791Coop Overview
791 PURCHASING COOPERATIVE Frequently Asked Questions How cooperative purchasing works, how your agency joins and buys, and what compliance looks like — including procurements funded with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) dollars. ABOUT 791 What is 791 Purchasing Cooperative? 791 Purchasing Cooperative is a national governmental purchasing cooperative. We competitively solicit and award purchasing contracts that eligible public agencies can use directly — without running their own solicitation for the same goods or services. What are the benefits of cooperative contracts? Two stand out: compliance and competitiveness. Every 791 contract is awarded through a public competitive process and administered for compliance over its full term, so your agency inherits a procurement that has already satisfied competitive-bidding requirements. Beyond that, cooperative contracts save time and money. You skip the cost and delay of a stand-alone solicitation, and you gain access to market-tested pricing across researched categories of products and services. How does 791 achieve compliant contracts? 791 partners with public agencies that competitively bid contracts under their state’s procurement rules. In Texas, those awards are made under Texas Education Code Section 44.031, Texas Government Code Chapter 252, and Texas Government Code Chapter 2269. Texas Government Code Chapter 791 — the Interlocal Cooperation Act — then allows one government agency to use a contract competitively awarded by another. That interlocal authority is what lets your agency purchase through 791. Who can use 791 contracts? Any eligible public agency in the United States — there are more than 100,000 of them. That includes K-12 school districts, colleges and universities, cities, counties, state agencies, special districts, and qualifying nonprofits that perform a governmental function. Who are 791’s lead agencies? 791’s contracts are competitively solicited and awarded by public lead agencies acting on behalf of the cooperative: Each lead agency awards contracts under the procurement authority of its own jurisdiction, which is what makes those contracts available to eligible agencies through interlocal cooperation. MEMBERSHIP AND JOINING Is my agency eligible to join? If your organization is a state agency, county, municipality, special district, another political subdivision, a public education entity, or a qualifying nonprofit that provides a governmental service — and it has the legal authority to enter an interlocal agreement — it is eligible. How does my agency join? Texas entities join by executing an interlocal agreement under Chapter 791, supported by a board resolution authorizing it. The steps: Agencies outside Texas join under their own state’s interlocal or joint-powers authority. Most states have an equivalent provision — start from our non-Texas join page and we will confirm the right documents for your jurisdiction. Is there a cost to join? No. Joining 791 is free, with no annual dues and no obligation to purchase. The cooperative is funded through a participation fee paid by awarded vendors on contract sales, not by member agencies. Can my agency belong to more than one cooperative? Yes. Membership in 791 is non-exclusive. Your agency can hold memberships in other cooperatives and remains free to choose the contract that delivers the best value for any given purchase. PURCHASING How do I make a purchase through 791? Find the awarded contract that fits your need, confirm the scope and pricing cover what you are buying, then request a quote from the awarded vendor. Complete the purchase with your own purchase order, referencing the 791 contract number. Run any board approvals or internal reviews your agency normally requires. Is bidding already done, or do I still have to solicit? The competitive solicitation is already complete. Each 791 contract was awarded through a public competitive bid or proposal process, so eligible agencies can buy from it without issuing their own solicitation for the same scope. Am I required to buy only through 791? No. Use of 791 contracts is voluntary. You are never restricted to 791 vendors and can purchase elsewhere whenever that serves your agency better. Is the contract price a fixed price? Contract pricing functions as a ceiling. Awarded rates are the maximum, and vendors may offer additional savings — for volume, project scope, or competitive situations. Always request a current quote before issuing a purchase order. COMPLIANCE What legal authority lets agencies share contracts this way? Interlocal cooperation. In Texas, the Interlocal Cooperation Act (Government Code Chapter 791) lets one public entity use another’s competitively awarded contract. Most other states have comparable interlocal or joint-powers statutes that authorize the same arrangement. Whose responsibility is it to confirm a purchase is allowed? The purchasing agency’s. Procurement laws vary by entity type, location, dollar amount, funding source, and local policy. 791 maintains compliant contracts and provides documentation, but it cannot advise whether a specific purchase is appropriate for your agency. Confirm each purchase against your own state and local rules — and your funding-source requirements — in consultation with your legal counsel. Can 791 provide solicitation and award documentation? Yes. Solicitation records, award documentation, and contract terms are available so your finance, legal, and audit teams can verify the competitive process behind any contract. Request what your file needs. FTA / FEDERAL TRANSIT FUNDING For transit agencies and other recipients buying with Federal Transit Administration grant funds. The recipient stays responsible. FTA does not pre-approve cooperative purchases. When you buy with FTA funds — through 791 or any cooperative — your agency, as the grant recipient or subrecipient, is responsible for meeting every applicable federal requirement on that purchase. Can transit agencies use 791 contracts with FTA grant funds? Yes — when the purchase is structured to meet federal procurement requirements. 791 contracts are competitively awarded and established as state or local government purchasing contracts under interlocal authority, which FTA recipients may use. The recipient must still ensure the federal requirements below are satisfied on each FTA-funded order. What federal guidance governs this? FTA Circular 4220.1G, “Third Party Contracting Guidance,” effective January 17, 2025, which replaced the prior 4220.1F. It works alongside the federal procurement standards at 2 CFR 200.318 through 200.327. Together they set the rules for procurements financed in whole or part with FTA assistance. What federal clauses and certifications have to be included? The federal third-party contract clauses and certifications required for your purchase type and dollar value — including Buy America where it applies. If those provisions are not already in the underlying cooperative contract, the recipient appends them to its own purchase order or order document so the FTA-funded transaction carries them. Note the limit: a recipient may add federal clauses to an order it places against a state or local purchasing contract, but it cannot retroactively amend its own awarded contract to insert federal clauses after the fact and then treat it as federally eligible. How is interlocal cooperative purchasing different from “piggybacking”? They are distinct methods, and the distinction matters under FTA rules. Treating one as the other is a common audit finding. Confirm which method applies before you rely on it. Do I still need a cost or price analysis? Yes. FTA expects a cost or price analysis for every procurement action, including modifications — typically starting from an independent cost estimate prepared before quotes or proposals are received. Using a cooperative contract does not remove this step. What about Buy America on vehicles and equipment? Obtain Buy America certification before issuing the purchase order. If the item is Buy America compliant, you are clear to proceed. If it is not, you must secure an FTA waiver before purchasing. This applies to rolling stock and related equipment bought with FTA funds. Texas recipients — how do the TxDOT PTN forms fit in? For TxDOT-administered public transportation funds (such as Sections 5310, 5311, and 5339), the subrecipient is responsible for including the required federal and state clauses, certifications, and assurances in its own procurement. TxDOT provides the tools to do this: When you buy through a cooperative contract, these attach to your own procurement action — the order you place against the contract — rather than to 791’s master solicitation. Coordinate the specific forms and timing with your TxDOT Public Transportation Coordinator (PTC). Does 791 guarantee my FTA-funded purchase is compliant? No cooperative can. 791 provides competitively awarded contracts and the supporting documentation your file needs. Whether a given FTA-funded purchase satisfies federal, state, and local requirements is the recipient’s determination, made with your own counsel and grant administrators. This FAQ is general information, not legal advice. READY TO JOIN? No cost, no obligation. Get access to the full 791 contract portfolio. How to Join: https://791coop.org/howjoin.html Browse Contracts: https://791coop.org/all791vendors.html