Legal Services

	"The last time we had a big construction project, the winning bidder ended up having some serious safety issues on the job. Can we build safety requirements into our future bid specifications?"

Can the county take into consideration a bidder’s past safety performance?

Under Local Government Code §262.0275, the safety history of a bidder may be taken into account if the commissioners court has adopted a written definition and criteria for accurately determining the safety record of a bidder. The commissioners court must also give notice in the bid specifications that the bidder’s safety record may be considered in determining the responsibility of the bidder. Additionally, the determinations made by commissioners court must not be arbitrary or capricious. For more information, see our publication Procurement Handbook.