Public purchasing law; exempt compliance with certain federal regulations when federal law allows.

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

By: Representative Remak

HOUSE BILL NO. 497

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