Texas counties have until Dec. 31 to obligate the $5.6 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding they received, or risk forfeiting any unspent funds. Municipalities must return any unobligated funds to the U.S. Treasury by the deadline.
In late 2023, the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) published a legal handbook on procurement providing guidance on navigating the County Purchasing Act.
"County purchasing is its own animal, unique even among other local public entities," said Guadalupe County Auditor Kristen Klein, who also serves on the TAC Board of Directors.
TAC's Procurement Handbook is tailored specifically for county officials and staff. It covers various aspects of competitive bidding, notice provisions, contracts, cooperative purchasing, conflicts of interest, emergency purchasing, special funds, and more. The handbook includes sample forms for documentation and a section on best practices while citing relevant statutes, Texas Attorney General Opinions, and case law.
Interest from counties prompted TAC's Legal Services group to create the handbook. "We receive many calls related to county procurement on the TAC Legal Helpline from county officials," said Associate General Counsel Katherine Howard.
Howard and Associate General Counsel John Redington are developing an online course on county procurement as part of the LegalEase Continuing Education series. This course will be offered for continuing education credit for officials in 2025.
"Counties need these resources," Klein emphasized. "Making purchasing missteps can blow up much later—years even—and damage the county's reputation or cost the county more money."
Regarding ARPA procurement deadlines and guidance, TAC’s ARPA expert Tramer Woytek noted a common misconception that county purchasing rules do not apply to federal grant programs. "ARPA's rules don't override Texas' purchasing requirements or any other federal rules," he stated.
Woytek encourages counties to diligently complete their documentation for ARPA by December 31 and evaluate whether projects can be reasonably completed by 2026—another ARPA requirement. "There's still time to pare back a project now and meet the 2024 deadline to obligate the funds. Changing the project later will be much harder," Woytek added.
Beyond ARPA considerations, Klein suggests that smaller counties might benefit from hiring third-party grant administrators for grants with complex requirements.
