Senate Bill 2470

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 31-7-9 AND 31-7-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE OFFICE OF PURCHASING, TRAVEL AND FLEET MANAGEMENT SHALL RECEIVE ALL REBATES FROM STATE CONTRACTS ESTABLISHED BY THE OFFICE OF PURCHASING, TRAVEL AND FLEET MANAGEMENT; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN WHICH THE REBATES SHALL BE DEPOSITED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 31-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

31-7-9. (1) (a) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management shall adopt purchasing regulations governing the purchase by any agency of any commodity or commodities and establishing standards and specifications for a commodity or commodities and the maximum fair prices of a commodity or commodities, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board. It shall have the power to amend, add to or eliminate purchasing regulations. The adoption of, amendment, addition to or elimination of purchasing regulations shall be based upon a determination by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management with the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board, that such action is reasonable and practicable and advantageous to promote efficiency and economy in the purchase of commodities by the agencies of the state. Upon the adoption of any purchasing regulation, or an amendment, addition or elimination therein, copies of same shall be furnished to the State Auditor and to all agencies affected thereby. Thereafter, and except as otherwise may be provided in subsection (2) of this section, no agency of the state shall purchase any commodities covered by existing purchasing regulations unless such commodities be in conformity with the standards and specifications set forth in the purchasing regulations and unless the price thereof does not exceed the maximum fair price established by such purchasing regulations. The said Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management shall furnish to any county or municipality or other local public agency of the state requesting same, copies of purchasing regulations adopted by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management and any amendments, changes or eliminations of same that may be made from time to time.

(b) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management may adopt purchasing regulations governing the use of credit cards, procurement cards and purchasing club membership cards to be used by state agencies, governing authorities of counties and municipalities, school districts and the Chickasawhay Natural Gas District. Use of the cards shall be in strict compliance with the regulations promulgated by the office. Any amounts due on the cards shall incur interest charges as set forth in Section 31-7-305 and shall not be considered debt.

(c) Pursuant to the provision of Section 37-61-33(3), the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management of the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to issue procurement cards to all public school district classroom teachers and other necessary direct support personnel at the beginning of the school year for the purchase of instructional supplies using Educational Enhancement Funds. The cards will be issued in equal amounts per teacher determined by the total number of qualifying personnel and the then current state appropriation for classroom instructional supplies under the Education Enhancement Fund. All purchases shall be in accordance with state law and teachers are responsible for verification of capital asset requirements when pooling monies to purchase equipment. The cards will expire on a pre-determined date at the end of each school year. All unexpended amounts will be carried forward, to be combined with the following year's instructional supply fund allocation, and reallocated for the following year. The Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to loan any start-up funds at the beginning of the school year to fund this procurement system for instructional supplies with loan repayment being made from sales tax receipts earmarked for the Education Enhancement Fund.

(2) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management shall adopt, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board, purchasing regulations governing the purchase of unmarked vehicles to be used by the Bureau of Narcotics and Department of Public Safety in official investigations pursuant to Section 25-1-87. Such regulations shall ensure that purchases of such vehicles shall be at a fair price and shall take into consideration the peculiar needs of the Bureau of Narcotics and Department of Public Safety in undercover operations.

(3) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management shall adopt, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board, regulations governing the certification process for certified purchasing offices. Such regulations shall require entities desiring to be classified as certified purchasing offices to submit applications and applicable documents on an annual basis, at which time the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management may provide the governing entity with a certification valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance.

(4) The Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management shall receive all rebates from state contracts established by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management. The rebates shall be deposited into the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management Revolving Fund, a special fund hereby created in the State Treasury. The Department of Finance and Administration may escalate its budget and expend such monies in the fund in accordance with rules and regulation of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund and investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

SECTION 2. Section 31-7-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

31-7-23. Any rebates, refunds, coupons, merit points, gratuities or any article of value tendered or received by any agency or governing authority from any vendor of material, supplies, equipment or other articles shall inure to the benefit of the agency or governing authority making the purchase, except for rebates from state contracts originated by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management in accordance with Section 31-7-9-(4). The agency or governing authority may, in accordance with its best interest, either take delivery of the article of value tendered and use the same or convert it to cash by selling it for its fair and reasonable value, making use of the proceeds from such sale for the exclusive benefit of the agency or governing authority.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.