Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to
establish the approval authority and responsibilities for executing contracts
required by the agency.
(b)
Applicability. This rule applies to all contracts entered into by the
agency.
(c) Definitions. As used in
this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
(2) Value--means the estimated
dollar amount the agency may be obligated to pay pursuant to the contract and
all executed and proposed amendments, extensions, and renewals of the contract.
The agency shall base its determination of the proposed length of and
compensation during the original term and renewal periods of the contract on
best business practices, state fiscal standards, and applicable law,
procedures, and regulations. The agency's determination of contract value
reflects the definition set forth in the State of Texas Contract Management
Guide as developed by the comptroller under Government Code, §
2262.051.
(d) Approval Authority.
(1) Commission Approval. The director and
librarian or designee shall present certain contracts to the commission for
approval. The commission shall consider for approval:
(A) any contract or amendment with a value
expected to exceed $1 million;
(B)
any amendment to a contract that results in the contract value exceeding $1
million;
(C) any contract or
amendment to a contract that relates to the TexShare Library Consortium
regardless of overall contract value; and
(D) any other contract deemed appropriate for
commission approval as determined by the director and librarian in consultation
with the chair of the commission.
(2) Agency Approval.
(A) The commission delegates authority to the
director and librarian or designee to approve all contracts not listed in
paragraph (1) of this subsection;
(B) The commission delegates authority to the
director and librarian or designee to approve contracts with an overall
contract value that exceeds $1 million as approved by commission order;
and
(C) The commission delegates
authority to the director and librarian to approve a purchase request or
contract listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection for an emergency as defined
in 34 TAC §
20.25(relating to Definitions), or
to avoid undue material additional cost to the state. The director and
librarian shall report any purchase requests or contracts executed by the
director and librarian under this authority to the commission chair prior to
execution of any such purchase requests or contracts.
(e) Authority to Execute
Contracts. The commission delegates authority to the director and librarian to
execute all contracts for the agency. This authority may be delegated by the
director and librarian to the assistant state librarian or other
designee.
(f) Contract Planning.
The agency will present to the commission for information a contract plan for
the next fiscal year that outlines the agency's anticipated contracting actions
that exceed $500,000. The director and librarian or designee will present
updates to the contract plan to the commission for information periodically
throughout the fiscal year.
