PURCHASING AND ACQUISITIONS
1. Purchasing Overview
D.1.01 Legal Responsibility of System for Debts:
The Board shall assume responsibility for debts incurred in the name of the System so long as those debts are for purchases made in accordance with adopted Board policy, and current administrative procedures regarding contracting and purchasing. The Board shall not be responsible for debts incurred by persons or organizations not directly under Board control. The Board shall not be responsible for any other unauthorized purchase or debt. All vendors are charged with the responsibility to discover an individual or an organization’s authority before any purchase, contract or debt is incurred. Persons making unauthorized purchases shall assume full responsibility for all such debts.
D.1.02 Forms of Purchase:
The System utilizes four forms of purchasing: check requests, approved credit card transactions (including Procurement Cards), petty cash disbursements, and purchase orders.
a. Check Requests should be used to request payment for goods and services where a purchase order is not warranted. Specific procedures concerning the use of check requests are to be developed by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Business Support Services and approved by the Executive Council.
b. System credit cards may be used to purchase travel-related services, including registration for approved conferences, and other small dollar purchases as approved by the Chancellor or Executive Council.
c. The Petty Cash Fund is set up to fund “out of pocket” expenditures by the employees of the System. Petty cash fund use must be approved in advance by the supervisor and no petty cash expenditure may exceed $75.00. Each petty cash expenditure shall be documented with a receipt appropriate to the purchase.
d. All other purchases shall be made by purchase order. All purchase orders shall be under the control of the System Purchasing Department. Creditors of the System shall be notified that purchase commitments made without a properly drawn purchase order and not authorized by the System Purchasing Director, or other designee of the Chancellor, will not be honored for payment.
D.1.03 Responsibilities of LSCS Employees:
All System employees engaged in the purchasing processes are to conduct themselves fairly, objectively, and will observe the confidentiality of the decision-making and award processes so as to serve the best interests of the System.
D.1.04 Conflict of Interest:
Purchases are not authorized from an employee or members of an employee’s family, nor are purchases authorized from a company in which an employee or his or her family member owns a five percent (5%) or greater interest. For purposes of this policy, a family member (natural, foster, adopted or step), means a spouse, child, in-law, sister, brother, mother, father, grandparent, significant other or life partner.
A purchase that would otherwise not be permitted because of this conflict of interest policy may be allowed if obtained via a competitive process and:
a. The goods or services being purchased are not under the direct or indirect authority of the approving employees’ department or division, and;
b. The family member’s bid is the lowest price bid that meets all bid specifications.
D.1.05 Vendor Relations:
The Texas Ethics Commission has adopted a conflict of interest questionnaire that requires a vendor to disclose the vendors’ business relationships and certain gifts or income provided to local government officers and/or their family members that may cause a potential conflict of interest with the System.
The records administrator of the System shall maintain a list of local government officers of the entity and shall make that list available to the public and any vendor who may be required to file a conflict of interest questionnaire.
These completed questionnaires are subject to the Public Information Act and shall also be made available on the System’s website.
D.1.06 Purchase Approval:
Regardless of the transactional form of the purchase, each purchase must be approved in advance by the appropriate budget manager or authorized designee and funds must be available in the appropriate budget.
D.1.07 Purchasing Procedures:
Purchasing procedures are to be developed by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Business Support Services and approved by the Executive Council.
LSCS Policy Manual Section adopted by the Board of Trustees on August 7, 2008