Amends existing law to provide that the administrator of the Division of Purchasing may authorize agencies to participate in cooperative purchasing agreements and to utilize contracts of other agencies.

This legislation, recommended by the State Procurement Laws Interim Committee, enables individual state agencies to: (1) participate in cooperative purchasing agreements with other public agencies; and (2) participate in contracts made by other Idaho public agencies (such as political subdivisions). Allowing agencies to participate in cooperative purchasing and to share contracts would reduce administrative costs to the state by requiring fewer solicitations. As cooperative purchasing agreements contain a higher volume of goods and services, state and other Idaho public agencies would likely be able to procure property for reduced costs as well. To ensure the integrity of the procurement process, this legislation requires that any shared contract must have been made after competitive bidding that is consistent with Idaho law.