Public purchasing; increase threshold for bidding to $15,000.00.

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

By: Representative Bounds

HOUSE BILL NO. 714

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 31-7-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE THAT PURCHASES WHICH DO NOT INVOLVE AN EXPENDITURE OF MORE 2
THAN FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, EXCLUSIVE OF FREIGHT OR SHIPPING 3
CHARGES, MAY BE MADE WITHOUT ADVERTISING OR OTHERWISE REQUESTING 4
COMPETITIVE BIDS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 31-3-1, 31-5-37 AND 31-5-51, 5
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND 6
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall 11
purchase their commodities and printing; contract for garbage 12
collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or 13
disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; contract for 14
public construction; and contract for rentals as herein provided. 15
(a) Bidding procedure for purchases not over * * * 16
$15,000.00. Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more 17
than * * * Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), exclusive of 18
freight or shipping charges, may be made without advertising or 19
otherwise requesting competitive bids. However, nothing contained 20
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in this paragraph (a) shall be construed to prohibit any agency or 21
governing authority from establishing procedures which require 22
competitive bids on purchases of * * * Fifteen Thousand Dollars 23
($15,000.00) or less. 24
(b) Bidding procedure for purchases over * * * 25
$15,000.00 but not over $75,000.00. Purchases which involve an 26
expenditure of more than * * * Fifteen Thousand Dollars 27
($15,000.00) but not more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars 28
($75,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges, may be 29
made from the lowest and best bidder without publishing or posting 30
advertisement for bids, provided at least two (2) competitive 31
written bids have been obtained. Any state agency or community or 32
junior college purchasing commodities or procuring construction 33
pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, 34
or his designee, to accept the lowest competitive written bid 35
under Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00). Any governing 36
authority purchasing commodities pursuant to this paragraph (b) 37
may authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, with regard 38
to governing authorities other than counties, or its purchase 39
clerk, or his designee, with regard to counties, to accept the 40
lowest and best competitive written bid. Such authorization shall 41
be made in writing by the governing authority and shall be 42
maintained on file in the primary office of the agency and 43
recorded in the official minutes of the governing authority, as 44
appropriate. The purchasing agent or the purchase clerk, or his 45
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designee, as the case may be, and not the governing authority, 46
shall be liable for any penalties and/or damages as may be imposed 47
by law for any act or omission of the purchasing agent or purchase 48
clerk, or his designee, constituting a violation of law in 49
accepting any bid without approval by the governing authority. 50
The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid submitted on a 51
bid form furnished by the buying agency or governing authority and 52
signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor, or a bid 53
submitted on a vendor's letterhead or identifiable bid form and 54
signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor. 55
"Competitive" shall mean that the bids are developed based upon 56
comparable identification of the needs and are developed 57
independently and without knowledge of other bids or prospective 58
bids. Any bid item for construction in excess of * * * Fifteen 59
Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) shall be broken down by components 60
to provide detail of component description and pricing. These 61
details shall be submitted with the written bids and become part 62
of the bid evaluation criteria. Bids may be submitted by 63
facsimile, electronic mail or other generally accepted method of 64
information distribution. Bids submitted by electronic 65
transmission shall not require the signature of the vendor's 66
representative unless required by agencies or governing 67
authorities. 68
(c) Bidding procedure for purchases over $75,000.00. 69
(i) Publication requirement. 70
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1. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 71
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of 72
freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best 73
bidder after advertising for competitive bids once each week for 74
two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the 75
county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority 76
is located. However, all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 77
projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) 78
shall be bid. All references to American Recovery and 79
Reinvestment Act projects in this section shall not apply to 80
programs identified in Division B of the American Recovery and 81
Reinvestment Act. 82
2. Reverse auctions shall be the primary 83
method for receiving bids during the bidding process. If a 84
purchasing entity determines that a reverse auction is not in the 85
best interest of the state, then that determination must be 86
approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. The purchasing 87
entity shall submit a detailed explanation of why a reverse 88
auction would not be in the best interest of the state and present 89
an alternative process to be approved by the Public Procurement 90
Review Board. If the Public Procurement Review Board authorizes 91
the purchasing entity to solicit bids with a method other than 92
reverse auction, then the purchasing entity may designate the 93
other methods by which the bids will be received, including, but 94
not limited to, bids sealed in an envelope, bids received 95
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electronically in a secure system, or bids received by any other 96
method that promotes open competition and has been approved by the 97
Office of Purchasing and Travel. However, reverse auction shall 98
not be used for any public contract for design, construction, 99
improvement, repair or remodeling of any public facilities, 100
including the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment or goods 101
for same and including buildings, roads and bridges. The Public 102
Procurement Review Board must approve any contract entered into by 103
alternative process. The provisions of this item 2 shall not 104
apply to the individual state institutions of higher learning. 105
The provisions of this item 2 requiring reverse auction as the 106
primary method of receiving bids shall not apply to term contract 107
purchases as provided in paragraph (n) of this section; however, a 108
purchasing entity may, in its discretion, utilize reverse auction 109
for such purchases. The provisions of this item 2 shall not apply 110
to individual public schools, including public charter schools and 111
public school districts, only when purchasing copyrighted 112
educational supplemental materials and software as a service 113
product. For such purchases, a local school board may authorize a 114
purchasing entity in its jurisdiction to use a Request for 115
Qualifications which promotes open competition and meets the 116
requirements of the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 117
3. The date as published for the bid opening 118
shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last 119
published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction 120
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project in which the estimated cost is in excess of Seventy-five 121
Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in 122
less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is 123
published and the notice for the purchase of such construction 124
shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. 125
The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment 126
shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, 127
list the contracts to be made or types of equipment or supplies to 128
be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not 129
published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. If 130
there is no newspaper published in the county or municipality, 131
then such notice shall be given by posting same at the courthouse, 132
or for municipalities at the city hall, and at two (2) other 133
public places in the county or municipality, and also by 134
publication once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in some 135
newspaper having a general circulation in the county or 136
municipality in the above-provided manner. On the same date that 137
the notice is submitted to the newspaper for publication, the 138
agency or governing authority involved shall mail written notice 139
to, or provide electronic notification to the main office of the 140
Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program under the 141
Mississippi Development Authority that contains the same 142
information as that in the published notice. Within one (1) 143
working day of the contract award, the agency or governing 144
authority shall post to the designated web page maintained by the 145
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Department of Finance and Administration, notice of the award, 146
including the award recipient, the contract amount, and a brief 147
summary of the contract in accordance with rules promulgated by 148
the department. Within one (1) working day of the contract 149
execution, the agency or governing authority shall post to the 150
designated web page maintained by the Department of Finance and 151
Administration a summary of the executed contract and make a copy 152
of the appropriately redacted contract documents available for 153
linking to the designated web page in accordance with the rules 154
promulgated by the department. The information provided by the 155
agency or governing authority shall be posted to the web page 156
until the project is completed. 157
4. Agencies and governing authorities using 158
federal funds for the procurement of any good or service, 159
including exempt personal and professional services, must comply 160
with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and 161
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards - Subpart D - Post Federal 162
Award Requirements Procurement Standards, in accordance with 2 CFR 163
200.317 through 2 CFR 200.327. 164
(ii) Bidding process amendment procedure. If all 165
plans and/or specifications are published in the notification, 166
then the plans and/or specifications may not be amended. If all 167
plans and/or specifications are not published in the notification, 168
then amendments to the plans/specifications, bid opening date, bid 169
opening time and place may be made, provided that the agency or 170
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governing authority maintains a list of all prospective bidders 171
who are known to have received a copy of the bid documents and all 172
such prospective bidders are sent copies of all amendments. This 173
notification of amendments may be made via mail, facsimile, 174
electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information 175
distribution. No addendum to bid specifications may be issued 176
within two (2) working days of the time established for the 177
receipt of bids unless such addendum also amends the bid opening 178
to a date not less than five (5) working days after the date of 179
the addendum. 180
(iii) Filing requirement. In all cases involving 181
governing authorities, before the notice shall be published or 182
posted, the plans or specifications for the construction or 183
equipment being sought shall be filed with the clerk of the board 184
of the governing authority. In addition to these requirements, a 185
bid file shall be established which shall indicate those vendors 186
to whom such solicitations and specifications were issued, and 187
such file shall also contain such information as is pertinent to 188
the bid. 189
(iv) Specification restrictions. 190
1. Specifications pertinent to such bidding 191
shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of 192
domestic manufacture. However, if valid justification is 193
presented, the Department of Finance and Administration or the 194
board of a governing authority may approve a request for specific 195
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equipment necessary to perform a specific job. Further, such 196
justification, when placed on the minutes of the board of a 197
governing authority, may serve as authority for that governing 198
authority to write specifications to require a specific item of 199
equipment needed to perform a specific job. In addition to these 200
requirements, from and after July 1, 1990, vendors of relocatable 201
classrooms and the specifications for the purchase of such 202
relocatable classrooms published by local school boards shall meet 203
all pertinent regulations of the State Board of Education, 204
including prior approval of such bid by the State Department of 205
Education. 206
2. Specifications for construction projects 207
may include an allowance for commodities, equipment, furniture, 208
construction materials or systems in which prospective bidders are 209
instructed to include in their bids specified amounts for such 210
items so long as the allowance items are acquired by the vendor in 211
a commercially reasonable manner and approved by the 212
agency/governing authority. Such acquisitions shall not be made 213
to circumvent the public purchasing laws. 214
(v) Electronic bids. Agencies and governing 215
authorities shall provide a secure electronic interactive system 216
for the submittal of bids requiring competitive bidding that shall 217
be an additional bidding option for those bidders who choose to 218
submit their bids electronically. The Department of Finance and 219
Administration shall provide, by regulation, the standards that 220
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agencies must follow when receiving electronic bids. Agencies and 221
governing authorities shall make the appropriate provisions 222
necessary to accept electronic bids from those bidders who choose 223
to submit their bids electronically for all purchases requiring 224
competitive bidding under this section. Any special condition or 225
requirement for the electronic bid submission shall be specified 226
in the advertisement for bids required by this section. Agencies 227
or governing authorities that are currently without available high 228
speed Internet access shall be exempt from the requirement of this 229
subparagraph (v) until such time that high speed Internet access 230
becomes available. Any county having a population of less than 231
twenty thousand (20,000) shall be exempt from the provisions of 232
this subparagraph (v). Any municipality having a population of 233
less than ten thousand (10,000) shall be exempt from the 234
provisions of this subparagraph (v). The provisions of this 235
subparagraph (v) shall not require any bidder to submit bids 236
electronically. When construction bids are submitted 237
electronically, the requirement for including a certificate of 238
responsibility, or a statement that the bid enclosed does not 239
exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), on the exterior of the 240
bid envelope as indicated in Section 31-3-21(1) and (2) shall be 241
deemed in compliance with by including same as an attachment with 242
the electronic bid submittal. 243
(d) Lowest and best bid decision procedure. 244
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(i) Decision procedure. Purchases may be made 245
from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and 246
best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 247
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 248
buy-back provisions and other relevant provisions may be included 249
in the best bid calculation. All best bid procedures for state 250
agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the 251
Department of Finance and Administration. If any governing 252
authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually 253
submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and 254
narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to 255
be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the 256
accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency 257
or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not 258
included in the specifications. 259
(ii) Decision procedure for Certified Purchasing 260
Offices. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 261
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), Certified Purchasing 262
Offices may also use the following procedure: Purchases may be 263
made from the bidder offering the best value. In determining the 264
best value bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 265
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 266
buy-back provisions, documented previous experience, training 267
costs and other relevant provisions, including, but not limited 268
to, a bidder having a local office and inventory located within 269
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the jurisdiction of the governing authority, may be included in 270
the best value calculation. This provision shall authorize 271
Certified Purchasing Offices to utilize a Request For Proposals 272
(RFP) process when purchasing commodities. All best value 273
procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with 274
regulations established by the Department of Finance and 275
Administration. No agency or governing authority shall accept a 276
bid based on items or criteria not included in the specifications. 277
(iii) Decision procedure for Prequalified 278
Construction. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 279
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), where purchase involves 280
renovation, restoration, or both, of the State Capitol Building or 281
any other historical building designated for at least five (5) 282
years as a Mississippi Landmark by the Board of Trustees of the 283
Department of Archives and History under the authority of Sections 284
39-7-7 and 39-7-11, or for any other construction procurement with 285
a minimum construction cost of Ten Million Dollars 286
($10,000,000.00) where the agency or governing authority has 287
determined that prequalification of bidders is in the best 288
interest of the state, the agency or governing authority may use 289
the following procedure: Purchases may be made from the lowest 290
and best prequalified bidder. Solicitation of the 291
prequalification of bidders shall be in accordance with paragraph 292
(c) of this section and shall be determined not less than fifteen 293
(15) working days before the prequalified bidders are invited to 294
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submit bids. Prequalification criteria shall be limited to 295
bidder's and proposed sub-contractor's knowledge and experience on 296
projects of similar size and scope, past performance, project 297
management team and financial stability. All best bid and 298
prequalification procedures for state agencies must be in 299
compliance with regulations established by the Department of 300
Finance and Administration. If any governing authority accepts a 301
bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place 302
on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing 303
that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best 304
bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the 305
dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority 306
shall accept a bid based on items not included in the 307
specifications. 308
(iv) Construction project negotiations authority. 309
If the lowest and best bid is not more than ten percent (10%) 310
above the amount of funds allocated for a public construction or 311
renovation project, then the agency or governing authority shall 312
be permitted to negotiate with the lowest bidder in order to enter 313
into a contract for an amount not to exceed the funds allocated. 314
(e) Lease-purchase authorization. For the purposes of 315
this section, the term "equipment" shall mean equipment, furniture 316
and, if applicable, associated software and other applicable 317
direct costs associated with the acquisition. Any lease-purchase 318
of equipment which an agency is not required to lease-purchase 319
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under the master lease-purchase program pursuant to Section 320
31-7-10 and any lease-purchase of equipment which a governing 321
authority elects to lease-purchase may be acquired by a 322
lease-purchase agreement under this paragraph (e). Lease-purchase 323
financing may also be obtained from the vendor or from a 324
third-party source after having solicited and obtained at least 325
two (2) written competitive bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of 326
this section, for such financing without advertising for such 327
bids. Solicitation for the bids for financing may occur before or 328
after acceptance of bids for the purchase of such equipment or, 329
where no such bids for purchase are required, at any time before 330
the purchase thereof. No such lease-purchase agreement shall be 331
for an annual rate of interest which is greater than the overall 332
maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation 333
indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101, and the term of 334
such lease-purchase agreement shall not exceed the useful life of 335
equipment covered thereby as determined according to the upper 336
limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the 337
Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the 338
Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal 339
Revenue Code and regulations thereunder as in effect on December 340
31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to 341
any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. Any lease-purchase 342
agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph (e) may contain 343
any of the terms and conditions which a master lease-purchase 344
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agreement may contain under the provisions of Section 31-7-10(5), 345
and shall contain an annual allocation dependency clause 346
substantially similar to that set forth in Section 31-7-10(8). 347
Each agency or governing authority entering into a lease-purchase 348
transaction pursuant to this paragraph (e) shall maintain with 349
respect to each such lease-purchase transaction the same 350
information as required to be maintained by the Department of 351
Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-10(13). 352
However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to 353
permit agencies to acquire items of equipment with a total 354
acquisition cost in the aggregate of less than Ten Thousand 355
Dollars ($10,000.00) by a single lease-purchase transaction. All 356
equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired by 357
lease-purchase under this paragraph and all lease-purchase 358
payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi 359
sales, use and ad valorem taxes. Interest paid on any 360
lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from 361
State of Mississippi income taxation. 362
(f) Alternate bid authorization. When necessary to 363
ensure ready availability of commodities for public works and the 364
timely completion of public projects, no more than two (2) 365
alternate bids may be accepted by a governing authority for 366
commodities. No purchases may be made through use of such 367
alternate bids procedure unless the lowest and best bidder cannot 368
deliver the commodities contained in his bid. In that event, 369
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purchases of such commodities may be made from one (1) of the 370
bidders whose bid was accepted as an alternate. 371
(g) Construction contract change authorization. In the 372
event a determination is made by an agency or governing authority 373
after a construction contract is let that changes or modifications 374
to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the 375
purpose of the agency or the governing authority, such agency or 376
governing authority may, in its discretion, order such changes 377
pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the 378
circumstances without the necessity of further public bids; 379
provided that such change shall be made in a commercially 380
reasonable manner and shall not be made to circumvent the public 381
purchasing statutes. In addition to any other authorized person, 382
the architect or engineer hired by an agency or governing 383
authority with respect to any public construction contract shall 384
have the authority, when granted by an agency or governing 385
authority, to authorize changes or modifications to the original 386
contract without the necessity of prior approval of the agency or 387
governing authority when any such change or modification is less 388
than one percent (1%) of the total contract amount. The agency or 389
governing authority may limit the number, manner or frequency of 390
such emergency changes or modifications. 391
(h) Petroleum purchase alternative. In addition to 392
other methods of purchasing authorized in this chapter, when any 393
agency or governing authority shall have a need for gas, diesel 394
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fuel, oils and/or other petroleum products in excess of the amount 395
set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, such agency or 396
governing authority may purchase the commodity after having 397
solicited and obtained at least two (2) competitive written bids, 398
as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. If two (2) 399
competitive written bids are not obtained, the entity shall comply 400
with the procedures set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. 401
In the event any agency or governing authority shall have 402
advertised for bids for the purchase of gas, diesel fuel, oils and 403
other petroleum products and coal and no acceptable bids can be 404
obtained, such agency or governing authority is authorized and 405
directed to enter into any negotiations necessary to secure the 406
lowest and best contract available for the purchase of such 407
commodities. 408
(i) Road construction petroleum products price 409
adjustment clause authorization. Any agency or governing 410
authority authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, 411
maintenance, surfacing or repair of highways, roads or streets, 412
may include in its bid proposal and contract documents a price 413
adjustment clause with relation to the cost to the contractor, 414
including taxes, based upon an industry-wide cost index, of 415
petroleum products including asphalt used in the performance or 416
execution of the contract or in the production or manufacture of 417
materials for use in such performance. Such industry-wide index 418
shall be established and published monthly by the Mississippi 419
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Department of Transportation with a copy thereof to be mailed, 420
upon request, to the clerks of the governing authority of each 421
municipality and the clerks of each board of supervisors 422
throughout the state. The price adjustment clause shall be based 423
on the cost of such petroleum products only and shall not include 424
any additional profit or overhead as part of the adjustment. The 425
bid proposals or document contract shall contain the basis and 426
methods of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of 427
such petroleum products. 428
(j) State agency emergency purchase procedure. If the 429
governing board or the executive head, or his designees, of any 430
agency of the state shall determine that an emergency exists in 431
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 432
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 433
bidding would be detrimental to the interests of the state, then 434
the head of such agency, or his designees, shall file with the 435
Department of Finance and Administration (i) a statement 436
explaining the conditions and circumstances of the emergency, 437
which shall include a detailed description of the events leading 438
up to the situation and the negative impact to the entity if the 439
purchase is made following the statutory requirements set forth in 440
paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section, and (ii) a certified 441
copy of the appropriate minutes of the board of such agency 442
requesting the emergency purchase, if applicable. Upon receipt of 443
the statement and applicable board certification, the State Fiscal 444
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Officer, or his designees, may, in writing, authorize the purchase 445
or repair without having to comply with competitive bidding 446
requirements. 447
If the governing board or the executive head, or his 448
designees, of any agency determines that an emergency exists in 449
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 450
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 451
bidding would threaten the health or safety of any person, or the 452
preservation or protection of property, then the provisions in 453
this section for competitive bidding shall not apply, and any 454
officer or agent of the agency having general or specific 455
authority for making the purchase or repair contract shall approve 456
the bill presented for payment, and he shall certify in writing 457
from whom the purchase was made, or with whom the repair contract 458
was made. 459
Total purchases made under this paragraph (j) shall only be 460
for the purpose of meeting needs created by the emergency 461
situation. Following the emergency purchase, documentation of the 462
purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the 463
purchase price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be 464
filed with the Department of Finance and Administration. Any 465
contract awarded pursuant to this paragraph (j) shall not exceed a 466
term of one (1) year. 467
Purchases under the grant program established under Section 468
37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the directive that school 469
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districts create a distance learning plan and fulfill technology 470
needs expeditiously shall be deemed an emergency purchase for 471
purposes of this paragraph (j). 472
(k) Governing authority emergency purchase procedure. 473
If the governing authority, or the governing authority acting 474
through its designee, shall determine that an emergency exists in 475
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 476
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 477
bidding would be detrimental to the interest of the governing 478
authority, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding 479
shall not apply and any officer or agent of such governing 480
authority having general or special authority therefor in making 481
such purchase or repair shall approve the bill presented therefor, 482
and he shall certify in writing thereon from whom such purchase 483
was made, or with whom such a repair contract was made. At the 484
board meeting next following the emergency purchase or repair 485
contract, documentation of the purchase or repair contract, 486
including a description of the commodity purchased, the price 487
thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the 488
board and shall be placed on the minutes of the board of such 489
governing authority. Purchases under the grant program 490
established under Section 37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the 491
directive that school districts create a distance learning plan 492
and fulfill technology needs expeditiously shall be deemed an 493
emergency purchase for purposes of this paragraph (k). 494
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(l) Hospital purchase, lease-purchase and lease 495
authorization. 496
(i) The commissioners or board of trustees of any 497
public hospital may contract with such lowest and best bidder for 498
the purchase or lease-purchase of any commodity under a contract 499
of purchase or lease-purchase agreement whose obligatory payment 500
terms do not exceed five (5) years. 501
(ii) In addition to the authority granted in 502
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (l), the commissioners or board 503
of trustees is authorized to enter into contracts for the lease of 504
equipment or services, or both, which it considers necessary for 505
the proper care of patients if, in its opinion, it is not 506
financially feasible to purchase the necessary equipment or 507
services. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or 508
services executed by the commissioners or board shall not exceed a 509
maximum of five (5) years' duration and shall include a 510
cancellation clause based on unavailability of funds. If such 511
cancellation clause is exercised, there shall be no further 512
liability on the part of the lessee. Any such contract for the 513
lease of equipment or services executed on behalf of the 514
commissioners or board that complies with the provisions of this 515
subparagraph (ii) shall be excepted from the bid requirements set 516
forth in this section. 517
(m) Exceptions from bidding requirements. Excepted 518
from bid requirements are: 519
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(i) Purchasing agreements approved by department. 520
Purchasing agreements, contracts and maximum price regulations 521
executed or approved by the Department of Finance and 522
Administration. 523
(ii) Outside equipment repairs. Repairs to 524
equipment, when such repairs are made by repair facilities in the 525
private sector; however, engines, transmissions, rear axles and/or 526
other such components shall not be included in this exemption when 527
replaced as a complete unit instead of being repaired and the need 528
for such total component replacement is known before disassembly 529
of the component; however, invoices identifying the equipment, 530
specific repairs made, parts identified by number and name, 531
supplies used in such repairs, and the number of hours of labor 532
and costs therefor shall be required for the payment for such 533
repairs. 534
(iii) In-house equipment repairs. Purchases of 535
parts for repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by 536
personnel of the agency or governing authority; however, entire 537
assemblies, such as engines or transmissions, shall not be 538
included in this exemption when the entire assembly is being 539
replaced instead of being repaired. 540
(iv) Raw gravel or dirt. Raw unprocessed deposits 541
of gravel or fill dirt which are to be removed and transported by 542
the purchaser. 543
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(v) Governmental equipment auctions. Motor 544
vehicles or other equipment purchased from a federal agency or 545
authority, another governing authority or state agency of the 546
State of Mississippi, or any governing authority or state agency 547
of another state at a public auction held for the purpose of 548
disposing of such vehicles or other equipment. Any purchase by a 549
governing authority under the exemption authorized by this 550
subparagraph (v) shall require advance authorization spread upon 551
the minutes of the governing authority to include the listing of 552
the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid 553
authorized to be paid for each item or items. 554
(vi) Intergovernmental sales and transfers. 555
Purchases, sales, transfers or trades by governing authorities or 556
state agencies when such purchases, sales, transfers or trades are 557
made by a private treaty agreement or through means of 558
negotiation, from any federal agency or authority, another 559
governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, 560
or any state agency or governing authority of another state. 561
Nothing in this section shall permit such purchases through public 562
auction except as provided for in subparagraph (v) of this 563
paragraph (m). It is the intent of this section to allow 564
governmental entities to dispose of and/or purchase commodities 565
from other governmental entities at a price that is agreed to by 566
both parties. This shall allow for purchases and/or sales at 567
prices which may be determined to be below the market value if the 568
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selling entity determines that the sale at below market value is 569
in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state. Governing 570
authorities shall place the terms of the agreement and any 571
justification on the minutes, and state agencies shall obtain 572
approval from the Department of Finance and Administration, prior 573
to releasing or taking possession of the commodities. 574
(vii) Perishable supplies or food. Perishable 575
supplies or food purchased for use in connection with hospitals, 576
the school lunch programs, homemaking programs and for the feeding 577
of county or municipal prisoners. 578
(viii) Single-source items. Noncompetitive items 579
available from one (1) source only. In connection with the 580
purchase of noncompetitive items only available from one (1) 581
source, a certification of the conditions and circumstances 582
requiring the purchase shall be filed by the agency with the 583
Department of Finance and Administration and by the governing 584
authority with the board of the governing authority. Upon receipt 585
of that certification the Department of Finance and Administration 586
or the board of the governing authority, as the case may be, may, 587
in writing, authorize the purchase, which authority shall be noted 588
on the minutes of the body at the next regular meeting thereafter. 589
In those situations, a governing authority is not required to 590
obtain the approval of the Department of Finance and 591
Administration. Following the purchase, the executive head of the 592
state agency, or his designees, shall file with the Department of 593
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Finance and Administration, documentation of the purchase, 594
including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase 595
price thereof and the source from whom it was purchased. 596
(ix) Waste disposal facility construction 597
contracts. Construction of incinerators and other facilities for 598
disposal of solid wastes in which products either generated 599
therein, such as steam, or recovered therefrom, such as materials 600
for recycling, are to be sold or otherwise disposed of; however, 601
in constructing such facilities, a governing authority or agency 602
shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised for in the 603
same manner as provided herein for seeking bids for public 604
construction projects, concerning the design, construction, 605
ownership, operation and/or maintenance of such facilities, 606
wherein such requests for proposals when issued shall contain 607
terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 608
technology, environmental compatibility, legal responsibilities 609
and such other matters as are determined by the governing 610
authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; and after 611
responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, 612
the governing authority or agency may select the most qualified 613
proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other 614
relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the 615
terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of 616
the persons or firms submitting proposals. 617
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(x) Hospital group purchase contracts. Supplies, 618
commodities and equipment purchased by hospitals through group 619
purchase programs pursuant to Section 31-7-38. 620
(xi) Information technology products. Purchases 621
of information technology products made by governing authorities 622
under the provisions of purchase schedules, or contracts executed 623
or approved by the Mississippi Department of Information 624
Technology Services and designated for use by governing 625
authorities. 626
(xii) Energy efficiency services and equipment. 627
Energy efficiency services and equipment acquired by school 628
districts, community and junior colleges, institutions of higher 629
learning and state agencies or other applicable governmental 630
entities on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis 631
pursuant to Section 31-7-14. 632
(xiii) Municipal electrical utility system fuel. 633
Purchases of coal and/or natural gas by municipally owned electric 634
power generating systems that have the capacity to use both coal 635
and natural gas for the generation of electric power. 636
(xiv) Library books and other reference materials. 637
Purchases by libraries or for libraries of books and periodicals; 638
processed film, videocassette tapes, filmstrips and slides; 639
recorded audiotapes, cassettes and diskettes; and any such items 640
as would be used for teaching, research or other information 641
distribution; however, equipment such as projectors, recorders, 642
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audio or video equipment, and monitor televisions are not exempt 643
under this subparagraph. 644
(xv) Unmarked vehicles. Purchases of unmarked 645
vehicles when such purchases are made in accordance with 646
purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and 647
Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2). 648
(xvi) Election ballots. Purchases of ballots 649
printed pursuant to Section 23-15-351. 650
(xvii) Multichannel interactive video systems. 651
From and after July 1, 1990, contracts by Mississippi Authority 652
for Educational Television with any private educational 653
institution or private nonprofit organization whose purposes are 654
educational in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or 655
lease-purchase of facilities and equipment and the employment of 656
personnel for providing multichannel interactive video systems 657
(ITSF) in the school districts of this state. 658
(xviii) Purchases of prison industry products by 659
the Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 660
privately owned prisons. Purchases made by the Mississippi 661
Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 662
privately owned prisons involving any item that is manufactured, 663
processed, grown or produced from the state's prison industries. 664
(xix) Undercover operations equipment. Purchases 665
of surveillance equipment or any other high-tech equipment to be 666
used by law enforcement agents in undercover operations, provided 667
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that any such purchase shall be in compliance with regulations 668
established by the Department of Finance and Administration. 669
(xx) Junior college books for rent. Purchases by 670
community or junior colleges of textbooks which are obtained for 671
the purpose of renting such books to students as part of a book 672
service system. 673
(xxi) Certain school district purchases. 674
Purchases of commodities made by school districts from vendors 675
with which any levying authority of the school district, as 676
defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive 677
bidding procedures for purchases of the same commodities. 678
(xxii) Garbage, solid waste and sewage contracts. 679
Contracts for garbage collection or disposal, contracts for solid 680
waste collection or disposal and contracts for sewage collection 681
or disposal. 682
(xxiii) Municipal water tank maintenance 683
contracts. Professional maintenance program contracts for the 684
repair or maintenance of municipal water tanks, which provide 685
professional services needed to maintain municipal water storage 686
tanks for a fixed annual fee for a duration of two (2) or more 687
years. 688
(xxiv) Purchases of Mississippi Industries for the 689
Blind products or services. Purchases made by state agencies or 690
governing authorities involving any item that is manufactured, 691
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processed or produced by, or any services provided by, the 692
Mississippi Industries for the Blind. 693
(xxv) Purchases of state-adopted textbooks. 694
Purchases of state-adopted textbooks by public school districts. 695
(xxvi) Certain purchases under the Mississippi 696
Major Economic Impact Act. Contracts entered into pursuant to the 697
provisions of Section 57-75-9(2), (3) and (4). 698
(xxvii) Used heavy or specialized machinery or 699
equipment for installation of soil and water conservation 700
practices purchased at auction. Used heavy or specialized 701
machinery or equipment used for the installation and 702
implementation of soil and water conservation practices or 703
measures purchased subject to the restrictions provided in 704
Sections 69-27-331 through 69-27-341. Any purchase by the State 705
Soil and Water Conservation Commission under the exemption 706
authorized by this subparagraph shall require advance 707
authorization spread upon the minutes of the commission to include 708
the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and 709
the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items. 710
(xxviii) Hospital lease of equipment or services. 711
Leases by hospitals of equipment or services if the leases are in 712
compliance with paragraph (l)(ii). 713
(xxix) Purchases made pursuant to qualified 714
cooperative purchasing agreements. Purchases made by certified 715
purchasing offices of state agencies or governing authorities 716
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under cooperative purchasing agreements previously approved by the 717
Office of Purchasing and Travel and established by or for any 718
municipality, county, parish or state government or the federal 719
government, provided that the notification to potential 720
contractors includes a clause that sets forth the availability of 721
the cooperative purchasing agreement to other governmental 722
entities. Such purchases shall only be made if the use of the 723
cooperative purchasing agreements is determined to be in the best 724
interest of the governmental entity. 725
(xxx) School yearbooks. Purchases of school 726
yearbooks by state agencies or governing authorities; however, 727
state agencies and governing authorities shall use for these 728
purchases the RFP process as set forth in the Mississippi 729
Procurement Manual adopted by the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 730
(xxxi) Design-build method of contracting and 731
certain other contracts. Contracts entered into under the 732
provisions of Section 31-7-13.1, 37-101-44 or 65-1-85. 733
(xxxii) Toll roads and bridge construction 734
projects. Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 735
65-43-1 or 65-43-3. 736
(xxxiii) Certain purchases under Section 57-1-221. 737
Contracts entered into pursuant to the provisions of Section 738
57-1-221. 739
(xxxiv) Certain transfers made pursuant to the 740
provisions of Section 57-105-1(7). Transfers of public property 741
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or facilities under Section 57-105-1(7) and construction related 742
to such public property or facilities. 743
(xxxv) Certain purchases or transfers entered into 744
with local electrical power associations. Contracts or agreements 745
entered into under the provisions of Section 55-3-33. 746
(xxxvi) Certain purchases by an academic medical 747
center or health sciences school. Purchases by an academic 748
medical center or health sciences school, as defined in Section 749
37-115-50, of commodities that are used for clinical purposes and 750
1. intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other 751
conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of 752
disease, and 2. medical devices, biological, drugs and 753
radiation-emitting devices as defined by the United States Food 754
and Drug Administration. 755
(xxxvii) Certain purchases made under the Alyce G. 756
Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law. Contracts made by the Mississippi 757
Lottery Corporation pursuant to the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi 758
Lottery Law. 759
(xxxviii) Certain purchases made by the Department 760
of Health and the Department of Revenue. Purchases made by the 761
Department of Health and the Department of Revenue solely for the 762
purpose of fulfilling their respective responsibilities under the 763
Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. This subparagraph shall stand 764
repealed on June 30, 2026. 765
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(xxxix) Purchases made by state agencies related 766
to museum exhibits. Purchases made by an agency related to the 767
fabrication, construction, installation or refurbishing of museum 768
exhibits. An agency making a purchase under this exemption in 769
excess of the bid threshold set forth in paragraph (c) of this 770
section shall publicly advertise a Request for Qualifications or 771
Request for Proposals in which price as an evaluation factor is at 772
least twenty percent (20%) out of the one hundred percent (100%) 773
total weight, but shall be otherwise exempt. Any contract arising 774
from a purchase using this exemption must be approved by the 775
Public Procurement Review Board prior to execution by the agency. 776
The agency shall submit a written report on December 1 of each 777
year to the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations 778
Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House Accountability, 779
Efficiency and Transparency Committees and the Chair of the Public 780
Procurement Review Board, identifying all purchases made by the 781
agency using this exemption in which the cost of the option 782
selected by the agency was more than twenty-five percent (25%) 783
higher than the lowest cost option available. 784
(n) Term contract authorization. All contracts for the 785
purchase of: 786
(i) All contracts for the purchase of commodities, 787
equipment and public construction (including, but not limited to, 788
repair and maintenance), may be let for periods of not more than 789
sixty (60) months in advance, subject to applicable statutory 790
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provisions prohibiting the letting of contracts during specified 791
periods near the end of terms of office. Term contracts for a 792
period exceeding twenty-four (24) months shall also be subject to 793
ratification or cancellation by governing authority boards taking 794
office subsequent to the governing authority board entering the 795
contract. 796
(ii) Bid proposals and contracts may include price 797
adjustment clauses with relation to the cost to the contractor 798
based upon a nationally published industry-wide or nationally 799
published and recognized cost index. The cost index used in a 800
price adjustment clause shall be determined by the Department of 801
Finance and Administration for the state agencies and by the 802
governing board for governing authorities. The bid proposal and 803
contract documents utilizing a price adjustment clause shall 804
contain the basis and method of adjusting unit prices for the 805
change in the cost of such commodities, equipment and public 806
construction. 807
(o) Purchase law violation prohibition and vendor 808
penalty. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be 809
made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this 810
section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any 811
person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within 812
those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value 813
of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized 814
amount and the invoices therefor are split so as to appear to be 815
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authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not 816
required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a 817
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Five Hundred 818
Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), 819
or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or 820
both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims 821
submitted shall be forfeited. 822
(p) Electrical utility petroleum-based equipment 823
purchase procedure. When in response to a proper advertisement 824
therefor, no bid firm as to price is submitted to an electric 825
utility for power transformers, distribution transformers, power 826
breakers, reclosers or other articles containing a petroleum 827
product, the electric utility may accept the lowest and best bid 828
therefor although the price is not firm. 829
(q) Fuel management system bidding procedure. Any 830
governing authority or agency of the state shall, before 831
contracting for the services and products of a fuel management or 832
fuel access system, enter into negotiations with not fewer than 833
two (2) sellers of fuel management or fuel access systems for 834
competitive written bids to provide the services and products for 835
the systems. In the event that the governing authority or agency 836
cannot locate two (2) sellers of such systems or cannot obtain 837
bids from two (2) sellers of such systems, it shall show proof 838
that it made a diligent, good-faith effort to locate and negotiate 839
with two (2) sellers of such systems. Such proof shall include, 840
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but not be limited to, publications of a request for proposals and 841
letters soliciting negotiations and bids. For purposes of this 842
paragraph (q), a fuel management or fuel access system is an 843
automated system of acquiring fuel for vehicles as well as 844
management reports detailing fuel use by vehicles and drivers, and 845
the term "competitive written bid" shall have the meaning as 846
defined in paragraph (b) of this section. Governing authorities 847
and agencies shall be exempt from this process when contracting 848
for the services and products of fuel management or fuel access 849
systems under the terms of a state contract established by the 850
Office of Purchasing and Travel. 851
(r) Solid waste contract proposal procedure. Before 852
entering into any contract for garbage collection or disposal, 853
contract for solid waste collection or disposal or contract for 854
sewage collection or disposal, which involves an expenditure of 855
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), a governing 856
authority or agency shall issue publicly a request for proposals 857
concerning the specifications for such services which shall be 858
advertised for in the same manner as provided in this section for 859
seeking bids for purchases which involve an expenditure of more 860
than the amount provided in paragraph (c) of this section. Any 861
request for proposals when issued shall contain terms and 862
conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 863
technology, legal responsibilities and other relevant factors as 864
are determined by the governing authority or agency to be 865
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appropriate for inclusion; all factors determined relevant by the 866
governing authority or agency or required by this paragraph (r) 867
shall be duly included in the advertisement to elicit proposals. 868
After responses to the request for proposals have been duly 869
received, the governing authority or agency shall select the most 870
qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology 871
and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not 872
limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter into contracts 873
with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. If 874
the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to 875
be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals 876
process may be reinitiated. Notwithstanding any other provisions 877
of this paragraph, where a county with at least thirty-five 878
thousand (35,000) nor more than forty thousand (40,000) 879
population, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, owns 880
or operates a solid waste landfill, the governing authorities of 881
any other county or municipality may contract with the governing 882
authorities of the county owning or operating the landfill, 883
pursuant to a resolution duly adopted and spread upon the minutes 884
of each governing authority involved, for garbage or solid waste 885
collection or disposal services through contract negotiations. 886
(s) Minority set-aside authorization. Notwithstanding 887
any provision of this section to the contrary, any agency or 888
governing authority, by order placed on its minutes, may, in its 889
discretion, set aside not more than twenty percent (20%) of its 890
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anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities 891
from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases 892
shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the 893
Department of Finance and Administration and shall be subject to 894
bid requirements under this section. Set-aside purchases for 895
which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest 896
and best minority business bidder. For the purposes of this 897
paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is 898
owned by a majority of persons who are United States citizens or 899
permanent resident aliens (as defined by the Immigration and 900
Naturalization Service) of the United States, and who are Asian, 901
Black, Hispanic or Native American, according to the following 902
definitions: 903
(i) "Asian" means persons having origins in any of 904
the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian 905
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. 906
(ii) "Black" means persons having origins in any 907
black racial group of Africa. 908
(iii) "Hispanic" means persons of Spanish or 909
Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central 910
America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race. 911
(iv) "Native American" means persons having 912
origins in any of the original people of North America, including 913
American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. 914
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(t) Construction punch list restriction. The 915
architect, engineer or other representative designated by the 916
agency or governing authority that is contracting for public 917
construction or renovation may prepare and submit to the 918
contractor only one (1) preliminary punch list of items that do 919
not meet the contract requirements at the time of substantial 920
completion and one (1) final list immediately before final 921
completion and final payment. 922
(u) Procurement of construction services by state 923
institutions of higher learning. Contracts for privately financed 924
construction of auxiliary facilities on the campus of a state 925
institution of higher learning may be awarded by the Board of 926
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to the lowest 927
and best bidder, where sealed bids are solicited, or to the 928
offeror whose proposal is determined to represent the best value 929
to the citizens of the State of Mississippi, where requests for 930
proposals are solicited. 931
(v) Insurability of bidders for public construction or 932
other public contracts. In any solicitation for bids to perform 933
public construction or other public contracts to which this 934
section applies, including, but not limited to, contracts for 935
repair and maintenance, for which the contract will require 936
insurance coverage in an amount of not less than One Million 937
Dollars ($1,000,000.00), bidders shall be permitted to either 938
submit proof of current insurance coverage in the specified amount 939
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or demonstrate ability to obtain the required coverage amount of 940
insurance if the contract is awarded to the bidder. Proof of 941
insurance coverage shall be submitted within five (5) business 942
days from bid acceptance. 943
(w) Purchase authorization clarification. Nothing in 944
this section shall be construed as authorizing any purchase not 945
authorized by law. 946
(x) Mississippi Regional Pre-Need Disaster Clean Up 947
Act. 948
(i) The Department of Finance and Administration 949
shall develop and implement a process that creates a preferred 950
vendor list for both disaster debris removal and monitoring. 951
(ii) Any board of supervisors of any county or any 952
governing authority of any municipality may opt in to the benefits 953
and services provided under the appropriate and relevant contract 954
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph at the time of a 955
disaster event in that county or municipality. At the time of opt 956
in, the county or municipality shall assume responsibility for 957
payment in full to the contractor for the disaster-related solid 958
waste collection, disposal or monitoring services provided. 959
Nothing in this subparagraph (ii) shall be construed as requiring 960
a county or municipality to opt in to any such contract 961
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. 962
SECTION 2. Section 31-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 963
amended as follows: 964
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31-3-1. The following words, as used in this chapter, shall 965
have the meanings specified below: 966
"Board": The State Board of Contractors created under this 967
chapter. 968
"Contractor": Any person contracting or undertaking as prime 969
contractor, subcontractor or sub-subcontractor of any tier to do 970
any erection, building, construction, reconstruction, demolition, 971
repair, maintenance or related work on any public or private 972
project; however, "contractor" shall not include any owner of a 973
dwelling or other structure to be constructed, altered, repaired 974
or improved and not for sale, lease, public use or assembly, or 975
any person duly permitted by the Mississippi State Oil and Gas 976
Board, pursuant to Section 53-3-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, to 977
conduct operations within the state, and acting pursuant to said 978
permit. It is further provided that nothing herein shall apply 979
to: 980
(a) Any contract or undertaking on a public or private 981
project by a prime contractor, subcontractor or sub-subcontractor 982
of any tier involving erection, building, construction, 983
reconstruction, repair, maintenance or related work where such 984
contract, subcontract or undertaking is less than Fifty Thousand 985
Dollars ($50,000.00); 986
(b) Highway construction, highway bridges, overpasses 987
and any other project incidental to the construction of highways 988
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which are designated as federal aid projects and in which federal 989
funds are involved; 990
(c) A residential project to be occupied by fifty (50) 991
or fewer families and not more than three (3) stories in height; 992
(d) A residential subdivision where the contractor is 993
developing either single-family or multifamily lots; 994
(e) A new commercial construction project not exceeding 995
seventy-five hundred (7,500) square feet and not more than two (2) 996
stories in height undertaken by an individual or entity licensed 997
under the provisions of Section 73-59-1 et seq.; 998
(f) Erection of a microwave tower built for the purpose 999
of telecommunication transmissions; 1000
(g) Any contract or undertaking on a public project by 1001
a prime contractor, subcontractor or sub-subcontractor of any tier 1002
involving the construction, reconstruction, repair or maintenance 1003
of fire protection systems where such contract, subcontract or 1004
undertaking is less than * * * Fifteen Thousand Dollars 1005
($15,000.00); 1006
(h) Any contract or undertaking on a private project by 1007
a prime contractor, subcontractor or sub-subcontractor of any tier 1008
involving the construction, reconstruction, repair or maintenance 1009
of fire protection systems where such contract, subcontract or 1010
undertaking is less than * * * Twenty Thousand Dollars 1011
($20,000.00); 1012
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(i) Any contract or undertaking on a private or public 1013
project by a prime contractor, subcontractor or sub-subcontractor 1014
of any tier involving the construction, reconstruction, repair or 1015
maintenance of technically specialized installations if performed 1016
by a Mississippi contractor who has been in the business of 1017
installing fire protection sprinkler systems on or before July 1, 1018
2000; or 1019
(j) Any contractor undertaking to build, construct, 1020
reconstruct, repair, demolish, perform maintenance on, or other 1021
related work, whether on the surface or subsurface, on oil or gas 1022
wells, pipelines, processing plants, or treatment facilities or 1023
other structures of facilities. Nothing herein shall be construed 1024
to limit the application or effect of Section 31-5-41. 1025
"Certificate of responsibility": A certificate numbered and 1026
held by a contractor issued by the board under the provisions of 1027
this chapter after payment of the special privilege license tax 1028
therefor levied under this chapter. 1029
"Person": Any person, firm, corporation, joint venture or 1030
partnership, association or other type of business entity. 1031
"Private project": Any project for erection, building, 1032
construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance or related work 1033
which is not funded in whole or in part with public funds. 1034
"Public agency": Any board, commission, council or agency of 1035
the State of Mississippi or any district, county or municipality 1036
thereof, including school, hospital, airport and all other types 1037
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of governing agencies created by or operating under the laws of 1038
this state. 1039
"Public funds": Monies of public agencies, whether obtained 1040
from taxation, donation or otherwise; or monies being expended by 1041
public agencies for the purposes for which such public agencies 1042
exist. 1043
"Public project": Any project for erection, building, 1044
construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance or related work 1045
which is funded, in whole or in part, with public funds. 1046
SECTION 3. Section 31-5-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1047
amended as follows: 1048
31-5-37. (1) All public works projects utilizing funds 1049
received by state or local governmental entities resulting from a 1050
federally declared disaster or a spill of national significance, 1051
including damages, penalties, fines or supplemental projects paid 1052
or financed by responsible parties pursuant to a court order, 1053
negotiated settlement, or other instrument, including under any 1054
law distributing such fines and penalties including the federal 1055
Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and 1056
Revived Economy of the Gulf Coast Act of 2011 (R.E.S.T.O.R.E.), 1057
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 or the Federal Water Pollution 1058
Control Act or similar legislation, shall be subject to the hiring 1059
policies established by this section. 1060
(2) Contractors submitting bids for public works projects 1061
that involve an expenditure of * * * Fifteen Thousand Dollars 1062
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($15,000.00) or more and that are financed, in whole or in part, 1063
through the use of funds described in subsection (1) of this 1064
section shall submit with their bid a certification that they will 1065
comply with the provisions of this section if they are awarded a 1066
contract. The contractor shall submit to the agency or governing 1067
authority that solicited the bid and the Mississippi Department of 1068
Employment Security an employment plan within seven (7) days after 1069
the award of the contract which shall include the following: 1070
(a) The types of jobs involved in the public works 1071
project; 1072
(b) The skill level of the jobs involved in the 1073
project; 1074
(c) Wage information on the jobs involved in the 1075
project; 1076
(d) The number of vacant positions that the contractor 1077
and any subcontractor needs to fill; 1078
(e) How the contractor and any subcontractor will 1079
recruit, low-wage and unemployed individuals for job vacancies; 1080
(f) Such other information as may be required by the 1081
Mississippi Department of Employment Security; and 1082
(g) Proof of registration with the Mississippi 1083
Department of Employment Security for taxation in accordance with 1084
the provisions of Title 71. 1085
(3) From the date written notice of the contract award is 1086
received and until ten (10) business days after the receipt of the 1087
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employment plan by the Mississippi Department of Employment 1088
Security, the contractor and any subcontractor shall not hire any 1089
personnel to fill vacant positions necessary for the public works 1090
project except residents of the State of Mississippi who are to be 1091
verified by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security 1092
and/or those qualified individuals who are submitted by the 1093
Mississippi Department of Employment Security. For purposes of 1094
this subsection, the contractor or subcontractor is authorized to 1095
employ Mississippi residents to begin work immediately, and such 1096
persons are to be verified by the Mississippi Department of 1097
Employment Security after employment by the contractor or 1098
subcontractor. During the ten-day period, the Mississippi 1099
Department of Employment Security shall submit qualified 1100
individuals to the contractor to consider for the vacant 1101
positions. The contractor shall review the individuals submitted 1102
by the department before hiring individuals who are not submitted 1103
by the department. The contract award shall be vacated if the 1104
contractor fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection. 1105
SECTION 4. Section 31-5-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1106
amended as follows: 1107
31-5-51. (1) Any person entering into a formal contract 1108
with the state or any county, city or political subdivision 1109
thereof, or other public authority for the construction, 1110
alteration or repair of any public building or public work, before 1111
entering into such contract, shall furnish to such public body, 1112
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except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, bonds with 1113
good and sufficient surety as follows: 1114
(a) A performance bond payable to, in favor of or for 1115
the protection of such public body, as owner, for the work to be 1116
done in an amount not less than the amount of the contract, 1117
conditioned for the full and faithful performance of the contract; 1118
(b) A payment bond payable to such public body but 1119
conditioned for the prompt payment of all persons supplying labor 1120
or material used in the prosecution of the work under said 1121
contract, for the use of each such person, in an amount not less 1122
than the amount of the contract; and 1123
(c) The bonds herein provided for may be made by any 1124
surety company which is authorized to do business in the State of 1125
Mississippi and listed on the United States Treasury Department's 1126
list of acceptable sureties, or such bonds may be guaranteed by a 1127
personal surety as provided for herein. The personal surety shall 1128
deposit with the State Treasurer cash or certificates of deposit 1129
in an amount not less than the amount of the contract, and the 1130
State Treasurer shall hold same in trust and on deposit for the 1131
benefit of the public body that is a party to the contract 1132
providing for the construction, alteration or repair of the public 1133
building or for the public work. 1134
(2) Every person who has furnished labor or material used in 1135
the prosecution of the work provided for in such contract, in 1136
respect of which a payment bond is furnished and who has not been 1137
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paid in full therefor before the expiration of a period of ninety 1138
(90) days after the date on which the last of the labor was 1139
performed by him or the last of the materials was furnished by him 1140
and for which such claim is made, provided the same has been 1141
approved, where required, by the public authority or its architect 1142
or engineers, or such approval is being withheld as a result of 1143
unreasonable acts of the contractor, shall have the right to sue 1144
on such payment bond for the amount, or the balance thereof that 1145
is due and payable, but unpaid at the time of institution of such 1146
suit and to prosecute said action to final execution and judgment. 1147
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if the 1148
amount claimed in such action is subject to contractual provisions 1149
or conditions, between the parties involved in such action, the 1150
action shall be abated pending the performance of such provisions 1151
and the fulfillment of such conditions. 1152
(3) Any person having direct contractual relationship with a 1153
subcontractor but no contractual relationship express or implied 1154
with the contractor furnishing said payment bond shall have a 1155
right of action upon the said payment bond upon giving written 1156
notice to said contractor within ninety (90) days from the date on 1157
which such person did or performed the last of the labor or 1158
furnished or supplied the last of the material for which such 1159
claim is made, stating with substantial accuracy the amount 1160
claimed and the name of the party to whom the material was 1161
furnished or supplied or for whom the labor was done or performed. 1162
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Such notice shall be given in writing by the claimant to the 1163
contractor or surety at any place where the contractor or surety 1164
maintains an office or conducts business. Such notice may be 1165
personally delivered by the claimant to the contractor or surety, 1166
or it may be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, 1167
postage prepaid, to the contractor or surety. No such action may 1168
be maintained by any person not having a direct contractual 1169
relationship with the contractor-principal, unless the notice 1170
required by this section shall have been given. 1171
(4) The only persons protected by such payment bond, subject 1172
to the notice provisions of this section are: 1173
(a) Subcontractors and material suppliers of the 1174
contractor; 1175
(b) Sub-subcontractors and material suppliers of those 1176
subcontractors named in subsection (4)(a) of this section; and 1177
(c) Laborers who have performed work on the project 1178
site. 1179
(5) Whenever a contract is less than Twenty-five Thousand 1180
Dollars ($25,000.00) the owners may elect to make a lump sum 1181
payment at the completion of the job. Lump sum payments will not 1182
be made until completion and acceptance by the governing agency. 1183
In such a case a performance bond or payment bond will not be 1184
required. 1185
(6) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(c) for a 1186
personal surety, no surety or surety company shall be allowed to 1187
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ST: Public purchasing; increase threshold for
bidding to $15,000.00.
guarantee or write bonds for the benefit of the public body that 1188
is a party to a contract providing for the construction, 1189
alteration or repair of a public building or for public work, 1190
unless that surety is listed on the United States Treasury 1191
Department's list of acceptable sureties. If the surety is not 1192
listed on the United States Treasury Department's list of 1193
acceptable sureties, the public body for which the public work is 1194
being performed shall be liable to the extent that the surety 1195
would be liable. 1196
(7) Any person entering into a formal contract with the 1197
state which exceeds * * * Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), 1198
or with a county, city or other public authority which exceeds 1199
Twenty-five Thousand dollars ($25,000.00), for the construction, 1200
alteration or repair of any public building or public work, before 1201
entering into such contract, shall furnish to the public body 1202
proof of general liability insurance coverage in an amount not 1203
less than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) for bodily injury 1204
and property damage. Exempted from the provisions of this 1205
subsection are any persons who enter into a contract with the 1206
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for the 1207
construction, alteration or repair of the home of a disabled 1208
individual who has been determined eligible for services by the 1209
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. 1210
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 1211
and after July 1, 2026. 1212