§41-16-51. Contracts for which competitive bidding not required.

(a) Competitive bids shall not be required for utility services, the rates for which are fixed by law, regulation, or ordinance, and the competitive bidding requirements of this article shall not apply to:

(1) The purchase of insurance.

(2) The purchase of ballots and supplies for conducting any primary, general, special, or municipal election.

(3) Contracts for securing services of attorneys, physicians, architects, teachers, superintendents of construction, artists, appraisers, engineers, consultants, certified public accountants, public accountants, or other individuals possessing a high degree of professional skill where the personality of the individual plays a decisive part.

(4) Contracts of employment in the regular civil service.

(5) Contracts for fiscal or financial advice or services.

(6) Purchases of products made or manufactured by the blind or visually handicapped under the direction or supervision of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind in accordance with Sections 21-2-1 to 21-2-4, inclusive.

(7) Purchases of maps or photographs from any federal agency.

(8) Purchases of manuscripts, books, maps, pamphlets, or periodicals.

(9) The selection of paying agents and trustees for any security issued by a public body.

(10) Existing contracts up for renewal for sanitation or solid waste collection, recycling, and disposal between municipalities or counties, or both, and those providing the service.

(11) Purchases of computer and word processing hardware when the hardware is the only type that is compatible with hardware already owned by the entity taking bids and custom software.

(12) Professional services contracts for codification and publication of the laws and ordinances of municipalities and counties.

(13) Contractual services and purchases of commodities for which there is only one vendor or supplier and contractual services and purchases of personal property which by their very nature are impossible to award by competitive bidding.

(14) Purchases of dirt, sand, or gravel by a county governing body from in-county property owners in order to supply a county road or bridge project in which the materials will be used. The material shall be delivered to the project site by county employees and equipment used only on projects conducted exclusively by county employees.

(15) Contractual services and purchases of products related to, or having an impact upon, security plans, procedures, assessments, measures, or systems, or the security or safety of persons, structures, facilities, or infrastructures.

(16) Subject to the limitations in this subdivision, purchases of goods made as a part of the purchasing cooperative sponsored by the National Association of Counties, its successor organization, or any other competitive bid nationwide cooperative purchasing program, or other national or regional governmental cooperative purchasing program. This subdivision shall not apply to goods for which a service or service contract, whether subject to competitive bidding under this article or not, is necessary to utilize the goods. Such purchases may only be made if all of the following occur:

a. The goods being purchased are available as a result of a competitive bid process conducted by a governmental entity and approved by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts for each bid.

b. The goods are either not at the time available to counties on the state purchasing program or are available at a price equal to or less than that on the state purchasing program.

c. The purchase is made through a participating Alabama vendor holding an Alabama business license if such a vendor exists.

d. The entity purchasing goods under this subdivision has been notified by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts that the competitive bid process utilized by the cooperative program offering the goods complies with this subdivision.

(17) Purchase of goods or services, other than wireless communication services, whether voice or data, from vendors that have been awarded a current and valid Government Services Administration contract. Any purchase made pursuant to this subdivision shall be under the same terms and conditions as provided in the Government Services Administration contract. Prices paid for such goods and services, other than wireless communication services, whether voice or data, may not exceed the amount provided in the Government Services Administration contract.

(b) This article shall not apply to:

(1) Any purchases of products where the price of the products is already regulated and established by state law.

(2) Purchases made by individual schools of the county or municipal public school systems from moneys other than those raised by taxation or received through appropriations from state or county sources.

(3) The purchase, lease, sale, construction, installation, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, or expansion of any building or structure or other facility designed or intended for lease or sale by a medical clinic board organized under Sections 11-58-1 to 11-58-14, inclusive.

(4) The purchase, lease, or other acquisition of machinery, equipment, supplies, and other personal property or services by a medical clinic board organized under Sections 11-58-1 to 11-58-14, inclusive.

(5) Purchases for public hospitals and nursing homes operated by the governing boards of instrumentalities of the state, counties, and municipalities.

(6) Contracts for the purchase, lease, sale, construction, installation, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, or extension of any plant, building, structure, or other facility or any machinery, equipment, furniture, or furnishings therefor designed or intended for lease or sale for industrial development, other than public utilities, under Sections 11-54-80 to 11-54-99, inclusive, or Sections 11-54-20 to 11-54-28, inclusive, or any other statute or amendment to the Constitution of Alabama authorizing the construction of plants or other facilities for industrial development or for the construction and equipment of buildings for public building authorities under Sections 11-56-1 to 11-56-22, inclusive.

(7) The purchase of equipment, supplies, or materials needed, used, and consumed in the normal and routine operation of any waterworks system, sanitary sewer system, gas system, or electric system, or any two or more thereof, that are owned by municipalities, counties, or public corporations, boards, or authorities that are agencies, departments, or instrumentalities of municipalities or counties and no part of the operating expenses of which system or systems have, during the then current fiscal year, been paid from revenues derived from taxes or from appropriations of the state, a county, or a municipality.

(8) Purchases made by local housing authorities, organized and existing under Chapter 1 of Title 24, from moneys other than those raised by state, county, or city taxation or received through appropriations from state, county, or city sources.

(c) The state trade schools, state junior colleges, state colleges, and universities under the supervision and control of the State Board of Education, the district boards of education of independent school districts, the county commissions, and the governing bodies of the municipalities of the state shall establish and maintain such purchasing facilities and procedures as may be necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this article by complying with the requirements for competitive bidding in the operation and management of each state trade school, state junior college, state college, or university under the supervision and control of the State Board of Education, the district boards of education of independent school districts, the county commissions, and the governing bodies of the municipalities of the state and the governing boards of instrumentalities of counties and municipalities, including waterworks boards, sewer boards, gas boards, and other like utility boards and commissions.

(d) Contracts entered into in violation of this article shall be void and anyone who violates the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a Class C felony.

(Acts 1967, Ex. Sess., No. 217, p. 259, §2; Acts 1967, No. 209, p. 573; Acts 1967, No. 769, p. 1625; Acts 1969, No. 763, p. 1352; Acts 1980, No. 80-463, p. 723; Acts 1982, No. 82-425, p. 667, §1; Acts 1982, No. 82-508, p. 840, §1; Acts 1983, No. 83-515, p. 778; Acts 1984, No. 84-298, p. 666; Acts 1989, No. 89-665, p. 1319; Acts 1993, No. 93-615, p. 1009, §1; Acts 1995, No. 95-630, p. 1334, §1; Act 98-148, p. 249, §1; Act 2004-487, p. 906, §1; Act 2006-279, p. 489, §1; Act 2009-760, p. 2294, §2; Act 2011-530, p. 869, §1.)