(a) All purchases of goods and services must be made
pursuant to a contract.
(b) Conflicts of interests and standards of conduct
for local authority employees and officers.
(1) Conflicts of interest. Local authority employees
and officers may not have a conflict of interest in contracts management.
An employee or officer has a conflict of interest when the employee,
officer, a partner of the employee or officer, or a person related
within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity to the employee
or officer, has or intends to have:
(A) employment with a respondent or contractor;
(B) paid consultation with a respondent or contractor;
(C) membership on a respondent's or contractor's board
of directors;
(D) ownership of 10% or more of the voting stock of
shares of a respondent or contractor;
(E) ownership of 10% or more or $5,000 or more of the
fair market value of a respondent or contractor; or
(F) income from a respondent or contractor in excess
of 10% of the employee's, officer's, or related person's gross income
for the previous year.
(2) Standards of conduct. The local authority must
develop and enforce standards of conduct governing its employees'
and officers' who participate in contracts management, which prohibits
such employees and officers from:
(A) accepting or soliciting any gift, favor, service,
or benefit from a business entity, respondent, or contractor that
might reasonably tend to influence the employee or officer in the
discharge of official duties relating to contract management, or that
the employee or officer knows or should know is being offered with
the intent to influence the employee's or officer's official duties;
or
(B) intentionally or knowingly soliciting, accepting,
or agreeing to accept any benefit for having exercised official powers
or for having performed official duties in favor of another business
entity, respondent, or contractor.
(c) Conflicts of interests and standards of conduct
for a respondent and its officers and employees.
(1) Conflict of interest. A respondent and its officers
and employees responsible for development of a response or performance
of a contract for which the respondent is submitting a response may
not be related within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity
to a local authority employee or officer participating in the contract
management for the contract for which the respondent is submitting
a response.
(2) Standards of conduct.
(A) A respondent and its officers and employees may
not attempt to induce any business entity to submit or not to submit
a response.
(B) A respondent and its officers and employees must
arrive at its response independently and without consultation, communication,
or agreement for the purposes of restricting competition.
(C) A respondent and its officers and employees may
not have a relationship with any person, at the time of submitting
the response or during the contract term, that may interfere with
fair competition.
(D) A respondent and its officers and employees may
not participate in the development of specific criteria for award
of the contract, nor participate in the selection of the response
to be awarded the contract.
(d) The local authority may not contract with a former
officer or employee of the local authority if the contract relates
to a particular matter (as defined) in which the former officer or
employee participated (as defined) during the period of employment,
either through personal involvement or because the case or proceeding
was a matter within the officer's or employee's official responsibility,
unless:
(1) the former employee was compensated on the last
day of service or employment below the amount prescribed by the General
Appropriations Act for salary group 17, Schedule A, or salary group
9, Schedule B, of the position classification salary schedule; or
(2) the former officer or employee is employed by a
state agency or another local authority.
(e) The local authority must ensure that its contractors
comply with all contract provisions regardless of whether a contractor
subcontracts some or all of the contract.
(f) A local authority may make advance payments to
a contractor provided the payments meet a public purpose, ensure
adequate consideration, and sufficient controls are in place to ensure
accomplishment of the public purpose. With the exception of contracts
paid on a capitated basis, at the end of each contract term the contractor
must return to the local authority any state or federal funds received
from or through TDMHMR which have not been encumbered.
(g) The local authority is prohibited from contracting
with a business entity that is currently:
(1) held in abeyance or barred from the award of a
federal or state contract; or
(2) is not in good standing for state tax, pursuant
to the Texas Business Corporation Act, Texas Civil Statutes, Article
2.45.
(h) The local authority must ensure each contractor
is provided information relating to the local authority's policies
and procedures that are relevant to the contractor.
(i) The local authority shall ensure quality community
services are provided to consumers, including during the transition
from one contractor to another.
(j) When purchasing goods and services, the local authority
shall comply with the Uniform Grant and Contracts Management Standards
(UGMS) promulgated by the Governor's Office of Budget and Planning
(pursuant to the Texas Government Code, Chapter 783, and 1 TAC, Part
1, Chapter 5, Subchapter A, Division 4), except to the extent that
any provision in §412.55(a)(2) of this title (relating to Contract
Procurement) conflicts with UGMS, Part III (State Uniform Administrative
Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements), Subpart C (Post-Award
Requirements; Changes Property, and Subawards), Section __.36(d) (Procurement),
then §412.55(a)(2) of this title (relating to Contract Procurement)
shall control. In UGMS:
(1) the terms "recipient" and "grantee" apply to TDMHMR;
(2) the terms "subrecipient" and "subgrantee" apply
to the local authority; and
(3) the terms "vendor" and "subcontractor" apply to
a contractor (as defined in this subchapter), unless the contractor
operates as a "subgrantee" as defined under UGMS, Part III (State
Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements),
Subpart A (General), Section __.3 (Definitions).
|