Public purchases; exempt purchases with amount up to $7,500.00 from bid law requirement for single source vendors.

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To: Accountability,
Efficiency, Transparency
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Remak

HOUSE BILL NO. 492

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