Public purchasing laws; revise to include set asides for businesses owned by veterans and people with disabilities.

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

By: Representatives Hulum, Bell (65th),
Hines, Clark, Foster, James-Jones, Osborne

HOUSE BILL NO. 703

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