Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-974 Page: 3 of 5
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Honorable Mike Driscoll - Page 3 (JM-974)
In Attorney General Opinion H-1237 (1978), the question
arose as to whether the commissioners court of El Paso
County had authority to order payment for a purchase made by
the sheriff when the county had a purchasing agent duly
appointed under then article 1580, V.T.C.S. (now section
262.011). In concluding that the commissioners court did
not have authority to direct payment of a claim under a
contract which contravened the statute, the opinion stated:
Article 1580 [now section 262.011] estab-
lishes the county purchasing agent, an
officer not under the supervision of the com-
missioners court, as the proper party to
contract for all county supplies and services
except those required to be let on competi-
tive bid. The statute prohibits any other
person from entering into such contracts and
directs the county auditor not to draw
warrants 'for any purchases except by such
agent and those made by competitive bid.'
Attorney General Opinion H-1237 (1978), at 1. The county
purchasing agent must make all purchases that are not
subject to the competitive bid requirements.
In your second question you ask whether the county
purchasing agent is subject to the $5,000 limitation imposed
by section 262.023(a), which provides:
Before a county may purchase one or more
items under a contract that will require an
expenditure exceeding $5,000, the
commissioners court of the county must comply
with the competitive bidding or competitive
proposal procedures prescribed by this
subchapter. All bids or proposals must be
sealed.
You state that in counties the size of Harris, compli-
ance with the $5,000 limitation is difficult because of the
maintenance of a large inventory of heavy equipment. The
statute does not contain an exception based on population.
The background information contained in the Bill Analysis to
Senate Bill 807, Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 641, at 2377,
effective September 1, 1985, (now section 262.023) reflects:
S.B. 807 repeals many of these old purchasing
laws and amends others and creates a new,
uniform purchasing law for countiesp. 4957
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-974, text, October 28, 1988; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273412/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.