SECTION 20.107. Centralized Master Bidders List

(a) The comptroller maintains the Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL) of the names and addresses of vendors which have registered for inclusion on the CMBL. The CMBL is maintained for the state's use in procuring goods and services through open and fair competition. Solicitations shall be transmitted to vendors on the CMBL for the solicited good and/or service designated by the vendor for open market, term contracts, competitive sealed proposal acquisitions and delegated purchases in excess of the non-competitive bid limit.

(b) Registration for the Centralized Master Bidders List is an on-line process with a vendor managed web based system. There is a $70.00 annual fee to remain registered on the CMBL.

(c) It is the vendor's responsibility to maintain their CMBL profile to ensure correct information for receipt of bids based on products or services which can be provided for selected districts for the State of Texas.

(d) A vendor may be administratively removed from the CMBL for one or more of the following reasons:

(1) failing to pay or unnecessarily delaying payment of damages assessed by the comptroller;

(2) failing to remit the required CMBL fee; or

(3) any factor set forth in Government Code, §2155.070 and §2155.077.

(e) A vendor which has been removed from the CMBL shall not be reinstated until expiration of the period for which the vendor was removed and approval is granted.

(f) An error in addressing a bid invitation or request for proposal or a failure of the post office to deliver the solicitation will not be sufficient reason to require the comptroller to reject all solicitation responses.

(g) State agencies shall use the CMBL to select bidders for competitive bids or proposals and to the fullest extent possible for purchases exempt from the comptroller's purchasing authority. This requirement does not apply to the Texas Department of Transportation or to an institution of higher education as defined by Education Code, §61.003, but an institution of higher education should use the CMBL when possible.

(h) As authorized by Government Code, §2155.269, a state agency may waive the requirement to solicit only from bidders listed on the Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL) by obtaining approval from its agency head or designee to add non-CMBL bidders to the final bid list. Non-CMBL bidders can be added to the final bid list for specific solicitations where the requirement to solicit only CMBL bidders is not warranted, such as to increase competition.

Source Note: The provisions of this §20.107 adopted to be effective January 24, 2017, 42 TexReg 229