Reverse auction; revise method of receiving bids through for agencies and governing authorities.

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To: Workforce Development
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Bell (21st)

HOUSE BILL NO. 329

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