Arizona

Arizona Revised Statutes

Title 41. State Government

Chapter 23. Arizona Procurement Code

Article 10. Intergovernmental Procurement

 

ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 41-2631. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

  1. “Cooperative purchasing” means procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, more than one public procurement unit.

 

  1. “External procurement activity” means any buying organization not located in this state that would qualify as a public procurement unit.

 

  1. “Local public procurement unit” means any political subdivision, any agency, board, department or other instrumentality of such political subdivision and any nonprofit corporation created solely for the purpose of administering a cooperative purchase under this article.

 

  1. “Nonprofit corporation” means any nonprofit corporation as designated by the internal revenue service under section501(c)(3) through 501(c)(6) or under section 115, if created by two or more local public procurement units, and includes certified nonprofit agencies that serve individuals with disabilities as defined in section 41–2636.

 

  1. “Public procurement unit” means a local public procurement unit, the department, any other state or an agency of the United States.

 

ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 41-2632. Cooperative purchasing authorized; definitions

A. Any public procurement unit may either participate in, sponsor, conduct or administer a cooperative purchasing agreement for the procurement of any materials, services, professional services, construction or construction services with one or more public procurement units or external procurement activities in accordance with an agreement entered into between the participants. The cooperative purchasing may include joint or multi-party contracts between public procurement units and open-ended public procurement unit contracts that shall be available to local public procurement units. A nonprofit corporation may enter into an agreement pursuant to this section if one or more of the parties involved is a public procurement unit. An agreement entered into as provided in this article is exempt from section 11-952, subsection D. Parties under a cooperative purchasing agreement may:

  1. Sponsor, conduct or administer a cooperative agreement for the procurement or disposal of any materials, services or construction.
  2. Cooperatively use materials or services.
  3. Commonly use or share warehousing facilities, capital equipment and other facilities.
  4. Provide personnel, except that the requesting public procurement unit shall pay the public procurement unit providing the personnel the direct and indirect cost of providing the personnel, in accordance with the agreement.
  5. On request, make available to other public procurement units informational, technical or other services or software that may assist in improving the efficiency or economy of procurement. The public procurement unit furnishing the informational, technical or other services or software has the right to request reimbursement for the reasonable and necessary costs of providing these services or software.
  6. Pursuant to the rules for cooperative purchasing adopted by the director, purchase materials, services, professional services, construction or construction services under the terms of a contract between a vendor and a public procurement unit or an external procurement activity without complying with the requirements of sections 41-2533, 41-2534 and 41-2535.

 

B. The school facilities board or school districts, or both, may enter into an agreement with a public procurement unit pursuant to this section for the purpose of procuring materials and services needed to correct deficiencies in school facilities.

 

C. The activities described in this section do not limit what parties may do under a cooperative purchasing agreement.

 

D. A nonprofit corporation operating as a public procurement unit under this section, on request of the auditor general, shall provide to the auditor general all documentation concerning any cooperative purchasing transaction the public procurement unit administers under this section.

 

E. A nonprofit corporation operating as a public procurement unit under this section shall comply with all procurement laws applicable to the public procurement unit participating in a cooperative purchasing transaction that the nonprofit corporation administers.

 

F. This section does not abrogate the responsibility of each public procurement unit to ensure compliance with procurement laws that apply to the particular public procurement, notwithstanding the fact that the cooperative purchase is administered by a nonprofit corporation operating under this section.

 

G. Any public procurement unit conducting or administering a cooperative purchasing agreement for the procurement of construction services or professional services shall comply with the requirements of section 34-603 or 41-2578.

 

H. For the purposes of this section:

  1. “Construction services” has the same meaning prescribed in section 41-2503.
  2. “Professional services” has the same meaning prescribed in section 41-2578.

 

Title 11. Counties

Chapter 7. Intergovernmental Operations.

 

ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. § 11-952. Intergovernmental agreements and contracts.

A. If authorized by their legislative or other governing bodies, two or more public agencies or public procurement units by direct contract or agreement may contract for services or jointly exercise any powers common to the contracting parties and may enter into agreements with one another for joint or cooperative action or may form a separate legal entity, including a nonprofit corporation, to contract for or perform some or all of the services specified in the contract or agreement or exercise those powers jointly held by the contracting parties.

 

B. Any such contract or agreement shall specify the following:

  1. Its duration.
  2. Its purpose or purposes.
  3. The manner of financing the joint or cooperative undertaking and of establishing and maintaining a budget for the undertaking.
  4. The permissible method or methods to be employed in accomplishing the partial or complete termination of the agreement and for disposing of property on such partial or complete termination.
  5. If a separate legal entity is formed pursuant to subsection A, the precise organization, composition, title and nature of the entity.
  6. Any other necessary and proper matters.

 

C. No agreement made pursuant to this article shall relieve any public agency of any obligation or responsibility imposed on it by law.

 

D. Except as provided in subsection E, every agreement or contract involving any public agency or public procurement unit of this state made pursuant to this article, before its execution, shall be submitted to the attorney for each such public agency or public procurement unit, who shall determine whether the agreement is in proper form and is within the powers and authority granted under the laws of this state to such public agency or public procurement unit.

 

E. A federal department or agency or public agency of another state that is a party to an agreement or contract made pursuant to this article is not required to submit the agreement or contract to the attorney for the department or agency unless required under federal law or the law of the other state.

 

F. Appropriate action by ordinance or resolution or otherwise pursuant to the laws applicable to the governing bodies of the participating agencies approving or extending the duration of the agreement or contract shall be necessary before any such agreement, contract or extension may be filed or become effective.

 

G. An agreement or contract may be extended as many times as is desirable, but each extension may not exceed the duration of the previous agreement.

 

H. Payment for services under this section shall not be made unless pursuant to a fully approved written contract.

 

I. A person who authorizes payment of any monies in violation of this section is liable for the monies paid plus twenty per cent of such amount and legal interest from the date of payment.

 

J. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, public agencies may enter into a contract or agreement pursuant to this section with the superior court, justice courts and police courts for related services and facilities of such courts for a term not to exceed ten years, with the approval of such contract or agreement by the presiding judge of the superior court in the county in which the court or courts that provide the facilities or services are located.

 

 

Arizona Administrative Code

Title 2. Administration

Chapter 7. Department of Administration State Procurement Office

 

ARIZ. ADMIN. CODE R2-7-1001. Approval to Enter into a Cooperative Purchasing Agreement

B. Agency chief procurement officers shall submit a written request to the state procurement administrator before participating in a cooperative purchasing agreement with another public procurement unit or group of public procurement units. The written request for approval shall specify the manner which the administering public procurement unit complies with A.R.S. § 41-2634.

 

ARIZ. ADMIN. CODE R2-7-1003. Purchasing from a Cooperative Contract

A. The agency chief procurement officer shall not procure materials, services, professional services, construction or construction services from any cooperative contracts available under an existing Arizona state contract, unless authorized by the state procurement administrator.