Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-4 Page: 3 of 5
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Honorable Marcus D. Taylor - Page 3 (DM-4)
Id. 262.027(a). The act makes special provision for the awarding of a contract when two
responsible bidders submit the lowest and best bid, id. 262.027(b), (c), but it does not
provide alternative procedures when, as in this instance, no bids are submitted.' Compare
1 T.A.C. 113.6(c)(2)(D) (regulation promulgated by State Purchasing & General Services
Commission authorizing negotiations with vendors when advertisement results in
submission of no bids).
Therefore, we believe the county is required in this instance to commence a new
round of bidding by republishing notice of the purchase in accordance with the terms of the
act. As noted, the purchasing act itself supplies no alternative procedures in this instance.
Also, while the statute does not directly address the problem you describe, there is
evidence to suggest that the legislature intends counties to readvertise for bids on a
contract when the initial advertisement yields no bids.
The clearest indicator of this intent is section 262.027(a)(2), quoted above, which
describes the county's options when it is determined that all bids are inadequate or
unresponsive. In these circumstances, the commissioners court is authorized to reject all
bids, but it is not free to enter into direct negotiations with vendors for the purchase of an
item. Instead, it must publish new notice, which in turn triggers the other competitive
bidding procedures of the act. See also Local Gov't Code 262.024(d) (procedures for the
purchase of food items otherwise exempted from competitive bidding).
In addition, the legislature has specified those occasions on which a departure from
competitive bidding is permitted. See Local Gov't Code 262.011(a) (in counties of less
than 20,000 population without a purchasing agent, commissioners court may dispense with
competitive bidding for contracts exceeding $15,000 when it publicly finds such "to be in the
public interest"); 262.024 (exceptions to competitive bidding); 262.0295 (alternative
multistep competitive proposal procedures for counties with population of 125,000 or
more); 262.030 (competitive proposal procedure for insurance and high technology items).
It is well established that when the legislature has enacted exceptions to a statute, the
statute will be held to apply in all cases not expressly excepted. See State v. Richards, 301
S.W.2d 597 (Tex. 1957). To permit the county in this instance to avoid its obligation to
award contracts on the basis of sealed competitive bids would be to effectively create a new
exception to the purchasing act. Accordingly, in answer to your first question we conclude
that a county must readvertise for bids on a contract subject to competitive bidding under
2. For that matter, the County Purchasing Act does not expressly address the submission of identical
low bids by more than two responsible bidders.p. 18
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-4, text, February 22, 1991; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273810/m1/3/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.