May 10, 2022
By News Director Jared Atha
A bill signed by Governor Kevin Stitt recently could have a local impact.
House Bill 3344, is intended to ease up restrictions for county commissioners seeking to get repair work scheduled or acquire new items. The legislation that modernizes county purchasing laws sees the procedure for requisition and inventory tracking of equipment, as well as modifies bid solicitation requirements.
Author of the bill, Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks, said in a press release that the changes made to county purchasing laws through the bill will allow county governments to operate more efficiently.
Highlights of the bill include:
Requiring that for repairs to equipment exceeding 10,000 pounds, the maximum amount a department of the county government can request via a purchase order from the county purchasing agent is $30,000;
Raising the maximum amount, from $10,000 to $25,000, a department of the county government can request via purchase order from the county purchasing agent for equipment repairs;
Raising the minimum cost, from $500 to $2,500, of equipment required to be included in the inventory system for supplies and equipment kept by the county commissioners or their designee;
Requiring information technology hardware and software that is not used in the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges and having an original cost of $500 or more to be included in the inventory system kept by the county; and
Modifying the requirements of bid solicitation notices to specify whether written bids, electronic bids, or both will be accepted, as determined by vote of the county commissioners.
The bill goes into effect November 1.
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