Bill Caption

Relating to the performance of certain state purchasing contracts.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Department of Transportation anticipate that there may be a cost associated with implementing provisions of the bill. It is assumed that the costs could be absorbed within current agency resources. The Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Office of the Attorney General, the Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Department of Insurance anticipate any additional work resulting from the passage of the bill could be reasonably absorbed within current resources. No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

Summary: HB 3648 would require the terms for performance in a government contract to remain the same as the solicitation during the evaluation process. If the state needed to change the terms after reviewing the responses prior to awarding the contract, the agency would have to hold a meeting. The need to hold this meeting would be based on whether the change seeks to extend the contract for six months or longer or increases the payout by 10% or more, including an increase in cost as the result of material or service changes and not directly related to a monetary increase.

Analysis: HB 3648 would provide transparency and potentially limit government's scope by implementing an accountability mechanism before expanding state projects. These meetings would help maintain a fair bidding process and potentially keep the cost to taxpayers lower. We support HB 3648.