Airport facilities; authorize contracting with companies for financing, designing, constructing, operating or maintaining of.

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To: Ports and Marine
Resources
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Younger

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 2618

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 61-5-93, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1
1972, TO AUTHORIZE AIRPORT AUTHORITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, OR OTHER 2
GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES WHO OWN OR OPERATE AIRPORTS TO CONTRACT WITH 3
COMPANIES FOR FINANCING, DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING, OPERATING, OR 4
MAINTAINING OF AIRPORT FACILITIES IN THE SAME MANNER AS PROVIDED 5
FOR TOLL ROADS OR TOLL BRIDGES PURSUANT TO SECTION 65-43-3 THROUGH 6
A LEASE OF AIRPORT PROPERTY OR OTHER CONTRACT; TO PROVIDE THAT 7
THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS AN ADDITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE 8
METHOD FOR THE PURCHASING, BUILDING, IMPROVING, OWNING OR 9
OPERATING OF AIRPORT FACILITIES UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF 10
GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES; TO PROVIDE THAT POWERS CONFERRED BY THIS 11
SECTION SHALL BE IN ADDITION TO THE POWERS CONFERRED BY ANY OTHER 12
GENERAL, SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 31-7-13, 13
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT FROM BIDDING REQUIREMENTS 14
FACILITIES LEASED OR CONTRACTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF 15
SECTION 61-5-93; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 17
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 18
61-5-93, Mississippi Code of 1972: 19
61-5-93. (1) Airport authorities, municipalities, or other 20
governmental entities who own or operate airports pursuant to this 21
Title may contract with companies for financing, designing, 22
constructing, operating, or maintaining of airport facilities in 23
the same manner as provided for toll roads or toll bridges 24
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pursuant to Section 65-43-3 through a lease of airport property or 25
other contract. 26
(2) This section shall be construed as an additional and 27
alternative method for the purchasing, building, improving, owning 28
or operating of airport facilities under the jurisdiction of 29
governmental entities including, but not limited to, airport 30
authorities, county boards of supervisors or municipal governing 31
authorities, notwithstanding any provision of the laws of the 32
state or any charter of any municipality to the contrary. 33
(3) The powers conferred by this section shall be in 34
addition to the powers conferred by any other general, special or 35
local law, and shall specifically supplement the powers of airport 36
authorities as provided in Section 65-3-12. 37
SECTION 2. Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 38
amended as follows: 39
31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall 40
purchase their commodities and printing; contract for garbage 41
collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or 42
disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; contract for 43
public construction; and contract for rentals as herein provided. 44
(a) Bidding procedure for purchases not over $5,000.00. 45
Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more than Five 46
Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), exclusive of freight or shipping 47
charges, may be made without advertising or otherwise requesting 48
competitive bids. However, nothing contained in this paragraph 49
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(a) shall be construed to prohibit any agency or governing 50
authority from establishing procedures which require competitive 51
bids on purchases of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or less. 52
(b) Bidding procedure for purchases over $5,000.00 but 53
not over $75,000.00. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 54
more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) but not more than 55
Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of freight 56
and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder 57
without publishing or posting advertisement for bids, provided at 58
least two (2) competitive written bids have been obtained. Any 59
state agency or community or junior college purchasing commodities 60
or procuring construction pursuant to this paragraph (b) may 61
authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, to accept the 62
lowest competitive written bid under Seventy-five Thousand Dollars 63
($75,000.00). Any governing authority purchasing commodities 64
pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, 65
or his designee, with regard to governing authorities other than 66
counties, or its purchase clerk, or his designee, with regard to 67
counties, to accept the lowest and best competitive written bid. 68
Such authorization shall be made in writing by the governing 69
authority and shall be maintained on file in the primary office of 70
the agency and recorded in the official minutes of the governing 71
authority, as appropriate. The purchasing agent or the purchase 72
clerk, or his designee, as the case may be, and not the governing 73
authority, shall be liable for any penalties and/or damages as may 74
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be imposed by law for any act or omission of the purchasing agent 75
or purchase clerk, or his designee, constituting a violation of 76
law in accepting any bid without approval by the governing 77
authority. The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid 78
submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or 79
governing authority and signed by authorized personnel 80
representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's 81
letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized 82
personnel representing the vendor. "Competitive" shall mean that 83
the bids are developed based upon comparable identification of the 84
needs and are developed independently and without knowledge of 85
other bids or prospective bids. Any bid item for construction in 86
excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) shall be broken down 87
by components to provide detail of component description and 88
pricing. These details shall be submitted with the written bids 89
and become part of the bid evaluation criteria. Bids may be 90
submitted by facsimile, electronic mail or other generally 91
accepted method of information distribution. Bids submitted by 92
electronic transmission shall not require the signature of the 93
vendor's representative unless required by agencies or governing 94
authorities. 95
(c) Bidding procedure for purchases over $75,000.00. 96
(i) Publication requirement. 97
1. Purchases which involve an expenditure of 98
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), exclusive of 99
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freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best 100
bidder after advertising for competitive bids once each week for 101
two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the 102
county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority 103
is located. However, all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 104
projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) 105
shall be bid. All references to American Recovery and 106
Reinvestment Act projects in this section shall not apply to 107
programs identified in Division B of the American Recovery and 108
Reinvestment Act. 109
2. Reverse auctions shall be the primary 110
method for receiving bids during the bidding process. If a 111
purchasing entity determines that a reverse auction is not in the 112
best interest of the state, then that determination must be 113
approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. The purchasing 114
entity shall submit a detailed explanation of why a reverse 115
auction would not be in the best interest of the state and present 116
an alternative process to be approved by the Public Procurement 117
Review Board. If the Public Procurement Review Board authorizes 118
the purchasing entity to solicit bids with a method other than 119
reverse auction, then the purchasing entity may designate the 120
other methods by which the bids will be received, including, but 121
not limited to, bids sealed in an envelope, bids received 122
electronically in a secure system, or bids received by any other 123
method that promotes open competition and has been approved by the 124
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Office of Purchasing and Travel. However, reverse auction shall 125
not be used for any public contract for design, construction, 126
improvement, repair or remodeling of any public facilities, 127
including the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment or goods 128
for same and including buildings, roads and bridges. The Public 129
Procurement Review Board must approve any contract entered into by 130
alternative process. The provisions of this item 2 shall not 131
apply to the individual state institutions of higher learning. 132
The provisions of this item 2 requiring reverse auction as the 133
primary method of receiving bids shall not apply to term contract 134
purchases as provided in paragraph (n) of this section; however, a 135
purchasing entity may, in its discretion, utilize reverse auction 136
for such purchases. The provisions of this item 2 shall not apply 137
to individual public schools, including public charter schools and 138
public school districts, only when purchasing copyrighted 139
educational supplemental materials and software as a service 140
product. For such purchases, a local school board may authorize a 141
purchasing entity in its jurisdiction to use a Request for 142
Qualifications which promotes open competition and meets the 143
requirements of the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 144
3. The date as published for the bid opening 145
shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last 146
published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction 147
project in which the estimated cost is in excess of Seventy-five 148
Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in 149
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less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is 150
published and the notice for the purchase of such construction 151
shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. 152
The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment 153
shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, 154
list the contracts to be made or types of equipment or supplies to 155
be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not 156
published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. If 157
there is no newspaper published in the county or municipality, 158
then such notice shall be given by posting same at the courthouse, 159
or for municipalities at the city hall, and at two (2) other 160
public places in the county or municipality, and also by 161
publication once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in some 162
newspaper having a general circulation in the county or 163
municipality in the above-provided manner. On the same date that 164
the notice is submitted to the newspaper for publication, the 165
agency or governing authority involved shall mail written notice 166
to, or provide electronic notification to the main office of the 167
Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program under the 168
Mississippi Development Authority that contains the same 169
information as that in the published notice. Within one (1) 170
working day of the contract award, the agency or governing 171
authority shall post to the designated web page maintained by the 172
Department of Finance and Administration, notice of the award, 173
including the award recipient, the contract amount, and a brief 174
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summary of the contract in accordance with rules promulgated by 175
the department. Within one (1) working day of the contract 176
execution, the agency or governing authority shall post to the 177
designated web page maintained by the Department of Finance and 178
Administration a summary of the executed contract and make a copy 179
of the appropriately redacted contract documents available for 180
linking to the designated web page in accordance with the rules 181
promulgated by the department. The information provided by the 182
agency or governing authority shall be posted to the web page 183
until the project is completed. 184
4. Agencies and governing authorities using 185
federal funds for the procurement of any good or service, 186
including exempt personal and professional services, must comply 187
with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and 188
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards - Subpart D - Post Federal 189
Award Requirements Procurement Standards, in accordance with 2 CFR 190
200.317 through 2 CFR 200.327. 191
(ii) Bidding process amendment procedure. If all 192
plans and/or specifications are published in the notification, 193
then the plans and/or specifications may not be amended. If all 194
plans and/or specifications are not published in the notification, 195
then amendments to the plans/specifications, bid opening date, bid 196
opening time and place may be made, provided that the agency or 197
governing authority maintains a list of all prospective bidders 198
who are known to have received a copy of the bid documents and all 199
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such prospective bidders are sent copies of all amendments. This 200
notification of amendments may be made via mail, facsimile, 201
electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information 202
distribution. No addendum to bid specifications may be issued 203
within two (2) working days of the time established for the 204
receipt of bids unless such addendum also amends the bid opening 205
to a date not less than five (5) working days after the date of 206
the addendum. 207
(iii) Filing requirement. In all cases involving 208
governing authorities, before the notice shall be published or 209
posted, the plans or specifications for the construction or 210
equipment being sought shall be filed with the clerk of the board 211
of the governing authority. In addition to these requirements, a 212
bid file shall be established which shall indicate those vendors 213
to whom such solicitations and specifications were issued, and 214
such file shall also contain such information as is pertinent to 215
the bid. 216
(iv) Specification restrictions. 217
1. Specifications pertinent to such bidding 218
shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of 219
domestic manufacture. However, if valid justification is 220
presented, the Department of Finance and Administration or the 221
board of a governing authority may approve a request for specific 222
equipment necessary to perform a specific job. Further, such 223
justification, when placed on the minutes of the board of a 224
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governing authority, may serve as authority for that governing 225
authority to write specifications to require a specific item of 226
equipment needed to perform a specific job. In addition to these 227
requirements, from and after July 1, 1990, vendors of relocatable 228
classrooms and the specifications for the purchase of such 229
relocatable classrooms published by local school boards shall meet 230
all pertinent regulations of the State Board of Education, 231
including prior approval of such bid by the State Department of 232
Education. 233
2. Specifications for construction projects 234
may include an allowance for commodities, equipment, furniture, 235
construction materials or systems in which prospective bidders are 236
instructed to include in their bids specified amounts for such 237
items so long as the allowance items are acquired by the vendor in 238
a commercially reasonable manner and approved by the 239
agency/governing authority. Such acquisitions shall not be made 240
to circumvent the public purchasing laws. 241
(v) Electronic bids. Agencies and governing 242
authorities shall provide a secure electronic interactive system 243
for the submittal of bids requiring competitive bidding that shall 244
be an additional bidding option for those bidders who choose to 245
submit their bids electronically. The Department of Finance and 246
Administration shall provide, by regulation, the standards that 247
agencies must follow when receiving electronic bids. Agencies and 248
governing authorities shall make the appropriate provisions 249
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necessary to accept electronic bids from those bidders who choose 250
to submit their bids electronically for all purchases requiring 251
competitive bidding under this section. Any special condition or 252
requirement for the electronic bid submission shall be specified 253
in the advertisement for bids required by this section. Agencies 254
or governing authorities that are currently without available high 255
speed Internet access shall be exempt from the requirement of this 256
subparagraph (v) until such time that high speed Internet access 257
becomes available. Any county having a population of less than 258
twenty thousand (20,000) shall be exempt from the provisions of 259
this subparagraph (v). Any municipality having a population of 260
less than ten thousand (10,000) shall be exempt from the 261
provisions of this subparagraph (v). The provisions of this 262
subparagraph (v) shall not require any bidder to submit bids 263
electronically. When construction bids are submitted 264
electronically, the requirement for including a certificate of 265
responsibility, or a statement that the bid enclosed does not 266
exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), on the exterior of the 267
bid envelope as indicated in Section 31-3-21(1) and (2) shall be 268
deemed in compliance with by including same as an attachment with 269
the electronic bid submittal. 270
(d) Lowest and best bid decision procedure. 271
(i) Decision procedure. Purchases may be made 272
from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and 273
best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 274
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Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 275
buy-back provisions and other relevant provisions may be included 276
in the best bid calculation. All best bid procedures for state 277
agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the 278
Department of Finance and Administration. If any governing 279
authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually 280
submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and 281
narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to 282
be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the 283
accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency 284
or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not 285
included in the specifications. 286
(ii) Decision procedure for Certified Purchasing 287
Offices. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 288
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), Certified Purchasing 289
Offices may also use the following procedure: Purchases may be 290
made from the bidder offering the best value. In determining the 291
best value bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. 292
Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed 293
buy-back provisions, documented previous experience, training 294
costs and other relevant provisions, including, but not limited 295
to, a bidder having a local office and inventory located within 296
the jurisdiction of the governing authority, may be included in 297
the best value calculation. This provision shall authorize 298
Certified Purchasing Offices to utilize a Request For Proposals 299
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(RFP) process when purchasing commodities. All best value 300
procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with 301
regulations established by the Department of Finance and 302
Administration. No agency or governing authority shall accept a 303
bid based on items or criteria not included in the specifications. 304
(iii) Decision procedure for Prequalified 305
Construction. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in 306
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), where purchase involves 307
renovation, restoration, or both, of the State Capitol Building or 308
any other historical building designated for at least five (5) 309
years as a Mississippi Landmark by the Board of Trustees of the 310
Department of Archives and History under the authority of Sections 311
39-7-7 and 39-7-11, or for any other construction procurement with 312
a minimum construction cost of Ten Million Dollars 313
($10,000,000.00) where the agency or governing authority has 314
determined that prequalification of bidders is in the best 315
interest of the state, the agency or governing authority may use 316
the following procedure: Purchases may be made from the lowest 317
and best prequalified bidder. Solicitation of the 318
prequalification of bidders shall be in accordance with paragraph 319
(c) of this section and shall be determined not less than fifteen 320
(15) working days before the prequalified bidders are invited to 321
submit bids. Prequalification criteria shall be limited to 322
bidder's and proposed sub-contractor's knowledge and experience on 323
projects of similar size and scope, past performance, project 324
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management team and financial stability. All best bid and 325
prequalification procedures for state agencies must be in 326
compliance with regulations established by the Department of 327
Finance and Administration. If any governing authority accepts a 328
bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place 329
on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing 330
that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best 331
bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the 332
dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority 333
shall accept a bid based on items not included in the 334
specifications. 335
(iv) Construction project negotiations authority. 336
If the lowest and best bid is not more than ten percent (10%) 337
above the amount of funds allocated for a public construction or 338
renovation project, then the agency or governing authority shall 339
be permitted to negotiate with the lowest bidder in order to enter 340
into a contract for an amount not to exceed the funds allocated. 341
(e) Lease-purchase authorization. For the purposes of 342
this section, the term "equipment" shall mean equipment, furniture 343
and, if applicable, associated software and other applicable 344
direct costs associated with the acquisition. Any lease-purchase 345
of equipment which an agency is not required to lease-purchase 346
under the master lease-purchase program pursuant to Section 347
31-7-10 and any lease-purchase of equipment which a governing 348
authority elects to lease-purchase may be acquired by a 349
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lease-purchase agreement under this paragraph (e). Lease-purchase 350
financing may also be obtained from the vendor or from a 351
third-party source after having solicited and obtained at least 352
two (2) written competitive bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of 353
this section, for such financing without advertising for such 354
bids. Solicitation for the bids for financing may occur before or 355
after acceptance of bids for the purchase of such equipment or, 356
where no such bids for purchase are required, at any time before 357
the purchase thereof. No such lease-purchase agreement shall be 358
for an annual rate of interest which is greater than the overall 359
maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation 360
indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101, and the term of 361
such lease-purchase agreement shall not exceed the useful life of 362
equipment covered thereby as determined according to the upper 363
limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the 364
Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the 365
Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal 366
Revenue Code and regulations thereunder as in effect on December 367
31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to 368
any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. Any lease-purchase 369
agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph (e) may contain 370
any of the terms and conditions which a master lease-purchase 371
agreement may contain under the provisions of Section 31-7-10(5), 372
and shall contain an annual allocation dependency clause 373
substantially similar to that set forth in Section 31-7-10(8). 374
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Each agency or governing authority entering into a lease-purchase 375
transaction pursuant to this paragraph (e) shall maintain with 376
respect to each such lease-purchase transaction the same 377
information as required to be maintained by the Department of 378
Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-10(13). 379
However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to 380
permit agencies to acquire items of equipment with a total 381
acquisition cost in the aggregate of less than Ten Thousand 382
Dollars ($10,000.00) by a single lease-purchase transaction. All 383
equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired by 384
lease-purchase under this paragraph and all lease-purchase 385
payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi 386
sales, use and ad valorem taxes. Interest paid on any 387
lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from 388
State of Mississippi income taxation. 389
(f) Alternate bid authorization. When necessary to 390
ensure ready availability of commodities for public works and the 391
timely completion of public projects, no more than two (2) 392
alternate bids may be accepted by a governing authority for 393
commodities. No purchases may be made through use of such 394
alternate bids procedure unless the lowest and best bidder cannot 395
deliver the commodities contained in his bid. In that event, 396
purchases of such commodities may be made from one (1) of the 397
bidders whose bid was accepted as an alternate. 398
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(g) Construction contract change authorization. In the 399
event a determination is made by an agency or governing authority 400
after a construction contract is let that changes or modifications 401
to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the 402
purpose of the agency or the governing authority, such agency or 403
governing authority may, in its discretion, order such changes 404
pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the 405
circumstances without the necessity of further public bids; 406
provided that such change shall be made in a commercially 407
reasonable manner and shall not be made to circumvent the public 408
purchasing statutes. In addition to any other authorized person, 409
the architect or engineer hired by an agency or governing 410
authority with respect to any public construction contract shall 411
have the authority, when granted by an agency or governing 412
authority, to authorize changes or modifications to the original 413
contract without the necessity of prior approval of the agency or 414
governing authority when any such change or modification is less 415
than one percent (1%) of the total contract amount. The agency or 416
governing authority may limit the number, manner or frequency of 417
such emergency changes or modifications. 418
(h) Petroleum purchase alternative. In addition to 419
other methods of purchasing authorized in this chapter, when any 420
agency or governing authority shall have a need for gas, diesel 421
fuel, oils and/or other petroleum products in excess of the amount 422
set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, such agency or 423
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governing authority may purchase the commodity after having 424
solicited and obtained at least two (2) competitive written bids, 425
as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. If two (2) 426
competitive written bids are not obtained, the entity shall comply 427
with the procedures set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. 428
In the event any agency or governing authority shall have 429
advertised for bids for the purchase of gas, diesel fuel, oils and 430
other petroleum products and coal and no acceptable bids can be 431
obtained, such agency or governing authority is authorized and 432
directed to enter into any negotiations necessary to secure the 433
lowest and best contract available for the purchase of such 434
commodities. 435
(i) Road construction petroleum products price 436
adjustment clause authorization. Any agency or governing 437
authority authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, 438
maintenance, surfacing or repair of highways, roads or streets, 439
may include in its bid proposal and contract documents a price 440
adjustment clause with relation to the cost to the contractor, 441
including taxes, based upon an industry-wide cost index, of 442
petroleum products including asphalt used in the performance or 443
execution of the contract or in the production or manufacture of 444
materials for use in such performance. Such industry-wide index 445
shall be established and published monthly by the Mississippi 446
Department of Transportation with a copy thereof to be mailed, 447
upon request, to the clerks of the governing authority of each 448
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municipality and the clerks of each board of supervisors 449
throughout the state. The price adjustment clause shall be based 450
on the cost of such petroleum products only and shall not include 451
any additional profit or overhead as part of the adjustment. The 452
bid proposals or document contract shall contain the basis and 453
methods of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of 454
such petroleum products. 455
(j) State agency emergency purchase procedure. If the 456
governing board or the executive head, or his designees, of any 457
agency of the state shall determine that an emergency exists in 458
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 459
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 460
bidding would be detrimental to the interests of the state, then 461
the head of such agency, or his designees, shall file with the 462
Department of Finance and Administration (i) a statement 463
explaining the conditions and circumstances of the emergency, 464
which shall include a detailed description of the events leading 465
up to the situation and the negative impact to the entity if the 466
purchase is made following the statutory requirements set forth in 467
paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section, and (ii) a certified 468
copy of the appropriate minutes of the board of such agency 469
requesting the emergency purchase, if applicable. Upon receipt of 470
the statement and applicable board certification, the State Fiscal 471
Officer, or his designees, may, in writing, authorize the purchase 472
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or repair without having to comply with competitive bidding 473
requirements. 474
If the governing board or the executive head, or his 475
designees, of any agency determines that an emergency exists in 476
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 477
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 478
bidding would threaten the health or safety of any person, or the 479
preservation or protection of property, then the provisions in 480
this section for competitive bidding shall not apply, and any 481
officer or agent of the agency having general or specific 482
authority for making the purchase or repair contract shall approve 483
the bill presented for payment, and he shall certify in writing 484
from whom the purchase was made, or with whom the repair contract 485
was made. 486
Total purchases made under this paragraph (j) shall only be 487
for the purpose of meeting needs created by the emergency 488
situation. Following the emergency purchase, documentation of the 489
purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the 490
purchase price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be 491
filed with the Department of Finance and Administration. Any 492
contract awarded pursuant to this paragraph (j) shall not exceed a 493
term of one (1) year. 494
Purchases under the grant program established under Section 495
37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the directive that school 496
districts create a distance learning plan and fulfill technology 497
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needs expeditiously shall be deemed an emergency purchase for 498
purposes of this paragraph (j). 499
(k) Governing authority emergency purchase procedure. 500
If the governing authority, or the governing authority acting 501
through its designee, shall determine that an emergency exists in 502
regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so 503
that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive 504
bidding would be detrimental to the interest of the governing 505
authority, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding 506
shall not apply and any officer or agent of such governing 507
authority having general or special authority therefor in making 508
such purchase or repair shall approve the bill presented therefor, 509
and he shall certify in writing thereon from whom such purchase 510
was made, or with whom such a repair contract was made. At the 511
board meeting next following the emergency purchase or repair 512
contract, documentation of the purchase or repair contract, 513
including a description of the commodity purchased, the price 514
thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the 515
board and shall be placed on the minutes of the board of such 516
governing authority. Purchases under the grant program 517
established under Section 37-68-7 in response to COVID-19 and the 518
directive that school districts create a distance learning plan 519
and fulfill technology needs expeditiously shall be deemed an 520
emergency purchase for purposes of this paragraph (k). 521
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(l) Hospital purchase, lease-purchase and lease 522
authorization. 523
(i) The commissioners or board of trustees of any 524
public hospital may contract with such lowest and best bidder for 525
the purchase or lease-purchase of any commodity under a contract 526
of purchase or lease-purchase agreement whose obligatory payment 527
terms do not exceed five (5) years. 528
(ii) In addition to the authority granted in 529
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (l), the commissioners or board 530
of trustees is authorized to enter into contracts for the lease of 531
equipment or services, or both, which it considers necessary for 532
the proper care of patients if, in its opinion, it is not 533
financially feasible to purchase the necessary equipment or 534
services. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or 535
services executed by the commissioners or board shall not exceed a 536
maximum of five (5) years' duration and shall include a 537
cancellation clause based on unavailability of funds. If such 538
cancellation clause is exercised, there shall be no further 539
liability on the part of the lessee. Any such contract for the 540
lease of equipment or services executed on behalf of the 541
commissioners or board that complies with the provisions of this 542
subparagraph (ii) shall be excepted from the bid requirements set 543
forth in this section. 544
(m) Exceptions from bidding requirements. Excepted 545
from bid requirements are: 546
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(i) Purchasing agreements approved by department. 547
Purchasing agreements, contracts and maximum price regulations 548
executed or approved by the Department of Finance and 549
Administration. 550
(ii) Outside equipment repairs. Repairs to 551
equipment, when such repairs are made by repair facilities in the 552
private sector; however, engines, transmissions, rear axles and/or 553
other such components shall not be included in this exemption when 554
replaced as a complete unit instead of being repaired and the need 555
for such total component replacement is known before disassembly 556
of the component; however, invoices identifying the equipment, 557
specific repairs made, parts identified by number and name, 558
supplies used in such repairs, and the number of hours of labor 559
and costs therefor shall be required for the payment for such 560
repairs. 561
(iii) In-house equipment repairs. Purchases of 562
parts for repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by 563
personnel of the agency or governing authority; however, entire 564
assemblies, such as engines or transmissions, shall not be 565
included in this exemption when the entire assembly is being 566
replaced instead of being repaired. 567
(iv) Raw gravel or dirt. Raw unprocessed deposits 568
of gravel or fill dirt which are to be removed and transported by 569
the purchaser. 570
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(v) Governmental equipment auctions. Motor 571
vehicles or other equipment purchased from a federal agency or 572
authority, another governing authority or state agency of the 573
State of Mississippi, or any governing authority or state agency 574
of another state at a public auction held for the purpose of 575
disposing of such vehicles or other equipment. Any purchase by a 576
governing authority under the exemption authorized by this 577
subparagraph (v) shall require advance authorization spread upon 578
the minutes of the governing authority to include the listing of 579
the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid 580
authorized to be paid for each item or items. 581
(vi) Intergovernmental sales and transfers. 582
Purchases, sales, transfers or trades by governing authorities or 583
state agencies when such purchases, sales, transfers or trades are 584
made by a private treaty agreement or through means of 585
negotiation, from any federal agency or authority, another 586
governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, 587
or any state agency or governing authority of another state. 588
Nothing in this section shall permit such purchases through public 589
auction except as provided for in subparagraph (v) of this 590
paragraph (m). It is the intent of this section to allow 591
governmental entities to dispose of and/or purchase commodities 592
from other governmental entities at a price that is agreed to by 593
both parties. This shall allow for purchases and/or sales at 594
prices which may be determined to be below the market value if the 595
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selling entity determines that the sale at below market value is 596
in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state. Governing 597
authorities shall place the terms of the agreement and any 598
justification on the minutes, and state agencies shall obtain 599
approval from the Department of Finance and Administration, prior 600
to releasing or taking possession of the commodities. 601
(vii) Perishable supplies or food. Perishable 602
supplies or food purchased for use in connection with hospitals, 603
the school lunch programs, homemaking programs and for the feeding 604
of county or municipal prisoners. 605
(viii) Single-source items. Noncompetitive items 606
available from one (1) source only. In connection with the 607
purchase of noncompetitive items only available from one (1) 608
source, a certification of the conditions and circumstances 609
requiring the purchase shall be filed by the agency with the 610
Department of Finance and Administration and by the governing 611
authority with the board of the governing authority. Upon receipt 612
of that certification the Department of Finance and Administration 613
or the board of the governing authority, as the case may be, may, 614
in writing, authorize the purchase, which authority shall be noted 615
on the minutes of the body at the next regular meeting thereafter. 616
In those situations, a governing authority is not required to 617
obtain the approval of the Department of Finance and 618
Administration. Following the purchase, the executive head of the 619
state agency, or his designees, shall file with the Department of 620
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Finance and Administration, documentation of the purchase, 621
including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase 622
price thereof and the source from whom it was purchased. 623
(ix) Waste disposal facility construction 624
contracts. Construction of incinerators and other facilities for 625
disposal of solid wastes in which products either generated 626
therein, such as steam, or recovered therefrom, such as materials 627
for recycling, are to be sold or otherwise disposed of; however, 628
in constructing such facilities, a governing authority or agency 629
shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised for in the 630
same manner as provided herein for seeking bids for public 631
construction projects, concerning the design, construction, 632
ownership, operation and/or maintenance of such facilities, 633
wherein such requests for proposals when issued shall contain 634
terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 635
technology, environmental compatibility, legal responsibilities 636
and such other matters as are determined by the governing 637
authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; and after 638
responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, 639
the governing authority or agency may select the most qualified 640
proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other 641
relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the 642
terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of 643
the persons or firms submitting proposals. 644
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(x) Hospital group purchase contracts. Supplies, 645
commodities and equipment purchased by hospitals through group 646
purchase programs pursuant to Section 31-7-38. 647
(xi) Information technology products. Purchases 648
of information technology products made by governing authorities 649
under the provisions of purchase schedules, or contracts executed 650
or approved by the Mississippi Department of Information 651
Technology Services and designated for use by governing 652
authorities. 653
(xii) Energy efficiency services and equipment. 654
Energy efficiency services and equipment acquired by school 655
districts, community and junior colleges, institutions of higher 656
learning and state agencies or other applicable governmental 657
entities on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis 658
pursuant to Section 31-7-14. 659
(xiii) Municipal electrical utility system fuel. 660
Purchases of coal and/or natural gas by municipally owned electric 661
power generating systems that have the capacity to use both coal 662
and natural gas for the generation of electric power. 663
(xiv) Library books and other reference materials. 664
Purchases by libraries or for libraries of books and periodicals; 665
processed film, videocassette tapes, filmstrips and slides; 666
recorded audiotapes, cassettes and diskettes; and any such items 667
as would be used for teaching, research or other information 668
distribution; however, equipment such as projectors, recorders, 669
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audio or video equipment, and monitor televisions are not exempt 670
under this subparagraph. 671
(xv) Unmarked vehicles. Purchases of unmarked 672
vehicles when such purchases are made in accordance with 673
purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and 674
Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2). 675
(xvi) Election ballots. Purchases of ballots 676
printed pursuant to Section 23-15-351. 677
(xvii) Multichannel interactive video systems. 678
From and after July 1, 1990, contracts by Mississippi Authority 679
for Educational Television with any private educational 680
institution or private nonprofit organization whose purposes are 681
educational in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or 682
lease-purchase of facilities and equipment and the employment of 683
personnel for providing multichannel interactive video systems 684
(ITSF) in the school districts of this state. 685
(xviii) Purchases of prison industry products by 686
the Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 687
privately owned prisons. Purchases made by the Mississippi 688
Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or 689
privately owned prisons involving any item that is manufactured, 690
processed, grown or produced from the state's prison industries. 691
(xix) Undercover operations equipment. Purchases 692
of surveillance equipment or any other high-tech equipment to be 693
used by law enforcement agents in undercover operations, provided 694
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that any such purchase shall be in compliance with regulations 695
established by the Department of Finance and Administration. 696
(xx) Junior college books for rent. Purchases by 697
community or junior colleges of textbooks which are obtained for 698
the purpose of renting such books to students as part of a book 699
service system. 700
(xxi) Certain school district purchases. 701
Purchases of commodities made by school districts from vendors 702
with which any levying authority of the school district, as 703
defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive 704
bidding procedures for purchases of the same commodities. 705
(xxii) Garbage, solid waste and sewage contracts. 706
Contracts for garbage collection or disposal, contracts for solid 707
waste collection or disposal and contracts for sewage collection 708
or disposal. 709
(xxiii) Municipal water tank maintenance 710
contracts. Professional maintenance program contracts for the 711
repair or maintenance of municipal water tanks, which provide 712
professional services needed to maintain municipal water storage 713
tanks for a fixed annual fee for a duration of two (2) or more 714
years. 715
(xxiv) Purchases of Mississippi Industries for the 716
Blind products or services. Purchases made by state agencies or 717
governing authorities involving any item that is manufactured, 718
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processed or produced by, or any services provided by, the 719
Mississippi Industries for the Blind. 720
(xxv) Purchases of state-adopted textbooks. 721
Purchases of state-adopted textbooks by public school districts. 722
(xxvi) Certain purchases under the Mississippi 723
Major Economic Impact Act. Contracts entered into pursuant to the 724
provisions of Section 57-75-9(2), (3) and (4). 725
(xxvii) Used heavy or specialized machinery or 726
equipment for installation of soil and water conservation 727
practices purchased at auction. Used heavy or specialized 728
machinery or equipment used for the installation and 729
implementation of soil and water conservation practices or 730
measures purchased subject to the restrictions provided in 731
Sections 69-27-331 through 69-27-341. Any purchase by the State 732
Soil and Water Conservation Commission under the exemption 733
authorized by this subparagraph shall require advance 734
authorization spread upon the minutes of the commission to include 735
the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and 736
the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items. 737
(xxviii) Hospital lease of equipment or services. 738
Leases by hospitals of equipment or services if the leases are in 739
compliance with paragraph (l)(ii). 740
(xxix) Purchases made pursuant to qualified 741
cooperative purchasing agreements. Purchases made by certified 742
purchasing offices of state agencies or governing authorities 743
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under cooperative purchasing agreements previously approved by the 744
Office of Purchasing and Travel and established by or for any 745
municipality, county, parish or state government or the federal 746
government, provided that the notification to potential 747
contractors includes a clause that sets forth the availability of 748
the cooperative purchasing agreement to other governmental 749
entities. Such purchases shall only be made if the use of the 750
cooperative purchasing agreements is determined to be in the best 751
interest of the governmental entity. 752
(xxx) School yearbooks. Purchases of school 753
yearbooks by state agencies or governing authorities; however, 754
state agencies and governing authorities shall use for these 755
purchases the RFP process as set forth in the Mississippi 756
Procurement Manual adopted by the Office of Purchasing and Travel. 757
(xxxi) Design-build method of contracting and 758
certain other contracts. Contracts entered into under the 759
provisions of Section 31-7-13.1, 37-101-44 or 65-1-85. 760
(xxxii) Toll roads and bridge construction 761
projects. Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 762
65-43-1 or 65-43-3. 763
(xxxiii) Certain purchases under Section 57-1-221. 764
Contracts entered into pursuant to the provisions of Section 765
57-1-221. 766
(xxxiv) Certain transfers made pursuant to the 767
provisions of Section 57-105-1(7). Transfers of public property 768
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or facilities under Section 57-105-1(7) and construction related 769
to such public property or facilities. 770
(xxxv) Certain purchases or transfers entered into 771
with local electrical power associations. Contracts or agreements 772
entered into under the provisions of Section 55-3-33. 773
(xxxvi) Certain purchases by an academic medical 774
center or health sciences school. Purchases by an academic 775
medical center or health sciences school, as defined in Section 776
37-115-50, of commodities that are used for clinical purposes and 777
1. intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other 778
conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of 779
disease, and 2. medical devices, biological, drugs and 780
radiation-emitting devices as defined by the United States Food 781
and Drug Administration. 782
(xxxvii) Certain purchases made under the Alyce G. 783
Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law. Contracts made by the Mississippi 784
Lottery Corporation pursuant to the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi 785
Lottery Law. 786
(xxxviii) Certain purchases made by the Department 787
of Health and the Department of Revenue. Purchases made by the 788
Department of Health and the Department of Revenue solely for the 789
purpose of fulfilling their respective responsibilities under the 790
Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. This subparagraph shall stand 791
repealed on June 30, 2026. 792
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(xxxix) Purchases made by state agencies related 793
to museum exhibits. Purchases made by an agency related to the 794
fabrication, construction, installation or refurbishing of museum 795
exhibits. An agency making a purchase under this exemption in 796
excess of the bid threshold set forth in paragraph (c) of this 797
section shall publicly advertise a Request for Qualifications or 798
Request for Proposals in which price as an evaluation factor is at 799
least twenty percent (20%) out of the one hundred percent (100%) 800
total weight, but shall be otherwise exempt. Any contract arising 801
from a purchase using this exemption must be approved by the 802
Public Procurement Review Board prior to execution by the agency. 803
The agency shall submit a written report on December 1 of each 804
year to the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations 805
Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House Accountability, 806
Efficiency and Transparency Committees and the Chair of the Public 807
Procurement Review Board, identifying all purchases made by the 808
agency using this exemption in which the cost of the option 809
selected by the agency was more than twenty-five percent (25%) 810
higher than the lowest cost option available. 811
(xxxx) Certain leases of airport property or 812
contracts entered into by airport authorities, municipalities, or 813
other governmental entities who own or operate airports. 814
Facilities leased or contracted pursuant to the provisions of 815
Section 61-5-93. 816
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(n) Term contract authorization. All contracts for the 817
purchase of: 818
(i) All contracts for the purchase of commodities, 819
equipment and public construction (including, but not limited to, 820
repair and maintenance), may be let for periods of not more than 821
sixty (60) months in advance, subject to applicable statutory 822
provisions prohibiting the letting of contracts during specified 823
periods near the end of terms of office. Term contracts for a 824
period exceeding twenty-four (24) months shall also be subject to 825
ratification or cancellation by governing authority boards taking 826
office subsequent to the governing authority board entering the 827
contract. 828
(ii) Bid proposals and contracts may include price 829
adjustment clauses with relation to the cost to the contractor 830
based upon a nationally published industry-wide or nationally 831
published and recognized cost index. The cost index used in a 832
price adjustment clause shall be determined by the Department of 833
Finance and Administration for the state agencies and by the 834
governing board for governing authorities. The bid proposal and 835
contract documents utilizing a price adjustment clause shall 836
contain the basis and method of adjusting unit prices for the 837
change in the cost of such commodities, equipment and public 838
construction. 839
(o) Purchase law violation prohibition and vendor 840
penalty. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be 841
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made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this 842
section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any 843
person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within 844
those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value 845
of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized 846
amount and the invoices therefor are split so as to appear to be 847
authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not 848
required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a 849
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Five Hundred 850
Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), 851
or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or 852
both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims 853
submitted shall be forfeited. 854
(p) Electrical utility petroleum-based equipment 855
purchase procedure. When in response to a proper advertisement 856
therefor, no bid firm as to price is submitted to an electric 857
utility for power transformers, distribution transformers, power 858
breakers, reclosers or other articles containing a petroleum 859
product, the electric utility may accept the lowest and best bid 860
therefor although the price is not firm. 861
(q) Fuel management system bidding procedure. Any 862
governing authority or agency of the state shall, before 863
contracting for the services and products of a fuel management or 864
fuel access system, enter into negotiations with not fewer than 865
two (2) sellers of fuel management or fuel access systems for 866
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competitive written bids to provide the services and products for 867
the systems. In the event that the governing authority or agency 868
cannot locate two (2) sellers of such systems or cannot obtain 869
bids from two (2) sellers of such systems, it shall show proof 870
that it made a diligent, good-faith effort to locate and negotiate 871
with two (2) sellers of such systems. Such proof shall include, 872
but not be limited to, publications of a request for proposals and 873
letters soliciting negotiations and bids. For purposes of this 874
paragraph (q), a fuel management or fuel access system is an 875
automated system of acquiring fuel for vehicles as well as 876
management reports detailing fuel use by vehicles and drivers, and 877
the term "competitive written bid" shall have the meaning as 878
defined in paragraph (b) of this section. Governing authorities 879
and agencies shall be exempt from this process when contracting 880
for the services and products of fuel management or fuel access 881
systems under the terms of a state contract established by the 882
Office of Purchasing and Travel. 883
(r) Solid waste contract proposal procedure. Before 884
entering into any contract for garbage collection or disposal, 885
contract for solid waste collection or disposal or contract for 886
sewage collection or disposal, which involves an expenditure of 887
more than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), a governing 888
authority or agency shall issue publicly a request for proposals 889
concerning the specifications for such services which shall be 890
advertised for in the same manner as provided in this section for 891
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seeking bids for purchases which involve an expenditure of more 892
than the amount provided in paragraph (c) of this section. Any 893
request for proposals when issued shall contain terms and 894
conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, 895
technology, legal responsibilities and other relevant factors as 896
are determined by the governing authority or agency to be 897
appropriate for inclusion; all factors determined relevant by the 898
governing authority or agency or required by this paragraph (r) 899
shall be duly included in the advertisement to elicit proposals. 900
After responses to the request for proposals have been duly 901
received, the governing authority or agency shall select the most 902
qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology 903
and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not 904
limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter into contracts 905
with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. If 906
the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to 907
be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals 908
process may be reinitiated. Notwithstanding any other provisions 909
of this paragraph, where a county with at least thirty-five 910
thousand (35,000) nor more than forty thousand (40,000) 911
population, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, owns 912
or operates a solid waste landfill, the governing authorities of 913
any other county or municipality may contract with the governing 914
authorities of the county owning or operating the landfill, 915
pursuant to a resolution duly adopted and spread upon the minutes 916
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of each governing authority involved, for garbage or solid waste 917
collection or disposal services through contract negotiations. 918
(s) Minority set-aside authorization. Notwithstanding 919
any provision of this section to the contrary, any agency or 920
governing authority, by order placed on its minutes, may, in its 921
discretion, set aside not more than twenty percent (20%) of its 922
anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities 923
from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases 924
shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the 925
Department of Finance and Administration and shall be subject to 926
bid requirements under this section. Set-aside purchases for 927
which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest 928
and best minority business bidder. For the purposes of this 929
paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is 930
owned by a majority of persons who are United States citizens or 931
permanent resident aliens (as defined by the Immigration and 932
Naturalization Service) of the United States, and who are Asian, 933
Black, Hispanic or Native American, according to the following 934
definitions: 935
(i) "Asian" means persons having origins in any of 936
the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian 937
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. 938
(ii) "Black" means persons having origins in any 939
black racial group of Africa. 940
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(iii) "Hispanic" means persons of Spanish or 941
Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central 942
America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race. 943
(iv) "Native American" means persons having 944
origins in any of the original people of North America, including 945
American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. 946
(t) Construction punch list restriction. The 947
architect, engineer or other representative designated by the 948
agency or governing authority that is contracting for public 949
construction or renovation may prepare and submit to the 950
contractor only one (1) preliminary punch list of items that do 951
not meet the contract requirements at the time of substantial 952
completion and one (1) final list immediately before final 953
completion and final payment. 954
(u) Procurement of construction services by state 955
institutions of higher learning. Contracts for privately financed 956
construction of auxiliary facilities on the campus of a state 957
institution of higher learning may be awarded by the Board of 958
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to the lowest 959
and best bidder, where sealed bids are solicited, or to the 960
offeror whose proposal is determined to represent the best value 961
to the citizens of the State of Mississippi, where requests for 962
proposals are solicited. 963
(v) Insurability of bidders for public construction or 964
other public contracts. In any solicitation for bids to perform 965
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public construction or other public contracts to which this 966
section applies, including, but not limited to, contracts for 967
repair and maintenance, for which the contract will require 968
insurance coverage in an amount of not less than One Million 969
Dollars ($1,000,000.00), bidders shall be permitted to either 970
submit proof of current insurance coverage in the specified amount 971
or demonstrate ability to obtain the required coverage amount of 972
insurance if the contract is awarded to the bidder. Proof of 973
insurance coverage shall be submitted within five (5) business 974
days from bid acceptance. 975
(w) Purchase authorization clarification. Nothing in 976
this section shall be construed as authorizing any purchase not 977
authorized by law. 978
(x) Mississippi Regional Pre-Need Disaster Clean Up 979
Act. (i) The Department of Finance and Administration shall 980
develop and implement a process that creates a preferred vendor 981
list for both disaster debris removal and monitoring. 982
(ii) Any board of supervisors of any county or any 983
governing authority of any municipality may opt in to the benefits 984
and services provided under the appropriate and relevant contract 985
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph at the time of a 986
disaster event in that county or municipality. At the time of opt 987
in, the county or municipality shall assume responsibility for 988
payment in full to the contractor for the disaster-related solid 989
waste collection, disposal or monitoring services provided. 990
S. B. No. 2618 *SS26/R895CS* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R895CS
PAGE 41
ST: Airport facilities; authorize contracting
with companies for financing, designing,
constructing, operating or maintaining of.
Nothing in this subparagraph (ii) shall be construed as requiring 991
a county or municipality to opt in to any such contract 992
established in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. 993
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 994
and after July 1, 2026, and shall stand repealed from and after 995
June 30, 2026. 996