Bill Caption

Relating to training for state employees, including procurement and contract management training; authorizing fees.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

SB 1638 would revise and add sections to Chapter 656 (Job Notices and Training) of the Government Code. These sections would pertain to required training of contract negotiation and management by state agency employees.

Firstly, this legislation would require a state agency to submit a report regarding any training expenses that exceed $5,000. 

Secondly, SB 1638 would transfer and amend certain sections in the Government Code and bring it under Chapter 656. Below would be the new section numbers of the transferred bills:

• Section 2054.057 would now be Section 656.050 (Training in Contract Negotiation)

• Section 2155.078 would now be Section 656.051 (Training and Certification of State Agency Purchasing Personnel and Vendors)

• Section 2262.053 would now be Section 656.052 (Training for Contract Managers)

• Section 2262.0535 would now be Section 656.053 (Training for Governing Bodies)   

As mentioned before, these transferred sections would also be amended. Most of these changes would entail replacing “commission” with “comptroller” since these sections are now under a new chapter.

Vote Recommendation Notes

Although this legislation mainly reorganizes certain sections in the Government Code, it maintains and strengthens existing statutes that are essential to the proper role of government. Government employees should be required to undergo training in negotiating and managing contracts, because it teaches them to be more cognizant of the money the taxpayers entrust them with. To the extent that this training helps them to negotiate good contracts on terms beneficial to the state, this legislation would be a win for the taxpayers. 

We support SB 1638 because it strengthens the requirements of training state employees for contract management. Moreover, this legislation makes these requirements more transparent by bringing these provisions under the purview of one chapter.