BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 362

By: Sherman, Sr.

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been noted that some county staff have experienced problems unifying the document formats of bids and proposals that are submitted physically and electronically. While a county is allowed to receive both hard-copy and electronic bids and proposals, county staff then have to convert those documents into either all hard-copy or all electronic documents, a practice that counters the benefits of allowing both physical and electronic submission. C.S.H.B. 362 seeks to address this issue by authorizing a county commissioners court to require electronic submission of bids or proposals if the county makes available necessary technology.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 362 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a county commissioners court to require electronic submission of bids or proposals for competitive bidding under the County Purchasing Act if the county makes all technology necessary for that electronic submission available to any person who submits a hard-copy bid or proposal in person.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 362 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes language conditioning the bill's authorization on the county making all technology necessary for electronic submission available to any person who submits a hard‑copy bid or proposal in person.