Judges: JOHN L. HILL, Attorney General of Texas
Filed Date: 1/11/1977
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
The Honorable Homer A. Foerster Executive Director State Board of Control P. O. Box 13047, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711
Re: Whether sheltered workshops organized by the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation may bid on state contracts.
Dear Mr. Foerster:
Several sheltered workshops organized by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation under article 5547-202, section 2.17(b), V.T.C.S., have asked to be placed on the bid list maintained by the Board of Control so that they will be invited to bid on state contracts. You wish to know whether such sheltered workshops may bid on state contracts under the State Purchasing Act of 1957, article 664-3, V.T.C.S., and if they may, whether the goods they produce are entitled to the preference set out in section 13 of article 664-3.
Article 5547-202, section 2.17(b), reads in pertinent part:
(1) From funds available to it the Department [of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] is authorized to provide mental health and mental retardation services through the operation of sheltered workshops and to contract with individuals or public or private entities for all or any part of such services.
(2) The Department is authorized to contract with individuals or public or private entities for the sale of goods and services produced or made available by the sheltered workshop programs. The goods and services may be sold on a cash or credit basis.
(3) An operating fund may be established for each sheltered workshop operated by the Department . . . and all proceeds from the sale of sheltered workshop goods and services shall be deposited in the operating fund. . . . Money in the operating funds may only be expended in the operation of sheltered workshops for the purchase of supplies, materials, services, and equipment. . . . (Emphasis added).
There provisions authorize the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to establish sheltered workshops and make binding contracts to sell the goods they produce to public entities. See Stauffer v. San Antonio,
In Attorney General Opinion M-743 (1970) this office decided that the Board of Control could award the Department of Corrections a contract to refurbish and rebind textbooks for the State, provided that the competitive bid provisions of article 664-3 were complied with. The opinion discussed article
Section 13 of article 664-3 reads as follows:
The following manufactured products, if they meet the state specifications as to quantity, quality, and price, shall have preference in purchases made of those types of items by the board: Products of workshops, organizations, or corporations whose primary purpose is training and employing mentally retarded persons or physically handicapped persons.
We believe that this preference is valid. See Attorney General Opinions O-3312 (1941) and O-1678 (1939). It embodies the legislative intent to prefer goods produced by `workshops . . . whose primary purpose is training and employing mentally retarded persons . . .' if the goods meet state specifications. See also V.T.C.S. arts. 664-5, 664-6. Sheltered workshops are organized under article 5547-202, section 2.17(b) to `provide mental health and mental retardation services.' The money they earn must go back into operating and maintenance expenses. The primary purpose of the workshop is not to make profits, but to benefit the participants. We conclude that the sheltered workshops established for mentally retarded people by the Department qualify for the preference given by section 13 of article 664-3.
Very truly yours,
John L. Hill Attorney General of Texas
Approved:
David M. Kendall First Assistant
C. Robert Heath Chairman Opinion Committee