Texas State Purchasing Policy UPPS
No. 05.02.02
Issue No. 3
Effective Date: 12/16/2008
Review: October 1 E2Y
01. POLICY STATEMENTS
01.01 The
purpose of this UPPS is to identify policies and procedures to use when
purchasing goods and services for Texas State with university funds.
01.02 In
accordance with The Texas State University System (TSUS) “Rules and
Regulations,” Chapter III, Section 10 “Contracts, Purchases, and Agreements,”
Subsection 10.2 “Authority,” Paragraph 10.23, the President has delegated authority
to the Director of Purchasing to obligate university funds for the purchase of
goods or services through the approval and issuance of purchase orders.
01.03 The
Director has the authority, and is responsible, for promulgating and
communicating Texas State purchasing policies and procedures. Generally, this
information is made available to the University community on the Purchasing
Office’s web site and via
direct correspondence to departments, as needed.
a. The
Director of Purchasing may, at his or her discretion and with the concurrence
of the Associate Vice President for Financial Services, delegate purchasing,
processing, or approval authority to another university employee or state agency.
b. This
delegation may include soliciting for bids, proposals, offers, quotes, or other
expressions of interest; evaluating responses received; negotiating terms and
conditions; or obligating University funds for the purchase of goods or
services.
c. Employees
with delegated purchasing authority have reporting responsibility to the
Director of Purchasing. The Director will determine the level of delegated
authority and the training required and will be responsible for evaluating the
employee performance.
d. This
delegation may be emergency, general, specific, or limited.
e. Delegation
should be confirmed with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
01.04 State
and federal laws, The Texas State University System “Rules and Regulations,”
and university policies and procedures strictly prohibit the splitting of
orders solely to circumvent the competitive solicitation requirements and
processes, or other applicable purchasing requirements.
01.05 Texas
State shall assume no liability for payment of obligations incurred by
unauthorized persons.
a. Persons
making unauthorized purchases may be held personally liable for any damages
resulting from the repudiation of the contract or purchase order. This personal
liability includes paying for the unauthorized purchase with personal funds, or
personally reimbursing the university for any expenses incurred.
b. The
employee may also be subject to further disciplinary actions consistent with university
policies.
01.06 This
policy will apply when using all sources of funds, with the exception of
foundation funds, for the procurement of goods and services.
02. PROCEDURES FOR THE ACQUISITION OF GOODS
AND SERVICES
02.01 Pursuant
to The Texas State University System “Rules and Regulations,” Chapter III, Section
17 “Best Value Procurement,” Texas State may acquire goods or services by the
method that provides the “best value” to the institution, including the
following:
a. Competitive
bidding;
b. Competitive
sealed proposals;
c. Group
purchasing programs;
d. Open
market contracts; or,
e. Catalogue
purchase.
02.02 In
determining best value to an institution of higher education, Texas State shall
consider the following criteria:
a. Purchase
price;
b. Reputation
of the vendor and of the vendor's goods or services;
c. Quality
of the vendor's goods or services;
d. Extent
to which the goods or services meet the institution’s needs;
e. Vendor’s
past relationship with the institution;
f. Impact
on the ability of the institution to comply with laws and rules relating to
historically underutilized businesses (HUBs) and to the procurement of goods
and services from persons with disabilities;
g. Total
long-term cost to the institution of acquiring the vendor’s goods or services;
h. Use
of material in construction or repair to real property that is not proprietary
to a single vendor, unless Texas State provides written justification in the
request for bids for use of the unique material specified; and
i. Any
other relevant factor that a private business entity would consider in
selecting a vendor.
02.03 Procurements
of goods and services must comply with state and federal laws; The Texas State
University System “Rules and Regulations”; and university policies and
procedures
02.04 Purchase
orders are not intended to be used strictly as a payment tool.
a. The
purchase order must be created prior to the commitment or obligation.
b. Purchase
orders submitted after the commitment has been made or after the goods and
services are received, will constitute non-compliance and require documented
justification for the action.
03. PROCUREMENT METHODS
03.01 Institutional
Contracts – Established university contracts and price agreements allow
requisitioning departments to purchase commodities and services directly from
the vendor. The “best value” procurement solicitation and award process has
already occurred; therefore, individual purchases do not require further
competitive solicitation or bidding in order to award an order. Institutional
contracts should be utilized whenever possible. All current institutional
contracts will be available through the Purchasing web site.
03.02 Procurement
Card (P-card) – The P-card should be utilized for allowable low-dollar
procurements in lieu of processing a purchase requisition and creating a
purchase order. For P-card applications and guidelines, see the Purchasing
Office’s web site.
03.03 State
Use/Texas Industries for the Blind and Handicapped (TIBH) – Commodities and
services that are available through the Texas Council for Purchasing from
People with Disabilities (currently TIBH) must be purchased when
State-appropriated funds are being used, unless adequate justification for the
non-utilization of State Use/TIBH products or services is furnished.
03.04 State
of Texas Contracts – For more information, contact the Purchasing Office or
refer to http://www.window.state.tx.us/procurement/tools/.
a. Automated
and Non-automated Term Contracts - The Texas Purchasing and Support Services
(TPSS) Division of the Comptroller’s Office establishes term contracts for the
purchase of goods and services by State agencies.
b. Texas
Multiple Award Schedules (TXMAS) contracts – Certain federal GSA schedule
contracts are negotiated with the vendor by the TPSS for providing goods and
services to State agencies.
c. Department
of Information (DIR) contracts – The DIR Go DIRect Program
allows Texas State to purchase items directly from a DIR-contracted vendor.
Most DIR contracts are Go DIRect, but some contracts are not. For those non-Go DIRect
orders, customers make their purchase orders payable to DIR and send orders and
payments directly to DIR.
d. Council
on Competitive Government (CCG) contracts –The CCG identifies State services
that are commercially available. After CCG staff reviews the services, they
make recommendations to the CCG as to whether the services may be provided more
effectively through competition with private sector providers or state agencies.
e. Agency
Piggyback Contracts – Agency Piggyback Contracts are those that have been
competitively bid in accordance with State of Texas statutes, rules, policies,
and procedures and extended for the use by other State agencies.
03.05 Purchasing
Groups and Co-op Contracts – Texas State is a member of numerous purchasing
groups and co-ops, which allow purchases to be made directly from the vendor,
as the competitive solicitation or negotiation process has already occurred.
Contact the Purchasing Office for further information and the most current list
of purchasing groups and co-ops.
03.06 Competitive
Solicitations (Quotes/Bids/Proposals/Offers) – If the “best value” for the
commodity or service is not obtained from one of the above listed procurement
methods, the end user is to follow the competitive solicitation requirements
and processes. If competitive bidding is either not practical or not
advantageous to the university, the Request for Proposal (RFP) process may be
used.
03.07 Single
or Proprietary Source Purchase – A proprietary purchase is justified only when
adequate documentation is furnished to justify that competition is not
available due to a lack of an equivalent product or service.
04. PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
SPECIFICATIONS
04.01 A
specification is a detailed functional description of a product or service. A
specification must be simple, clear, accurate, competitive, and flexible. If a
specification does not allow for competition, then it is considered
proprietary.
04.02 A
specification should communicate “salient features” of the commodity or service
needed by the end user.
04.03 A specification should also communicate
minimum acceptable features of the commodity or service needed by the end user.
05. PROPRIETARY SPECIFICATIONS JUSTIFICATION
PROCEDURES
05.01 When
a specification limits consideration to one manufacturer, one product, or one
service provider, and the amount of the purchase exceeds $5,000, a written
proprietary justification must be provided to support the purchase.
05.02 The
Proprietary Purchase form has been developed to assist in the justification
documentation process. The account manager must complete the form and state the
following:
a. The
proprietary or unique features of the item and why these features are required;
and
b. Why
no competing product can meet the needs.
06. PROCEDURES
FOR ADDRESSING COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS
06.01 When
competitive solicitation is required, quotes, bids, proposals, offers, or other
expressions of interest must be solicited and obtained from potential vendors
for purchases in excess of $5,000, unless justification for a proprietary or
single source can be properly documented.
06.02 The
account manager is encouraged to solicit and purchase from Texas certified
Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) to the fullest extent possible.
For assistance in locating qualified HUBs, contact the Texas State HUB
Coordinator or HUB Specialist. For
further information, refer to UPPS No. 05.02.04
“Texas State Historically Underutilized Business Outreach Program (HUB-OP).”
06.03 Current
competitive solicitation limits, regardless of the source of funds, are as
follows:
a. $0
- $4,999.99: Only one quote is required; however, requisitioning departments
are encouraged to obtain more than one bid. Purchases from a HUB are encouraged
to the fullest extent possible.
b. $5,000.00
- $24,999.99: Three verbal or informal bids are solicited, with at least two
being from Texas-certified HUBs (e.g., minority-owned or woman-owned
businesses).
c. $25,000
or greater: Formal bids, proposals, or offers are solicited, with at least two
being from Texas-certified HUBs (e.g., minority-owned or woman-owned
businesses).
06.04 Exceptions
to above bid requirements are as follows:
a. Exempt
purchases;
b. Adequately
justified proprietary purchases of less than $25,000.
06.05 All
procurements that exceed $25,000, without regard to the source of funds, may be
posted on the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD), an electronic bulletin board
managed by TPSS, if there is an advantage to do so. Procurements exceeding $100,000
should be posted unless there is documented justification explaining why it was
not in the university’s best interest to do so.
07. PROCEURES FOR EXEMPT PURCHASES
07.01 Exempt
purchases are purchases that are exempt from the competitive solicitation
process. Exempt purchases include the following:
a. Classified
advertisements (e.g., newspaper and magazine advertisements);
b. Conference
expenses (expenses related to conference room services such as
audio/visual/network and food services; however, goods purchased for attendees
or transportation services are not exempt);
c. Direct
publications (e.g., direct subscriptions, prepared videos, and software
packages purchased directly from the developer);
d. Exhibit
space (e.g., booths for display purpose);
e. Freight;
f. Hotels
and conference rooms;
g. Internal
repairs;
h. Inter-agency
purchases (purchases from other State agencies);
i. Guest
lecturers or speakers (e.g., fees for one time only, not for continuous
engagements);
j. Legislative
information services;
k. bill
analysis services;
l. Membership
fees and dues;
m. Moving
expenses (employee);
n. Newspaper
and magazine subscriptions directly from the publisher;
o. Registration
fees and associated books and materials;
p. Student
travel (except for chartering aircraft);
q. Purchases
from federal agencies;
r. Purchases
from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
s. Purchases
from Texas Industries for the Blind and Handicapped; and
t. Utilities.
08. EMERGENCY PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES
08.01 An
emergency procurement (purchase) is defined in Texas Administrative Code Title
34, Part 1, Chapter 20, Subchapter C, Rule 20.32 “Definitions” as “a situation
requiring the state agency to make the procurement more quickly to prevent a
hazard to life, health, safety, welfare, or property or to avoid undue
additional cost to the state.”
a. The
Director/Assistant Director of Purchasing or P-card Administrator has authority
to exempt emergency procurements from Texas State purchasing policies and
procedures.
b. An
emergency procurement is defined as one required to protect and safeguard
employees and assets of the university.
08.02 Following
a successful procurement, an emergency purchase requires that a written
justification be submitted to the Purchasing Office. The justification, signed
by the responsible account manager, must state the following:
a. The
reason for the emergency purchase (i.e., explanation of what the emergency is
and what caused the emergency);
b. The
specific financial or operational damage (as opposed to a general claim of loss
or damage) that will occur if needs are not satisfied immediately; and
c. Why
the needs were not or could not be anticipated so that items could be procured
through regular procurement procedures.
09. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
09.01 Professional
services are defined by Texas Government Code 2254 “Professional and Consulting
Services.” These services must be provided in connection with a person who is
licensed and employed in the profession or practice.
09.02 The
following are considered to be professional services:
a. Accounting;
b. Architecture;
c. Land
architecture;
d. Land
surveying;
e. Medicine;
f. Optometry;
g. Professional
engineering;
h. Real
estate appraising; and
i. Professional
nursing.
09.03 Contact
the Purchasing Office for guidelines on processing requests for the purchase of
professional services.
10. PROCEDURES FOR ADVANCE PAYMENTS
10.01 Generally,
prepayment is not authorized for the purchase of supplies, materials,
equipment, or services. When utilizing State-appropriated funds, the following
are exceptions:
a. Library
purchases for university libraries;
b. Payments
to federal and other state agencies;
c. Lease
payments;
d. Subscriptions;
e. Rental
fees for a meeting room or exhibit booth;
f. Annual
maintenance agreements; and
g. Registration
fees.
10.02 When
institutional funds are being used, advance payments will be made to vendors
only when no practical alternative exists to satisfy a need, when definite
price savings can be realized, or when it is determined that it is in the best
interest of the university to do so.
a. Advance
payments will not be made to vendors who sell to some classes of customers
without advance payments, but require such payments from Texas State, unless
there is no alternative and the payments are approved in advance by the
Director of Purchasing and the Associate Vice President for Financial Services.
b. Payments
from agency funds and Athletic Department funds do not require prior approval.
11. SPECIAL PURCHASING PROCEDURES AND
REQUIREMENTS
11.01 Purchase of food, refreshments or awards – refer to UPPS No. 03.01.03 “Purchase of Food, Refreshments, or Achievement Awards.”
11.02 Purchase of motor vehicles – refer to UPPS No. 05.05.03 “Fleet Management Plan.”
11.03 Leasing
land, space, and other facilities – refer to FSS/PPS 08.01.01
“Facilities Leases.”
11.04 Lease/purchase
of equipment and other commodities – contact the Purchasing Office.
11.05 Contracting
with consultants – refer to UPPS No. 03.04.01
“Contracted Services, Including Consultants, Speakers, and Other Services.”
11.06 Contracting
with independent academic or professional personnel – refer to UPPS No. 03.04.01
“Contracted Services, Including Consultants, Speakers, and Other Services.”
11.07 Memberships
– refer to UPPS
No. 06.04.01 “Memberships in Professional Organizations.”
11.08 Subscriptions
– Subscriptions may be processed by using a P-card or by forwarding a purchase
requisition through Purchasing. When a subscription is required, it is
suggested that a lead time of approximately six weeks be given; however, when state-appropriated
funds are used, subscriptions may not be paid more than six weeks in advance of
the renewal date. The "ship to address" should be in the following
format to minimize delays in receiving the subscription:
Texas State University-San Marcos
Name
of Department/Office
601University Dr. Bldg Name-Room #
San Marcos, TX 78666
11.09 Moving
expenses – State-appropriated funds may be used to pay the reasonable and
necessary expenses incurred in moving the household property for a State
employee only if:
a. The
employee is being reassigned from one designated headquarters to another
designated headquarters of the same agency;
b. The
agency determines that the best interests of the state will be served by the
reassignment; and
c. The
distance between the current and future designated headquarters is at least 25
miles.
Reimbursement
for moving expense requires the approval of the appropriate cabinet officer.
11.10 Purchase of real estate – refer
to UPPS No. 08.04.01
“Real Property Acquisitions.”
11.11 Catering – refer to UPPS No. 05.03.02
“Catered Events-Policies.”
11.12 Purchase of alcoholic beverages
– refer to UPPS
No. 05.03.03 “Alcoholic Beverage Policy and Procedure.”
11.13
Purchase of wireless (cell) equipment and services – refer to UPPS No. 05.03.10
“Texas State Telecommunications Services.”
11.14 Contracting
for temporary staff or outsourcing – refer to UPPS No. 05.02.03
“Contract Workforce (Temporary Staffing).”
11.15 Purchase
of security systems – refer to UPPS No. 05.04.04
“Texas State Security Alarm Systems.”
11.16 Lease
of photocopiers – refer to UPPS No. 05.03.20
“Quick Copy Service.”
11.17 Live
animal purchase – refer to UPPS No. 02.02.05
“Animal Care and Use Policy.”
11.18 Purchase
of radioactive materials – refer to UPPS No. 04.05.07
“Radiation Safety.”
11.19 Purchase
of hazardous materials – refer to UPPS No. 04.05.06
“Hazardous Materials and Waste Management.”
11.20 Purchase
of new construction or remodeling services – refer to UPPS No. 01.03.02
“University Construction Policy.”
11.21 Purchases
from another state agency – refer to UPPS No. 05.02.01
“Interagency Cooperation Contracts.”
11.22 Purchase
of furniture and equipment for new or renovated buildings – refer to FSS/PPS 05.01.03
“Procurement of Furniture and Equipment for New and Renovated Buildings.”
11.23 Purchase
of university vehicles and signs – refer to FSS/PPS 05.02.01
“Standard University Colors for Vehicles, Signs and Other Materials.”
11.24 Purchase
of electronic and information resources – To optimize their accessibility,
usability, security, and privacy, all electronic and information resources developed
or procured for use with the TXSTATE.EDU network domain shall comply with the
applicable provisions of Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 213, Subchapter C,
Rule §213.37, dealing with the procurement of Electronic and Information
Resources in Institutions of Higher Education, commonly known as TAC 213.
11.25 Purchase
of services performed on campus – refer to UPPS No. 04.04.17
“Background Checks.”
11.26 HEAF
purchases – refer to UPPS No. 03.02.05
“Higher Education Assistance Funds (HEAF).”
12. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS
12.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Director of Contract Compliance October 1 E2Y
Director of Purchasing October 1 E2Y
13. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their capacities and
represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of this document until
superseded.
Director
of Contract Compliance; senior reviewer of this UPPS
Associate
Vice President for Financial Services
Vice
President for Finance and Support Services
President