value 1557
to the citizens of the State of Mississippi, where requests for 1558
proposals are solicited. 1559
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(v) Insurability of bidders for public construction or 1560
other public contracts. In any solicitation for bids to perform 1561
public construction or other public contracts to which this 1562
section applies, including, but not limited to, contracts for 1563
repair and maintenance, for which the contract will require 1564
insurance coverage in an amount of not less than One Million 1565
Dollars ($1,000,000.00), bidders shall be permitted to either 1566
submit proof of current insurance coverage in the specified amount 1567
or demonstrate ability to obtain the required coverage amount of 1568
insurance if the contract is awarded to the bidder. Proof of 1569
insurance coverage shall be submitted within five (5) business 1570
days from bid acceptance. 1571
(w) Purchase authorization clarification. Nothing in 1572
this section shall be construed as authorizing any purchase not 1573
authorized by law. 1574
(x) Mississippi Regional Pre-Need Disaster Clean Up 1575
Act. (i) The Department of Finance and Administration shall 1576
develop and implement a process that creates a preferred vendor 1577
list for both disaster debris removal and monitoring. 1578
(ii) Any board of supervisors of any county or any 1579
governing authority of any municipality may opt in to the benefits 1580
and services provided under the appropriate and relevant contract 1581
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph at the time of a 1582
disaster event in that county or municipality. At the time of opt 1583
in, the county or municipality shall assume responsibility for 1584
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ST: MS Medical Cannabis Act; extend repealers
on exemptions to certain laws for Departments of
Health and Revenue in relation to.
payment in full to the contractor for the disaster-related solid 1585
waste collection, disposal or monitoring services provided. 1586
Nothing in this subparagraph (ii) shall be construed as requiring 1587
a county or municipality to opt in to any such contract 1588
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. 1589
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 1590
and after July 1, 2026. 1591