Texas. General Services Commission

In 1991 the Texas State Purchasing and General Services Commission was renamed the General Services Commission. The commission provides an integrated purchasing system for state agencies, provides maintenance and repair services to the Capitol complex, operates a central telephone system and a mailing system for state agencies, handles the leasing and rental of space required by state agencies, acquires real property in the Capitol complex, and constructs state office buildings. The commission establishes and maintains uniform standards and specifications for materials, supplies, and equipment it purchases. The Design, Construction, and Leasing Division administers a property acquisition program for the Capitol complex, administers the state building construction program, provides hazardous material management for state agencies, and leases space on behalf of other state agencies.

The Texas State Board of Control was created in 1919 by the 36th Legislature (Senate Bill 147). The legislation which created the Board also abolished several agencies and offices, transferring their duties to the Board of Control. Among the Board's numerous responsibilities was the joint supervision and maintenance of certain historical state parks (including San Jacinto, Goliad, and Fannin State Parks). The Board also had charge of the custody and maintenance of the Capitol and other state office buildings and their adjoining grounds. In this capacity the Board contracted for all construction, repairs, and specifications used in construction projects and for machinery and equipment repairs.

The Board of Control was abolished in 1979 (House Bill 1673, 66th Legislature, Regular Session); its duties and responsibilities were transferred to the newly created State Purchasing and General Services Commission. The Commission's responsibilities included providing an effective purchasing system for state agencies; providing maintenance, repair, and security services to the Capitol Complex; and acquiring real property in the Capitol Complex and constructing state office buildings. The commission acquires all supplies, materials, services, and equipment for all state agencies, with a few exceptions. In 1991 the agency was renamed the General Services Commission.

The General Services Commission (GSC) was established in 1919 as the State Board of Control, which consolidated the state’s purchasing, printing, and property management functions. The Board of Control was abolished in 1979, with the State Purchasing and General Services Commission (SPGSC) taking over its functions, personnel, records, and property (House Bill 1673, 66th Legislature, Regular Session). In 1991 the agency was renamed the General Services Commission. During its existence, a variety of responsibilities were added to and removed from the agency. The General Services Commission was abolished in 2001, effective February 2002, with most of its functions taken over by the newly created Texas Building and Procurement Commission (Senate Bill 311, 77th Legislature, Regular Session).

The State Purchasing and General Services Commission was composed of three members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate for overlapping six-year terms. The governor appointed a chair annually. The commission was required to meet at least once per month, and two members constituted a quorum. The commission employed an executive director to manage the affairs of the commission under its direction. When the SPGSC was renamed the General Services Commission in 1991 (House Bill 39, 72nd Legislature, 2nd Called Session), the commission size increased to six members appointed by the governor for staggered six-year terms, with four members constituting a quorum. All members represented the general public. These were non-salaried positions, and the governor designated the chair.

At various times, the commission was responsible for providing a purchasing system for state agencies; providing maintenance, repair, and security of public buildings and grounds, mainly in the Capitol Complex; managing building construction, including monuments and memorials; acquiring real property in the Capitol Complex; leasing and renting space for state agencies; eliminating architectural barriers; providing for property accounting; managing surplus and salvage property of state agencies; operating telephone and mail services for state agencies; and establishing and maintaining standards and specifications for materials, supplies and equipment it purchased. With the creation of the State Preservation Board in 1983, the SPGSC lost the responsibility for the Texas State Capitol and its grounds and the Old General Land Office Building.

In 1991, the Capitol Complex security function was transferred to the Department of Public Safety, the program to remove architectural barriers for the handicapped was transferred to the Department of Licensing and Regulation, and the state property accounting system was transferred to the Comptroller's Office. In 1993 the General Services Commission took over the historically underutilized business (HUB) program from the Department of Commerce, the Fire and Safety section moved to the Commission on Fire Protection, and GSC absorbed the Surplus Property Agency, which had been created in 1945. The Council on Competitive Government was established in 1993 under the aegis of the General Services Commission. In 1995 the State Energy Conservation Office was moved from the Governor's Office to the GSC. In 1999 the State Energy Conservation Office and the Council on Competitive Government were transferred to the Comptroller's Office. In 1997 the 75th Texas Legislature, Regular Session passed Senate Bill 820 which charged the General Services Commission with establishing and operating an electronic procurement marketplace, including an electronic commerce network. Responsibility for providing telecommunications services for state government was transferred from the General Services Commission to the Department of Information Resources (DIR) effective September 2001. DIR was also authorized to share responsibility with the Building and Procurement System for the electronic procurement system.

In 1990 the SPGSC was authorized to have 874 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and was organized into eight divisions--Building and Property Services, Central Purchasing, Centralized Services, Executive Administration, Facilities Construction and Space Management, Fiscal Management, Telecommunications Services, and Travel and Transportation--along with a Capitol Security unit. By 2000 the commission was authorized to have 811 FTE employees and had at least nine divisions: Building and Property Services, Business Services, Central Procurement, Facilities Construction and Space Management, State Cemetery, Surplus Property, Environmental Services, Support Services, and Telecommunications Services. The commission provided legal, clerical, and administrative support to the Texas Council on Purchasing from Persons with Disabilities.