Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-492 Page: 7 of 9
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Mr. Felipe Alanis - Page 7
the cooperative-purchasing-program statute expressly provides that "[a] local government that
purchases goods or services" through a cooperative purchasing program "satisfies any state law
requiring the local government to seek competitive bids for the purchase of the goods or services."
Id. 271.102(c). Thus, as Attorney General Opinion JC-0037 concludes, a school district may
participate in a cooperative purchasing program. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JC-0037 (1999) at 9;
see also TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. 44.031(a)(5) (Vernon Supp. 2002).
Chapter 304 of the Local Government Code, on the other hand, does not expressly include
a school district in the definition of"political subdivisions" that are authorized to participate in a
political subdivision corporation, as we believe it must do to overcome section 44.031 of the
Education Code: "In this chapter, 'political subdivision' means a county, municipality, hospital
district, or any other political subdivision receiving electric service from an entity that has
implemented customer choice ... ." See TEX. Loc. Gov'T CODE ANN. 304.001(a) (Vernon Supp.
2002). Thus, with respect to a contract valued at $25,000 or more in the aggregate for a twelve-
month period, a school district must comply with section 44.031 of the Education Code in the
absence of express inclusion within the definition of "political subdivision."
It has been suggested that section 304.001 ofthe Local Government Code, as a more specific,
recent enactment, prevails as an exception to section 44.031.2 Where a general provision and
specific provision conflict irreconcilably, the specific provision "prevails as an exception to the
general provision, unless the general provision" was enacted later "and the manifest intent is that the
general provision prevail." TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN. 311.026 (Vernon 1998). Initially, we do not
necessarily agree that section 304.001 is more specific than section 44.031. Certainly, section
304.001 relates more specifically to the purchase of electricity, but it relates generally to all political
subdivisions. See TEX. Loc. GOV'T CODE ANN. 304.001(b) (Vernon Supp. 2002). By contrast,
section 44.031 relates more specifically to the contracts of school districts, although it applies
generally to all ofa school district's contracts that meet the value prerequisite. See TEX. EDUC. CODE
ANN. 44.031(a) (Vernon Supp. 2002). More importantly, given that section 44.031(e) expressly
provides that section 44.031 prevails over any other law relating to contracts valued at more than
$25,000 in the aggregate for a twelve-month period, we believe that any exception to section 44.031
must be express. As we have shown, section 304.001 of the Local Government Code does not
expressly provide an exception to section 44.031 of the Education Code.
Finally, because a school district lacks express authority to participate in a political
subdivision corporation with respect to a contract valued at $25,000 or more in the aggregate for a
twelve-month period, it may not delegate any authority to such a corporation under section 44.0312
of the Education Code. See TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. 44.0312(a) (Vernon Supp. 2002). A school
district's board of trustees may delegate only that authority that a school district is required or
authorized to exercise. See id.
2See Memorandum from Ray Martinez, Cantey & Hanger, Roan & Autrey, L.L.P., representing Texas CUC
Aggregation Project, Inc., to Don Lee, at 4 (July 24, 2001) (on file with Opinion Committee).(JC-0492)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-492, text, April 22, 2002; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274802/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.