Colorado Revised Statutes

Title 24. Government – State

Procurement Code

Article 110. Intergovernmental Relations

COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. § 24-110-101. Definitions

As used 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 or by a public procurement unit with an external procurement activity.

(2) “External procurement activity” means any buying organization not located in this state which, if located in this state, would qualify as a public procurement unit. An agency of the United States is an external procurement activity.

(3) “Local public procurement unit” means any county, city, county and city, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, any public agency of any such political subdivision, any public authority, any educational, health, or other institution, and, to the extent provided by law, any other entity which expends public funds for the procurement of supplies, services, and construction.

(4) “Public procurement unit” means either a local public procurement unit or a state public procurement unit.

(5) “State public procurement unit” means the department of personnel or any other purchasing agency of this state.

COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. §24-110-201. Cooperative purchasing authorized.

(1) Any public procurement unit may either participate in, sponsor, conduct, or administer a cooperative purchasing agreement for the procurement of any supplies, services, or construction with one or more public procurement units, external procurement activities or procurement consortiums that include as members tax-exempt organizations as defined by section 501 (c) (3) of the federal “Internal Revenue Code of 1986”, as amended, in accordance with an agreement entered into between the participants. Such cooperative purchasing may include, but is not limited to, joint or multiparty contracts between public procurement units and open-ended state public procurement unit contracts that are made available to local public procurement units.

(2) With prior written approval of the executive director and under procedures established by rule, a state public procurement unit may purchase goods or services under the terms of a contract between a vendor and an external procurement activity or a local public procurement unit without complying with the requirements of section 24-102-202.5 and article 103 of this title.

COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. §24-110-203 Cooperative use of supplies or services.

Any public procurement unit may enter into an agreement, independent of the requirements of article 103 of this title, with any other public procurement unit or external procurement activity for the cooperative use of supplies or services under the terms agreed upon between the parties.

COLO. REV. STAT. ANN. §24-110-207. Public procurement units – compliance with code

Whenever the public procurement unit or external procurement activity which is administering a cooperative purchase agreement complies with the requirements of this code, the public procurement unit which is participating in such agreement shall also be deemed to have complied with this code. No public procurement unit may enter into a cooperative purchasing agreement for the purpose of circumventing this code.

Colorado Constitution

Article XIV. Counties

Section 18. Intergovernmental relationships.

(1) (a) Any other provisions of this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding:

(b) The general assembly may provide by statute for the terms and conditions under which one or more service authorities may succeed to the rights, properties, and other assets and assume the obligations of any other political subdivision included partially or entirely within such authority, incident to the powers vested in, and the functions, services, and facilities authorized to be provided by the service authority, whether vested and authorized at the time of the formation of the service authority or subsequent thereto; and,

(c) The general assembly may provide by statute for the terms and conditions under which a county, home rule county, city and county, home rule city or town, statutory city or town, or quasi-municipal corporation, or any combination thereof may succeed to the rights, properties, and other assets and assume the obligations of any quasi-municipal corporation located partially or entirely within its boundaries.

(2) (a) Nothing in this constitution shall be construed to prohibit the state or any of its political subdivisions from cooperating or contracting with one another or with the government of the United States to provide any function, service, or facility lawfully authorized to each of the cooperating or contracting units, including the sharing of costs, the imposition of taxes, or the incurring of debt.

(b) Nothing in this constitution shall be construed to prohibit the authorization by statute of a separate governmental entity as an instrument to be used through voluntary participation by cooperating or contracting political subdivisions.

(c) Nothing in this constitution shall be construed to prohibit any political subdivision of the state from contracting with private persons, associations, or corporations for the provision of any legally authorized functions, services, or facilities within or without its boundaries.

Code of Colorado Regulations

Division of Finance and Procurement

Procurement Rules

COLO. CODE REGS. §R-24-101-105-01 Applicability

The Colorado Procurement Code and these rules do not apply to the following procurements:

(d) The contract is between state agencies, between the State and a political sub-division, another state, or the federal government, or any combination as described in R-24-110-101 through R-24-110- 301.

COLO. CODE REGS. §R-24-110-201-01 Cooperative Purchasing

The Executive Director or his designee may approve the purchase of goods or services in accordance with §24-110-201(2) CRS if he finds that such purchase is in the best interests of the state, after considering: (1) The interests of Colorado vendors and vendors registered with the BIDS system; (2) the competitiveness of pricing under the contract; (3) the efficiencies and cost savings of using the contract, beyond the savings and administrative convenience achieved from not having to comply with Article 103 of the Procurement Code; and (4) the purposes of the Procurement Code, as set forth in §24-101-102 CRS.

(a) The head of a purchasing agency shall make the request through the State Purchasing Director, addressing the considerations set forth above.

(b) The Executive Director or his designee may approve a single purchase, make a conditional approval, or approve participation in an on-going program with the external procurement activity or the local public procurement unit. Participation in an on-going program must be for a specific period of time, not to exceed two years.