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Committee approves bill to raise state procurement contract caps
Summary
House Bill 456 would raise statutory caps for statewide price agreements and certain single-project contract limits, including multi-year totals for architectural and engineering services; committee members gave the bill a do-pass recommendation after proponents said higher caps will help deliver large capital projects on time.
The committee approved House Bill 456, which raises statutory caps on statewide price agreements and the maximum contract amounts a single vendor may receive over multi-year periods. Sponsors and agency witnesses said the change will help government entities deliver larger infrastructure and capital projects without interrupting procurement or vendor continuity.
Sponsor and agency testimony described the proposed changes: the cap for single-project use of statewide price agreements would increase (witnesses described an increase from $650,000 to $2,000,000 in the examples presented), the single-construction-project cap would rise from $4,000,000 to $7,000,000, the 10-year cap for architectural/engineering awards to a single vendor would rise from $7,500,000 to $15,000,000, and the statutory 10-year total for some contracts would increase from $12,500,000 to $30,000,000. Proponents said these numbers reflect negotiations with the General Services Division and educational cooperatives and respond to inflation and rising capital costs.
Local government supporters — including a county commissioner—backed statement from Dona Ana County commissioners and testimony from contractors — said changing the caps will reduce procurement delays and keep projects on schedule.
Committee action: Representative Borrego moved a do-pass recommendation; Representative Zamora seconded. Seeing no opposition, the committee forwarded the bill.
Ending: Sponsors said raising caps will help keep capital projects on schedule amid rising costs; committee members asked for additional historical context about the last time caps were changed and agency oversight for multiple-source contracts.
