Senate Bill 20 enacted by the 84th Legislature directed the Comptroller’s office to conduct a study examining the feasibility and practicality of consolidating state purchasing functions into fewer state agencies or one state agency. The report by the Comptroller’s office addresses the bill’s statutory study requirements to examine savings that may be achieved:
- through abolishing departments of state agencies that have a dedicated purchasing department, and
- consolidating or reducing the number of vendors authorized to contract with this state to allow Texas to better leverage its purchasing power.
The report is informed by the analysis of agency expenditures data captured on state accounting systems and information provided directly from agencies. To address the statute’s requirements regarding the study, the Comptroller’s office determined from the state accounting systems that 108 state agencies, boards, commissions, courts and legislative entities contracted for more than $11 billion annually in fiscal years 2014 and 2015 with more than 40,000 vendors
One of the report conclusions was that the 85thTexas Legislature will next consider enactment of statues and codes to reform state agency contracting by clarifying accountability, increased transparency, and ensuring a fair and competitive process.
