Senate Bill 20 Frequently Asked Questions
Senate Bill 20 is a Texas Legislative Bill which adds or amends numerous provisions related to state agency contracting. The bill was signed in to law on June 4, 2015.
How does Senate Bill 20 impact me?
Senate Bill 20 impacts all state agencies in Texas. A direct impact of Senate Bill 20 is PO Transparency Reporting. On a monthly basis UTEP will be required to post all PO transactions, regardless of funding source and dollar amount, on their Purchasing website beginning November 1, 2015.
Are there any additional impacts as a result of new Texas legislation?
Yes, new UT System requirements sanctioned by Dr. Scott Kelley, UT System Vice Chancellor, and Texas Legislative requirements will be implemented at UTEP effective November 1,2015.undefined
- New Purchasing Thresholds
- New Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) Guidelines
What are the new purchasing thresholds?
Current Spend Thresholds | New Spend Thresholds | ||
---|---|---|---|
OPEN MARKET <$5000.00 | No competitive procurement required. The department must obtain a quote and it must be electronically attached to the requisision. |
OPEN MARKET <$15,000.00 | No competitive procurement required. The department must obtain a quote and it must be electronically attached to the requisition. |
INFORMAL BID $5000.00-$24,999.99 | The department must obtain a minimum of three quotes (two must be from HUB vendors) and all quotes must be electronically attached to the requisition. |
INFORMAL BID $15,000.00-$50,000.00 | The department must obtain a minimum of three quotes (two must be from HUB vendors) and all quotes must be electronically attached to the requisition |
FORMAL BID > $25,000.00 | An official solicitation is required in the event there is no established contract or cooperative agreement in place. |
FORMAL BID > $50,000.00 | An official solicitation is required in the event there is no established contract or cooperative agreement in place. |
Will Miner Mall catalog orders now be routed to Purchasing?
Currently all catalog orders exceeding $50K route to the purchasing office for approval. Effective November 1, 2015, catalog orders exceeding $15K will now route to the purchasing office for review and approval based on the new mandates.
A group purchasing organization (GPO) is an entity that is created to leverage the purchasing power of a group of business entities to obtain discounts from vendors based on the collective buying power of the GPO members.
What are the new guidelines for GPO's?
All GPO purchases exceeding $15,000 require three (3) quotes with the exception of purchases made via the UT System Supply Chain Alliance contracts.
- If there are only two suppliers within the awarded category, document the quotes received and proceed with the best value.
- If there is only one supplier in a category, document this and proceed.
What is Supply Chain Alliance?
The University of Texas System Supply Chain Alliancewas created to expand the use of joint purchasing and explore new opportunitiesto leverage the collective size and strength of the UT System institutionsthrough cooperative purchasing.
What are some GPO's that UTEP currently utilizes?
- TXMAS
- DIR
- REGION 19
- E&I
- TCPN
- US COMMUNITIES
- Buy Board
- UTSSCA (UT System Supply Chain Alliance)
Are all Miner Mall catalogs on contract? if yes, which contract or GPO are they under?
Supplier Name | Contract |
Checkpoint Services, Inc. | DIR |
Apple Computer | DIR |
CDW Government LLC. | DIR |
VWR International | E and I |
Airgas Inc. | E and I |
EL PASO OFFICE PRODUCTS | Region 19 |
EVCO PARTNERS LP /DBA BURGOON COMPANY | TCPN |
Graybar Electric Company | US Communities |
UTEP Bookstore (Follet) Office Supplies | UTEP Contract |
Sigma-Aldrich | UTSSCA |
SHI/GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS INC. | UTSSCA |
Today's Business Solutions LLC | UTSSCA |
Fisher Scientific | UTSSCA |
EMD Millipore Corp | UTSSCA |
Cell Signaling Technology | UTSSCA |