1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 SENATE BILL 1948 By: Stewart
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to county purchasing; amending 19
7 O.S. 2021, Sections 1501, as amended by Section 1,
8 Chapter 94, O.S.L. 2022, and 1505, as amended by
8 Section 3, Chapter 94, O.S.L. 2022 (19 O.S. Supp.
9 2023, Sections 1501 and 1505), which relate to county
9 purchasing agents and procedures; removing certain
10 references; changing certain procedures relating to
10 bidders; updating statutory language; updating
11 statutory reference; and providing an effective date.
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12
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13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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14 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 19 O.S. 2021, Section 1501, as
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15 amended by Section 1, Chapter 94, O.S.L. 2022 (19 O.S. Supp. 2023,
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16 Section 1501), is amended to read as follows:
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17 Section 1501. A. The county purchasing agent:
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18 1. Shall, within the amount of the unencumbered balance, make
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19 all purchases that are paid from county funds for the various
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20 institutions, departments, officers, and employees of the county,
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21 except at public auctions and as otherwise provided for by law;
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22 2. May make purchases for political subdivisions of this state
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23 within the county if authorized by appropriate action of the
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24 governing board or body of the political subdivision affected;
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 1 3. Shall make purchases and rental or lease-purchase agreements
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2 only after following the bidding procedures as provided for by law,
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3 except:
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4 a. when the purchase does not exceed Twenty-five Thousand
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5 Dollars ($25,000.00) by department. All purchases
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6 made pursuant to this subparagraph shall be by a
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7 single purchase order. Splitting purchase orders
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8 which would result in paying an amount in excess of
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9 the limitations specified in this subparagraph is
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10 expressly prohibited. Any person convicted of
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11 violating the provisions of this subparagraph shall be
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12 guilty of a misdemeanor and such person shall forfeit
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13 the person’s position or office,
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14 b. when the total payments of a rental or lease-purchase
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15 agreement do not exceed the current bid limit as
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16 established in subparagraph a of this paragraph,
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17 c. when articles and items are covered by single-source
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18 contracts,
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19 d. service or maintenance contracts on equipment or
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20 machinery which are entered into at the time of the
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21 purchase of the equipment or machinery,
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22 e. purchases made pursuant to a blanket purchase order as
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23 provided for in Section 310.8 of Title 62 of the
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24 Oklahoma Statutes,
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 1 f. when materials for road or bridge improvements do not
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2 exceed Seven Dollars ($7.00) per yard or per ton,
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3 g. purchases of fuel if the county purchasing agent
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4 obtains quotes from at least three vendors prior to
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5 the purchase and the lowest and best quote is
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6 selected. Documentation of these quotes shall be
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7 recorded in the permanent records of the clerk,
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8 h. purchases of tools, apparatus, machinery, or equipment
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9 from a state agency or a political subdivision of the
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10 state as provided for in subsection C of Section 421.1
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11 of this title,
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12 i. purchases of food for prisoners incarcerated in the
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13 county jail; provided, in counties having a population
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14 in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000) persons,
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15 the county purchasing agent shall follow bidding
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16 procedures as provided by law unless the county
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17 purchasing agent obtains quotes pursuant to the whole
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18 total of food items requisitioned prior to the
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19 purchase and the lowest and best quote is selected.
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20 Documentation of these quotes shall be recorded in the
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21 permanent records of the county clerk,
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22 j. when a county solicits bids for the purchase of
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23 processed native materials for road and bridge
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24 improvements, the county may accept all bids received,
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 1 with the lowest and best bid from those accepted to be
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2 selected at the time of opening of any construction
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3 project. The selection of the bid shall be based upon
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4 availability, bid price, plus transportation costs,
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5 k. when a vendor has been selected as the lowest and best
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6 bidder to furnish a particular item or items to the
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7 county during a specified time period and in the event
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8 the vendor is unable to perform, the purchasing agent
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9 board of county commissioners may solicit telephone
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10 quotes for the item or items needed select the next
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11 lowest and best bidder from the list of qualified
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12 bidders and provide for the purchase of the items at
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13 the lowest and best quote available,
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14 l. when considering the purchase of an item or items from
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15 the state bid list as provided by the Office of
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16 Management and Enterprise Services or the General
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17 Services Administration, if the same exact item is
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18 available from a local vendor at or below the price
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19 listed on the state bid list or the General Services
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20 Administration list, the item may be obtained from the
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21 vendor,
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22 m. any item or items bid by the Office of Management and
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23 Enterprise Services which may be purchased by the
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 1 county, provided the vendor is willing to supply the
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2 item or items to the county at the bid price,
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3 n. when a county obtains proceeds from the sale of its
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4 property at a public auction, that county may use
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5 those proceeds to acquire items previously identified
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6 as needed by the county at the same public auction
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7 pursuant to subsection D of Section 1505 of this
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8 title,
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9 o. when an item or items have been competitively bid by a
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10 county, or on behalf of a group of counties, provided:
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11 (1) the notice to bidders shall list each county
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12 which may participate in the purchase of the item
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13 or items being bid,
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14 (2) the notice of bid is advertised, as provided by
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15 law, in each of the counties which may
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16 participate in the purchase of the item or items,
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17 (3) all vendors on the list of qualified bidders of
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18 each participating county who offer the item or
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19 items for sale received notice of the bid
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20 request, and
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21 (4) the vendor awarded the bid is willing and able to
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22 provide the item or items at the bid price,
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23 p. counties may participate in a nationwide purchasing
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24 program sponsored by the national association
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 1 representing counties and local cooperative
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2 procurement agreements entered into by the counties
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3 and other local jurisdictions or any other
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4 competitively bid nationwide purchasing program, or
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5 q. when the Governor declares an emergency in a county,
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6 the district attorney of that county shall have the
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7 authority to temporarily waive competitive bidding
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8 procedures for purchases that may expedite a response
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9 to the emergency situation. This temporary waiver
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10 shall be in addition to any powers exercised pursuant
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11 to Section 683.11 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma
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12 Statutes.
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13 The purchases shall be paid by attaching properly itemized
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14 invoices, as described in Section 1505 of this title, to a purchase
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15 order which has been prepared by the county purchasing agent and
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16 submitting both to the county clerk for filing, encumbering, and
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17 consideration for payment by the board of county commissioners;
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18 4. Shall not furnish any supplies, materials, equipment, or
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19 other articles, except upon receipt of a requisition signed by a
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20 county officer. Written requisitions will not be required for
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21 blanket purchase orders as provided for in Section 310.8 of Title 62
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22 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Each county officer may designate not
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23 more than two employees who also shall be authorized to sign
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24 requisitions in the absence of the county officer. A written
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 1 designation of the employees shall be filed with the county clerk
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2 and shall be entered in the minutes of the board of county
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3 commissioners. The county may designate two individuals who are not
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4 county employees for each of the following entities within the
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5 county to act as receiving and requisitioning officers:
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6 a. fire protection districts organized and operated
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7 pursuant to the provisions of Sections 901.1 through
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8 901.29 of this title,
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9 b. fire protection services established pursuant to the
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10 provisions of Section 351 of this title,
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11 c. volunteer or full-time fire departments established
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12 pursuant to Section 592 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma
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13 Statutes, and
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14 d. municipal fire departments organized and operated
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15 pursuant to the provisions of Sections 29-101 through
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16 29-108 and Sections 29-201 through 29-204 of Title 11
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17 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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18 A written designation of these individuals shall be filed with
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19 the county clerk and shall be entered in the minutes of the board of
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20 county commissioners meeting in which the designations are made.
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21 Further, entities described in subparagraphs a, b, c, and d of this
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22 paragraph, choosing to have any nonemployee of the county designated
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23 as a receiving and requisitioning officer shall provide evidence of
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 1 blanket bond coverage or employee dishonesty liability insurance for
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2 each such designee;
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3 5. Shall make lease or lease-purchase agreements for road
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4 machinery and equipment if the county has adequate funds
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5 appropriated during any fiscal year for such purpose and only after
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6 following the bidding procedures as provided for in Section 1505 of
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7 this title. The term of any lease or lease-purchase agreement
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8 authorized pursuant to this paragraph may be for any period up to
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9 one (1) year; provided, the term shall not extend beyond the end of
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10 any fiscal year, with an option to renew such agreement subject to
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11 the requirement that adequate funds are appropriated during the
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12 fiscal year by the county for such purpose. The Office of the State
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13 Auditor and Inspector’s Office Inspector shall be notified by the
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14 county of the terms and conditions of a lease or lease-purchase
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15 agreement authorized pursuant to this paragraph before any such
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16 agreement is made by the county purchasing agent; and
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17 6. Shall perform such other duties as may be delegated by the
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18 appointing authority or as may be provided for by law.
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19 B. Each department of county government needing repairs to
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20 equipment, machinery, or vehicles shall make estimates and
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21 requisition a purchase order from the county purchasing agent for
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22 repairs not in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). Repairs
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23 in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) shall be submitted on
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 1 a blanket purchase order as provided in Section 310.8 of Title 62 of
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2 the Oklahoma Statutes.
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3 C. Each department of county government needing repairs to
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4 heavy equipment, meaning equipment in excess of ten thousand
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5 (10,000) pounds, shall make estimates and requisition a purchase
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6 order from the county purchasing agent for repairs not in excess of
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7 Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00). Repairs in excess of Thirty
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8 Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00) shall be submitted on a blanket
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9 purchase order as provided in Section 310.8 of Title 62 of the
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10 Oklahoma Statutes.
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11 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 19 O.S. 2021, Section 1505, as
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12 amended by Section 3, Chapter 94, O.S.L. 2022 (19 O.S. Supp. 2023,
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13 Section 1505), is amended to read as follows:
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14 Section 1505. The following procedures shall be used by
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15 counties for the requisition, purchase, lease-purchase, rental, and
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16 receipt of supplies, materials, road and bridge construction
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17 services, equipment and information technology and telecommunication
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18 goods, and other services, except for professional services as
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19 defined in Section 803 of Title 18, for the maintenance, operation,
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20 and capital expenditures of county government unless otherwise
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21 provided for by law.
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22 A. The procedure for requisitioning items for county offices
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23 shall be as follows:
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 1 1. The requesting department shall prepare a requisition form
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2 in triplicate. The requisition shall contain any specifications for
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3 an item as deemed necessary by the requesting department. The form
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4 shall be prescribed by the State Auditor and Inspector;
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5 2. The requesting department shall retain a copy of the
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6 requisition and forward the original requisition and a copy to the
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7 county purchasing agent; and
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8 3. Upon receipt of the requisition, the county purchasing
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9 agent, within two (2) working days, shall begin the bidding and
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10 purchasing process as provided for in this section. Nothing in this
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11 section shall prohibit the transfer of supplies, materials, or
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12 equipment between county departments upon a written agreement
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13 between county officers.
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14 B. The bid procedure for selecting a vendor for the purchase,
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15 lease-purchase, or rental of supplies, materials, equipment, and
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16 information technology and telecommunication goods and services used
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17 by a county shall be as follows:
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18 1. The county purchasing agent shall request written
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19 recommendations from all county officers pertaining to needed or
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20 commonly used supplies, materials, road and bridge construction
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21 services, equipment, and information technology and
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22 teleco