Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 36 - Technology › Part 2 - Information Systems Services › Chapter 3 - Glossary of Terms › Rule 36-2-3-203.3 - 005-200 Delegation of Approval

Current through June 25, 2024
Mississippi Code Section
				  25-53-21(f)
				  specifies that the ITS Executive Director shall receive, review, and promptly
				  approve or disapprove all requests of agencies of the state for the acquisition
				  of computer equipment or services, which are submitted in accordance with rules
				  and regulations of the authority.
Section
				  25-53-25(2)
				  allows ITS to delegate approval for certain acquisitions as follows:
The authority [i.e. ITS Board] may establish policies and
				  procedures for the purpose of delegating the bidding and contracting
				  responsibilities related to the procurement of computer equipment or services
				  to the purchasing agency. Such policies and procedures must address the
				  following issues:
a. Establish
				categories of equipment or services affected;
b. Establish maximum unit and/or ceiling
				prices of such procurements;
c.
				Establish reporting, monitoring and control of such procurements; and
d. Establish other such rules and
				regulations as necessary to fully implement the purposes of this section.
				Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to imply exemption from the
				public purchases law, being Section
				31-7-1 et
				seq.
Delegation of Approval is the term for ITS' delegation of
				  the responsibility and approval for certain routine information technology
				  acquisitions to the agencies and public universities under ITS purview.
				  Purchases may be made under these delegation procedures without prior ITS
				  approval. Examples include certain categories of procurements below the bid
				  threshold, purchases made from the ITS Express Products Lists, and delegation
				  of the procurement process to state institutions of higher learning (public
				  university) up to a defined dollar limit, in accordance with Mississippi Code
				  Section
				  25-53-5(b)
				  to give consideration to the special needs of such institutions due to their
				  teaching and research functions.
For specific delegation dollar amounts and categories, refer
				  to 015-010 Procurement Limits Policies: State Agencies and 015-020 Procurement
				  Limits Policies: IHLs. The delegation amounts are different for state agencies
				  and for public universities. For public universities, the approval of
				  technology purchases below the cost threshold requiring ITS involvement is
				  specifically delegated to the public university's CIO, who must approve all
				  such acquisitions, whether acquired competitively or through sole source
				  certification.
Because ITS has delegated the procurement process to IHLs
				  for certain dollar amounts above the threshold for competitive bidding and sole
				  source certification, this delegation also includes giving the IHL the
				  authority to advertise and issue an RFB, ITB, RFP, or other competitive
				  instrument, evaluate responses, make an award, and negotiate and execute a
				  contract. The advertisement for competitive procurements issued by IHLs must be
				  made in accordance with ITS Statute 25-53-5 (o) (in a newspaper of general
				  circulation in the State). Note that, for any delegation or exemption, ITS
				  requires that the state agency or public university follow ITS Statute 25-53,
				  along with IT Procurement policy and procedures, as documented in this
				  Handbook. For example, all ads and procurement instruments must be published on
				  the Internet in a location that is readily searchable by and available to the
				  general public, and published on the Mississippi State Government Transparency
				  site located at
www.ms.gov/dfa/contract_bid_search
.
25-53-25
				  (2)