text:
2000 Regular Session
To: County Affairs
By: Representatives Robertson, Jennings, Mayo, Woods
House Bill 366
SECTION 1. Section 65-7-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-7-95. The methods of constructing, reconstructing and maintaining the public roads and bridges in this state, other than those under the actual charge of the State Highway Department, shall be as follows:
Any county may purchase implements and material through its central purchase system; may employ labor; may work, construct, reconstruct and maintain the public roads; may build bridges; and may do any and all things necessary to be done to work, construct, reconstruct and maintain the public roads and to build bridges as herein provided. If, in the opinion of the board of supervisors, any part of the work necessary to be done in working, constructing, reconstructing and maintaining the public roads and in building bridges in such county, or any part or parts thereof, can best be done by awarding contracts therefor, the board of supervisors may advertise for bids and make contracts therefor in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-7-13; and the board of supervisors may, in its discretion, use any funds heretofore or hereafter raised by bond issue or otherwise for working, constructing, reconstructing, maintaining and improving the public roads and for building bridges as herein provided. In no event shall any contract provided above be awarded that shall extend beyond thirty (30) days from the termination and end of the term of office of the members of the boards of supervisors awarding same.
Before any board of supervisors may hire, lease or rent any heavy road machinery or equipment for use in the construction, reconstruction or maintenance of any county road or bridge, such board of supervisors shall first adopt an order adjudicating the necessity for leasing or renting such machinery or equipment, the purposes for which it is to be used, the type of such machinery or equipment and the reasons why the leasing or renting thereof will promote the public interest of the county. Such order shall also direct the clerk of the board of supervisors to advertise for bids for such machinery or equipment, which bids shall be returnable on a day to be fixed by the board of supervisors, in accordance with Section 31-7-13, or the order shall direct the clerk or road manager to solicit vendor quotes and select the lowest of at least two (2) vendor quotes subject to approval by the board.
All contracts for the leasing or renting of such machinery or equipment shall be awarded to the lowest and best responsible bidder whose bid price or rental consideration is not in excess of the current rates and charges fixed and prescribed by the Nielsen/Data Quest publication, which rates and charges fixed and prescribed by the Nielsen/Data Quest publication shall be on file with the Governor's Office of General Services at that time.
All invoices submitted for the leasing or renting of such machinery or equipment shall identify the equipment by number and name and shall include the number of hours of labor performed and the dates thereof.
SECTION 2. Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall purchase their commodities and printing; contract for fire insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance (other than workers' compensation) and liability insurance; contract for garbage collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; and contract for public construction as herein provided.
(a) Bidding procedure for purchases not over $1,500.00. Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more than One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), exclusive of freight or shipping charges, may be made without advertising or otherwise requesting competitive bids. Provided, however, that nothing contained in this paragraph (a) shall be construed to prohibit any agency or governing authority from establishing procedures which require competitive bids on purchases of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) or less.
(b) Bidding procedure for purchases over $1,500.00 but not over $10,000.00. Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) but not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges may be made from the lowest and best bidder without publishing or posting advertisement for bids, provided at least two (2) competitive written bids have been obtained. Any governing authority purchasing commodities pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, with regard to governing authorities other than counties, or its purchase clerk, or his designee, with regard to counties, to accept the lowest and best competitive written bid. Such authorization shall be made in writing by the governing authority and shall be maintained on file in the primary office of the agency and recorded in the official minutes of the governing authority, as appropriate. The purchasing agent or the purchase clerk, or their designee, as the case may be, and not the governing authority, shall be liable for any penalties and/or damages as may be imposed by law for any act or omission of the purchasing agent or purchase clerk, or their designee, constituting a violation of law in accepting any bid without approval by the governing authority. The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or governing authority and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor. Bids may be submitted by facsimile, electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information distribution. Bids submitted by electronic transmission shall not require the signature of the vendor's representative unless required by agencies or governing authorities.
(c) Bidding procedure for purchases over $10,000.00. Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges may be made from the lowest and best bidder after advertising for competitive sealed bids once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority is located. The date as published for the bid opening shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction project in which the estimated cost is in excess of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is published and the notice for the purchase of such construction shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, list the contracts to be made or types of equipment or supplies to be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. If all plans and/or specifications are published in the notification, then the plans and/or specifications may not be amended. If all plans and/or specifications are not published in the notification, then amendments to the plans/specifications, bid opening date, bid opening time and place may be made, provided that the agency or governing authority maintains a list of all prospective bidders who are known to have received a copy of the bid documents and all such prospective bidders are sent copies of all amendments. This notification of amendments may be made via mail, facsimile, electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information distribution. In all cases involving governing authorities, before the notice shall be published or posted, the plans or specifications for the construction or equipment being sought shall be filed with the clerk of the board of the governing authority, and there remain. If there is no newspaper published in the county or municipality, then such notice shall be given by posting same at the courthouse, or for municipalities at the city hall, and at two (2) other public places in the county or municipality, and also by publication once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in some newspaper having a general circulation in the county or municipality in the above provided manner. On the same date that the notice is submitted to the newspaper for publication, the agency or governing authority involved shall mail written notice to the main office of the Mississippi Contract Procurement Center that contains the same information as that in the published notice. In addition to these requirements, agencies shall maintain a vendor file and vendors of the equipment or commodities being sought may be mailed solicitations and specifications, and a bid file shall be established which shall indicate those vendors to whom such solicitations and specifications were mailed, and such file shall also contain such information as is pertinent to the bid. Specifications pertinent to such bidding shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of domestic manufacture. Provided, however, that should valid justification be presented, the Department of Finance and Administration or the board of a governing authority may approve a request for specific equipment necessary to perform a specific job. Provided further, that a registered professional engineer or architect may write specifications for a governing authority to require a specific item of equipment available only from limited sources or vendors when such specifications conform with the rules and regulations promulgated by an appropriate federal agency regulating such matters under the federal procurement laws. Further, such justification, when placed on the minutes of the board of a governing authority, may serve as authority for that governing authority to write specifications to require a specific item of equipment needed to perform a specific job. In addition to these requirements, from and after July 1, 1990, vendors of relocatable classrooms and the specifications for the purchase of such relocatable classrooms published by local school boards shall meet all pertinent regulations of the State Board of Education, including prior approval of such bid by the State Department of Education. Nothing in this section shall prohibit any agency or governing authority from writing specifications to include life-cycle costing, total cost bids, extended warranties or guaranteed buy-back provisions, provided that such bid requirements shall be in compliance with regulations established by the Department of Audit.
(d) Lowest and best bid decision procedure. (i) Purchases may be made from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. If any governing authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not included in the specifications.
(ii) If the lowest and best bid is not more than ten percent (10%) above the amount of funds allocated for a public construction or renovation project, then the agency or governing authority shall be permitted to negotiate with the lowest bidder in order to enter into a contract for an amount not to exceed the funds allocated.
(iii) Whenever bids are solicited for a public construction or renovation project and only one (1) bid is received, the agency or the governing authority may accept such bid if the bid is opened, it is within the funds allocated for the project, it is responsive to the solicitation and the contractor is capable of performing the contract in accordance with the solicitation.
(iv) No addendum to bid specifications for such projects may be issued by the agency or governing authority within twelve (12) hours of the time established by the agency or governing authority for the receipt of bids.
(e) Lease-purchase authorization. Any lease-purchase of equipment which an agency is not required to lease-purchase under the master lease-purchase program pursuant to Section 31-7-10 and any lease-purchase of equipment which a governing authority elects to lease-purchase may be acquired by a lease-purchase agreement under this paragraph (e). Lease-purchase financing may also be obtained from the vendor or from a third-party source after having solicited and obtained at least two (2) written competitive bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section, for such financing without advertising for such bids. Solicitation for the bids for financing may occur before or after acceptance of bids for the purchase of such equipment or, where no such bids for purchase are required, at any time before the purchase thereof. No such lease-purchase agreement shall be for an annual rate of interest which is greater than the overall maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101, and the term of such lease-purchase agreement shall not exceed the useful life of property covered thereby as determined according to the upper limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal Revenue Code and regulations thereunder as in effect on December 31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. Any lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph (e) may contain any of the terms and conditions which a master lease-purchase agreement may contain under the provisions of Section 31-7-10(5), and shall contain an annual allocation dependency clause substantially similar to that set forth in Section 31-7-10(8). Each agency or governing authority entering into a lease-purchase transaction pursuant to this paragraph (e) shall maintain with respect to each such lease-purchase transaction the same information as required to be maintained by the Department of Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-10(13). However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to permit agencies to acquire items of equipment with a total acquisition cost in the aggregate of less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) by a single lease-purchase transaction. All equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired by lease-purchase under this paragraph and all lease-purchase payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi sales, use and ad valorem taxes. Interest paid on any lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from State of Mississippi income taxation.
(f) Alternate bid authorization. When necessary to ensure ready availability of commodities for public works and the timely completion of public projects, no more than two (2) alternate bids may be accepted by a governing authority for commodities. No purchases may be made through use of such alternate bids procedure unless the lowest and best bidder, for reasons beyond his control, cannot deliver the commodities contained in his bid. In that event, purchases of such commodities may be made from one (1) of the bidders whose bid was accepted as an alternate.
(g) Construction contract change authorization. In the event a determination is made by an agency or governing authority after a construction contract is let that changes or modifications to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the purpose of the agency or the governing authority, such agency or governing authority may, in its discretion, order such changes pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the circumstances without the necessity of further public bids; provided that such change shall be made in a commercially reasonable manner and shall not be made to circumvent the public purchasing statutes. In addition to any other authorized person, the architect or engineer hired by an agency or governing authority with respect to any public construction contract shall have the authority, when granted by an agency or governing authority, to authorize changes or modifications to the original contract without the necessity of prior approval of the agency or governing authority when any such change or modification is less than one percent (1%) of the total contract amount. The agency or governing authority may limit the number, manner or frequency of such emergency changes or modifications.
(h) Petroleum purchase alternative. In the event any agency or governing authority shall have advertised for bids for the purchase of gas, diesel fuel, oils and other petroleum products and coal and no acceptable bids can be obtained, such agency or governing authority is authorized and directed to enter into any negotiations necessary to secure the lowest and best contract available for the purchase of such commodities.
(i) Road construction petroleum products price adjustment clause authorization. Any agency or governing authority authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, maintenance, surfacing or repair of highways, roads or streets, may include in its bid proposal and contract documents a price adjustment clause with relation to the cost to the contractor, including taxes, based upon an industry-wide cost index, of petroleum products including asphalt used in the performance or execution of the contract or in the production or manufacture of materials for use in such performance. Such industry-wide index shall be established and published monthly by the State Department of Transportation with a copy thereof to be mailed, upon request, to the clerks of the governing authority of each municipality and the clerks of each board of supervisors throughout the state. The price adjustment clause shall be based on the cost of such petroleum products only and shall not include any additional profit or overhead as part of the adjustment. The bid proposals or document contract shall contain the basis and methods of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of such petroleum products.
(j) State agency emergency purchase procedure. If the executive head of any agency of the state shall determine that an emergency exists in regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive bidding would be detrimental to the interests of the state, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding shall not apply and the head of such agency shall be authorized to make the purchase or repair. Total purchases so made shall only be for the purpose of meeting needs created by the emergency situation. In the event such executive head is responsible to an agency board, at the meeting next following the emergency purchase, documentation of the purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the board and placed on the minutes of the board of such agency. The head of such agency shall, at the earliest possible date following such emergency purchase, file with the Department of Finance and Administration (i) a statement under oath certifying the conditions and circumstances of the emergency, and (ii) a certified copy of the appropriate minutes of the board of such agency, if applicable.
(k) Governing authority emergency purchase procedure. If the governing authority, or the governing authority acting through its designee, shall determine that an emergency exists in regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive bidding would be detrimental to the interest of the governing authority, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding shall not apply and any officer or agent of such governing authority having general or special authority therefor in making such purchase or repair shall approve the bill presented therefor, and he shall certify in writing thereon from whom such purchase was made, or with whom such a repair contract was made. At the board meeting next following the emergency purchase or repair contract, documentation of the purchase or repair contract, including a description of the commodity purchased, the price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the board and shall be placed on the minutes of the board of such governing authority.
(l) Hospital purchase or lease authorization. The commissioners or board of trustees of any hospital owned or owned and operated separately or jointly by one or more counties, cities, towns, supervisors districts or election districts, or combinations thereof, may contract with such lowest and best bidder for the purchase or lease of any commodity under a contract of purchase or lease-purchase agreement whose obligatory terms do not exceed five (5) years. In addition to the authority granted herein, the commissioners or board of trustees are authorized to enter into contracts for the lease of equipment or services, or both, which it considers necessary for the proper care of patients if, in its opinion, it is not financially feasible to purchase the necessary equipment or services. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or services executed by the commissioners or board shall not exceed a maximum of five (5) years' duration and shall include a cancellation clause based on unavailability of funds. If such cancellation clause is exercised, there shall be no further liability on the part of the lessee.
(m) Exceptions from bidding requirements. Excepted from bid requirements are:
(i) Purchasing agreements approved by department. Purchasing agreements, contracts and maximum price regulations executed or approved by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(ii) Outside equipment repairs. Repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by repair facilities in the private sector; however, engines, transmissions, rear axles and/or other such components shall not be included in this exemption when replaced as a complete unit instead of being repaired and the need for such total component replacement is known before disassembly of the component; provided, however, that invoices identifying the equipment, specific repairs made, parts identified by number and name, supplies used in such repairs, and the number of hours of labor and costs therefor shall be required for the payment for such repairs.
(iii) In-house equipment repairs. Purchases of parts for repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by personnel of the agency or governing authority; however, entire assemblies, such as engines or transmissions, shall not be included in this exemption when the entire assembly is being replaced instead of being repaired.
(iv) Raw gravel or dirt. Raw unprocessed deposits of gravel or fill dirt which are to be removed and transported by the purchaser.
(v) Governmental equipment auctions. Motor vehicles or other equipment purchased from a federal or state agency or a governing authority at a public auction held for the purpose of disposing of such vehicles or other equipment. Any purchase by a governing authority under the exemption authorized by this paragraph (v) shall require advance authorization spread upon the minutes of the governing authority to include the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items.
(vi) Intergovernmental sales and transfers. Purchases, sales, transfers or trades by governing authorities or state agencies when such purchases, sales, transfers or trades are made by a private treaty agreement or through means of negotiation, from any federal agency or authority, another governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, or any state agency of another state. Nothing in this section shall permit such purchases through public auction except as provided for in paragraph (v) of this section. It is the intent of this section to allow governmental entities to dispose of and/or purchase commodities from other governmental entities at a price that is agreed to by both parties. This shall allow for purchases and/or sales at prices which may be determined to be below the market value if the selling entity determines that the sale at below market value is in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state. Governing authorities shall place the terms of the agreement and any justification on the minutes, and state agencies shall obtain approval from the Department of Finance and Administration, prior to releasing or taking possession of the commodities.
(vii) Perishable supplies or food. Perishable supplies or foods purchased for use in connection with hospitals, the school lunch programs, homemaking programs and for the feeding of county or municipal prisoners.
(viii) Single source items. Noncompetitive items available from one (1) source only. In connection with the purchase of noncompetitive items only available from one (1) source, a certification of the conditions and circumstances requiring the purchase shall be filed by the agency with the Department of Finance and Administration and by the governing authority with the board of the governing authority. Upon receipt of that certification the Department of Finance and Administration or the board of the governing authority, as the case may be, may, in writing, authorize the purchase, which authority shall be noted on the minutes of the body at the next regular meeting thereafter. In those situations, a governing authority is not required to obtain the approval of the Department of Finance and Administration.
(ix) Waste disposal facility construction contracts. Construction of incinerators and other facilities for disposal of solid wastes in which products either generated therein, such as steam, or recovered therefrom, such as materials for recycling, are to be sold or otherwise disposed of; provided, however, in constructing such facilities a governing authority or agency shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised for in the same manner as provided herein for seeking bids for public construction projects, concerning the design, construction, ownership, operation and/or maintenance of such facilities, wherein such requests for proposals when issued shall contain terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, technology, environmental compatibility, legal responsibilities and such other matters as are determined by the governing authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; and after responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, the governing authority or agency may select the most qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals.
(x) Hospital group purchase contracts. Supplies, commodities and equipment purchased by hospitals through group purchase programs pursuant to Section 31-7-38.
(xi) Data processing equipment. Purchases of data processing equipment made by governing authorities under the provisions of purchase agreements, contracts or maximum price regulations executed or approved by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services.
(xii) Energy efficiency services and equipment. Energy efficiency services and equipment acquired by school districts, junior colleges, institutions of higher learning and state agencies or other applicable governmental entities on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis pursuant to Section 31-7-14.
(xiii) Insurance contracts. Purchases of contracts for fire insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance, health insurance and liability insurance by governing authorities or agencies.
(xiv) Municipal electrical utility system fuel. Purchases of coal and/or natural gas by municipally-owned electric power generating systems that have the capacity to use both coal and natural gas for the generation of electric power.
(xv) Library books and other reference materials. Purchases by libraries or for libraries of books and periodicals; processed film, video cassette tapes, filmstrips and slides; recorded audio tapes, cassettes and diskettes; and any such items as would be used for teaching, research or other information distribution; however, equipment such as projectors, recorders, audio or video equipment, and monitor televisions are not exempt under this paragraph.
(xvi) Unmarked vehicles. Purchases of unmarked vehicles when such purchases are made in accordance with purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2).
(xvii) Sales and transfers between governing authorities. Sales, transfers or trades of any personal property between governing authorities within a county or any such transaction involving governing authorities of two (2) or more counties.
(xviii) Election ballots. Purchases of ballots printed pursuant to Section 23-15-351.
(xix) Educational television contracts. From and after July 1, 1990, contracts by Mississippi Authority for Educational Television with any private educational institution or private nonprofit organization whose purposes are educational in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or lease-purchase of facilities and equipment and the employment of personnel for providing multichannel interactive video systems (ITSF) in the school districts of this state.
(xx) Prison industry products. From and after January 1, 1991, purchases made by state agencies involving any item that is manufactured, processed, grown or produced from the state's prison industries.
(xxi) Undercover operations equipment. Purchases of surveillance equipment or any other high-tech equipment to be used by narcotics agents in undercover operations, provided that any such purchase shall be in compliance with regulations established by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(xxii) Junior college books for rent. Purchases by community or junior colleges of textbooks which are obtained for the purpose of renting such books to students as part of a book service system.
(xxiii) School purchases from county/municipal contracts. Purchases of commodities made by school districts from vendors with which any levying authority of the school district, as defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive bidding procedures for purchases of the same commodities.
(xxiv) Emergency purchases by retirement system. Emergency purchases made by the Public Employees' Retirement System pursuant to Section 25-11-15(7).
(xxv) Repealed.
(xxvi) Garbage, solid waste and sewage contracts. Contracts for garbage collection or disposal, contracts for solid waste collection or disposal and contracts for sewage collection or disposal.
(xxvii) Municipal water tank maintenance contracts. Professional maintenance program contracts for the repair or maintenance of municipal water tanks, which provide professional services needed to maintain municipal water storage tanks for a fixed annual fee for a duration of two (2) or more years.
(xxviii) Industries for the Blind products. Purchases made by state agencies involving any item that is manufactured, processed or produced by the Mississippi Industries for the Blind.
(xxix) Purchases of state-adopted textbooks. Purchases of state-adopted textbooks by public school districts.
(xxx) County leases of heavy road equipment. Contracts for the leasing of heavy road equipment for county road construction or maintenance awarded by order of a board of supervisors pursuant to vendor quotes under Section 65-7-95.
(n) (i) Term contract authorization. All contracts for the purchase of:
(A) Commodities, equipment and public construction (including, but not limited to, repair and maintenance), and
(B) Water lines, sewer lines, storm drains, drainage ditches, asphalt milling, traffic striping, asphalt overlay of streets, and curb and gutter (not to exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) per project listed in this item B) may be let for periods of not more than twenty-four (24) months in advance, subject to applicable statutory provisions prohibiting the letting of contracts during specified periods near the end of terms of office.
(ii) All purchases made by governing authorities, including purchases made pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (n), may be made upon one (1) purchase order issued per month to each individual vendor prior to delivery of such commodities provided that each individual delivery, load or shipment purchased is properly requisitioned and is properly received and receipted by signed ticket, receipt or invoice, indicating thereon the point of delivery, and provided that, with respect to counties, such commodities are properly accounted for by the receiving clerk or an assistant receiving clerk as provided by Section 31-7-109. Such purchase order shall be invalid on the first calendar day of the month immediately following the month in which it was issued. Purchases in such month immediately following may be made only if a purchase order is issued for such month. Each monthly purchase order shall be retained in the records of the governing authority. Agencies may make purchases as authorized under this subparagraph (ii) in accordance with such regulations, policies and procedures as are promulgated by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(o) Purchase law violation prohibition and vendor penalty. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized amount and the invoices therefor are split so as to appear to be authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims submitted shall be forfeited.
(p) Electrical utility petroleum-based equipment purchase procedure. When in response to a proper advertisement therefor, no bid firm as to price is submitted to an electric utility for power transformers, distribution transformers, power breakers, reclosers or other articles containing a petroleum product, the electric utility may accept the lowest and best bid therefor although the price is not firm.
(q) Exception to county/municipal budget limitations. The prohibitions and restrictions set forth in Sections 19-11-27, 21-35-27 and 31-7-49 shall not apply to a contract, lease or lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
(r) Definition of purchase. For the purposes of this section, the term "purchase" shall mean the total amount of money encumbered by a single purchase order.
(s) Fuel management system bidding procedure. Any governing authority or agency of the state shall, before contracting for the services and products of a fuel management or fuel access system, enter into negotiations with not fewer than two (2) sellers of fuel management or fuel access systems for competitive written bids to provide the services and products for the systems. In the event that the governing authority or agency cannot locate two (2) sellers of such systems or cannot obtain bids from two (2) sellers of such systems, it shall show proof that it made a diligent, good-faith effort to locate and negotiate with two (2) sellers of such systems. Such proof shall include, but not be limited to, publications of a request for proposals and letters soliciting negotiations and bids. For purposes of this paragraph (s), a fuel management or fuel access system is an automated system of acquiring fuel for vehicles as well as management reports detailing fuel use by vehicles and drivers, and the term "competitive written bid" shall have the meaning as defined in paragraph (b) of this section.
(t) Solid waste contract proposal procedure. Before entering into any contract for garbage collection or disposal, contract for solid waste collection or disposal or contract for sewage collection or disposal, which involves an expenditure of more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), a governing authority or agency shall issue publicly a request for proposals concerning the specifications for such services which shall be advertised for in the same manner as provided in this section for seeking bids for purchases which involve an expenditure of more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). Any request for proposals when issued shall contain terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, technology, legal responsibilities and other relevant factors as are determined by the governing authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; all factors determined relevant by the governing authority or agency or required by this paragraph (t) shall be duly included in the advertisement to elicit proposals. After responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, the governing authority or agency shall select the most qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. If the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals process may be reinitiated. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this paragraph, where a county with at least thirty-five thousand (35,000) nor more than forty thousand (40,000) population, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, owns or operates a solid waste landfill, the governing authorities of any other county or municipality may contract with the governing authorities of the county owning or operating the landfill, pursuant to a resolution duly adopted and spread upon the minutes of each governing authority involved, for garbage or solid waste collection or disposal services through contract negotiations.
(u) Minority set aside authorization. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, any agency or governing authority, by order placed on its minutes, may, in its discretion, set aside not more than twenty percent (20%) of its anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the Department of Finance and Administration and shall be subject to bid requirements under this section. Set-aside purchases for which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest and best minority business bidder. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is owned by a majority of persons who are United States citizens or permanent resident aliens (as defined by the Immigration and Naturalization Service) of the United States, and who are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American, according to the following definitions:
(i) "Asian" means persons having origins in any of the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.
(ii) "Black" means persons having origins in any black racial group of Africa.
(iii) "Hispanic" means persons of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race.
(iv) "Native American" means persons having origins in any of the original people of North America, including American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts.
(v) Construction punch list restriction. The architect, engineer or other representative designated by the agency or governing authority that is contracting for public construction or renovation may prepare and submit to the contractor only one (1) preliminary punch list of items that do not meet the contract requirements at the time of substantial completion and one (1) final list immediately before final completion and final payment.
(w) Purchase authorization clarification. Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing any purchase not authorized by law.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.


text:
Lucy Belle
It's Good To Be Bad
Lucy Belle In Private Stories
A woman soldier is the most lethal of all the soldiers. Apart from knowing how to use weapons, she can use her body to defeat even the most battle-hardened soldier. With a swift and deadly move she grabs your dick and starts sucking it, and at this point she's already won the battle. She easily convinces you to take off your clothes, then she orders you to take off hers. For many men, this is the last smidgeon of pleasure in their useless lives, although sometimes she lets them escape if they pump her well and satiate her thirst for creamy sperm.

subset: commoncrawl


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For the shortbreads: In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour and continue beating until just incorporated. Shape the dough into 2 balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze 20 minutes or until the dough is firm.
For the caramel: In a saucepan, melt the sugar with the water on medium until it becomes a caramel color liquid, approximately 12 minutes. Add the butter and stir until it's all incorporated. Add the cream and stir until it becomes a thick and rich caramel. Remove from heat. Let cool and reserve in an airtight container.
For the chocolate ganache: Place chocolate and cream in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate and cream for 2 minutes in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until melted and smooth.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between 2 sheets parchment paper, to a 1/4 to 1/8-inch thickness. Cook's Note: The dough will be very soft.
Place the rolled out dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until the dough is no longer sticky and is manageable.
Using a round cookie cutter, cut the cookies and transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. For 1/2 of the cookies, using a small round cutter, make a hole in the center.
Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, until the edge and bottom are a light brown. Remove and let cool.
Spread the chocolate ganache onto the 1/2 of the cookies with no holes. Top with a dollop of the caramel. Cover with a cookie that has a hole. Dust with powdered sugar.


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Monday, November 28, 2011
On DVD: "Our Idiot Brother"
It is the story of Ned (Paul Rudd), a likable and utterly dim-witted hippie type, always wearing a beatific smile beneath his Jesus beard and hair. In an opening scene of sheer comic perfection, he sells a bag of weed to a uniformed police officer; when he gets out of jail, he finds that he's lost his girlfriend, his home, and his dog (always referred to by his full name, "Willie Nelson"). Adrift, he proceeds to burn his way through the limited goodwill of his three sisters, leaving well intentioned but indisputable emotional wreckage in his wake.
With his stoney denseness and "hey, man" dialogue patterns, Ned is a pretty basic comic type, but he doesn't know that, and Rudd acts like he doesn't either; the actor calls upon his seemingly bottomless repository of charm and plays the character with honesty and integrity. The trouble is, all of the actors are fighting that same battle. These are mostly familiar and rather sitcom-y characters, at least in conception: the cold, career-minded materialistic social-climbing sister (Elizabeth Banks), the overprotective yuppie parent sister (Emily Mortimer), her blowhard documentarian husband (Steve Coogan), the flighty Brooklyn bisexual sister (Zooey Deschanel), and her hipster girlfriend (Rashida Jones).
Of course, a rundown of that cast list indicates that nuances will be found within those broad semi-caricatures; Deschanel, for example, gets past her chracter's surface to find the desperation underneath, while Coogan's angry husband is a perfect vehicle for his patented brand of passive-aggressive hostility. But Peretz and his writers make the fundamental error of taking these broad characters too seriously, too realistically; they should have either created less obvious types, or done the kind of go-for-broke all-in laugher that the film always seems just about ready to become.
Rudd, it should be reiterated, is comic perfection. He gets the two biggest laughs in the movie, though neither of the lines ("Aw, shit" and "Man, I had a feeling about that") are exactly knee-slappers on the page. It is his perfect timing and the way he thinks while he talks that sells them. He also gets to work in some real emotion towards the end, in a family blow-up during a charades game that has enough dimension to ratchet up the entire performance. And for whatever it's worth, he shares a two-scene with Adam Scott that plays like a demo reel for a Scott/Rudd buddy comedy; they get a terrific rhythm going.
Our Idiot Brother is an agreeable picture, full of polite chuckles, but not many of the big laughs we go in looking for. It is a sweet, fizzy little movie, not entirely successful, but certainly not offensive or ill-intentioned. As a showcase for its impressive cast, it does the job. It does, however, have the undeniable feel of a missed opportunity.
"Our Idiot Brother" is out tomorrow on DVD and Blu-ray.
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I have newly resurfaced hard courts at my apartment complex. I am brand new to Souther California, live in Carlsbad, and am also interested in joining any kind of leagues that may be out there.
please send me a message or respond to this discussion if you are serious about playing sometime.
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Replies to This Discussion
I live in escondido and I am in your same situation... when can you meet? ;)
Hi Dan
Did you find a hitting partner? I am in San Marcos and a 3.5 level. Let me know if you would like to play.
Hi Dan: I'm in C'bad as well. Let's play. Pete
Hi Dan,
I am a 3.5 - 4.0 . I am available to play anytime from February 12- 22nd. I live at the Sea Point Tennis Club at La Costa and there are 4 well maintained lighted courts. We can play here or somewhere else.
Thanks, Lyle
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The prep football season is just about to enter its most crucial period, but don't overlook the prep basketball season, which gets underway this week.
Local hoops teams launch their respective seasons Saturday. During the course of the next week, the Independent will take a capsule took at the boys' and girls' teams from Edison, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Marina, Ocean View and Brethren Christian. On the dock this week are capsule previews for Huntington Beach, Ocean View and Brethren Christian.
Huntington Beach Girls' Team
League: Sunset
Head coach: Russell McClurg (ninth year)
Staff: Sarah Boggeln; Marshall McClurg
2010-11 record: 24-4
League record/finish: 8-2 (second)
CIF Results: Reached 2A division quarterfinals
Returning players: Kelsey Minato (PG, first-team all-league, first-team all-CIF, Sr.); Maya Kennedy (G, first-team all-league, second-team all-CIF, Sr.); Jill Nakaso (F, Jr.); Paolo Roa (G, Soph.); Danielle Kennedy (G, Soph.); Stephanie Louie (G, Soph.).
The roster: Michelle Goodman (G, Sr.); Morgan Potter (F, Fr.); Malia Viloria (Jr.); Tracey Tran (Sr.); Bethany Treskes (Sr.); Karmyn Tillis (Jr.); Emily Vaught (Jr.).
Outlook: Under Russell McClurg, the Oilers have won more than 20 games a season for the past six years. "We have a nice group of young and old girls who look to run and gun this year," he said. "We will play an up-tempo style and look to get out and pressure other teams. I am excited about this group and hope they continue the winning tradition at Huntington Beach."
Season opener: Dec. 5, 6 p.m., vs. La Quinta at Fountain Valley Tournament.
Huntington Beach Boys' Team
League: Sunset
Head coach: Fabian Luna (sixth year)
Staff: Robert Deck; Richard Alvarez; Clyde Shitaku
2010-11 record: 20-9
League record/finish: 7-3 (second)
CIF results: beat La Serna, lost to Division 2 State champ Summit in Division 2AA playoffs.
Returning Players: Rory Aldana (PG, returning starter, Sr.); Blake Skorich (G, Sr.); Andrew Tenbrink (G, returning starter, second-team all-league, Jr.).
The roster: Michael Furuya (G, Sr.); David Harris (F, Sr.); Matthew Levinson (F, Sr.); Mason Luna (G, Soph.); Daniel Miranda (G, Jr.); Ryan Morrissey (G, Soph.); Bryan Ortt (F, Sr.); Richard Pham (G, Sr.); Derek Quinn (G, Sr.); Harley Ruder (F, Jr.); Joshua Wright (G, Jr.).
Outlook: Luna, who is approaching the 100-career wins mark at Huntington, must replace two all-league players (Jordan Reise, Dirk Cason) and three veteran lettermen (Vincent Oe, Mackey Clustka, Clint Vis), who graduated in June. The Oilers play in three tournaments, as well as the North-South Challenge during nonleague play and also play in two showcase nonleague games during the league season.
"I'm actually excited to watch our team grow this year and see how far they can 'rise together,' Luna said. We lost a ton of talented players with a lot of experience, but return two starters and added some good pieces from our JV team. The challenge will be our strength of schedule in the nonleague portion of our season. If we can get better each game, it will definitely prepare us for league play and give us an opportunity to compete for a league championship in a very balanced league this year. Aldana and Tenbrink will be our foundation and will be looked upon to provide us the leadership we need in order to be successful. I really believe we can be a very good team by the time playoffs roll around."
Season opener: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., vs. Esperanza at El Modena Hoops-Canyon Kickoff Classic.
Ocean View Girls' Team
League: Golden West
Head coach: Kim Morris (fourth year)
Staff: Shane Morris; Rachel Judy; DJ Butler; Steve Harris; Becky Blythe.
2010-11 record: n/a
League record/finish: 7-3 (second place)
CIF results: Lost in first-round of Division 4AA playoffs.
Returning players: Hannah Ferguson (PG, all-league, all-CIF, Sr.); Alexxas Laun (F, Jr.): Mari Shigemasa (G, Jr.): Deja Duke (G, Soph.).
The roster: Vanessa Barrera (Jr.); Stephanie Cardoso (Sr.); Meghan Meyer (Fr.); June Nguyen (Jr.); Arlette Pacheco (Sr.); Vanessa Rivera (Sr.); Jessica Zorich (Jr.).
Outlook: Morris, daughter of Ocean View coaching legend Jim Harris who died last month after a battle with cancer, said in previous seasons always "turned to her dad" for advice. She said a scholarship fund in Harris' name has been set up through the Ocean View Foundation. As for her team, Morris said she lost two sophomore players to Brea Olinda but said her club is a "better team because of it." She said she sees the Golden West League race as a "dog fight to the finish" between Segerstrom, Westminster and her Seahawks. Ocean View will host its own Hawk Holiday Classic tournament Dec. 12-17.
Season opener: Saturday, 1 p.m., vs. La Quinta at Coaches for a Cure event at Ocean View.
Ocean View Boys' Team
League: Golden West
Co-head coaches: Tim Walsh, Jimmy Harris (first)
Staff: Chris Melton
2010-11 record: 18-10
League record/finish: 8-2 (three-way tie first place)
CIF results: Lost second round Division 2AA playoffs to eventual champion Ventura.
Returning players: Conor Clifford (C, first-team all-league, Sr.); Josh Mishler (F, second-team all-league, Jr.); Spencer Perzanowski (F/C, Sr.); Cristian Rivera (F, second-team all-league, Sr.); Travis Sparks-Jackson (F, Sr.); Robby Weaver (G, Sr.).
The roster: Robbie Peyton (G, Sr.); Nathan Kosai (G, Jr.); Kendall Small (G, Fr.); DeAndrae Stevens (G, Sr.); Matthew Aldanese (G/F, Sr.); Dillon Reise (G, Soph.); Eric Belgen (G/F, Sr.); Tyler Burch (G, Fr.); Evan Perzanowski (C, Soph.).
Dedication: The Seahawks, along with the Ocean View girls' team, will wear patches on their uniforms to memorialize late-head coach Jim Harris. The name, Coach Jim Harris, is encircled by the traits, "Love, Courage, Sacrifice, Spirit, Tradition, Loyalty, Unity, Commitment, Character, Integrity," on the patch.
Outlook: The Seahawks lost all-CIF and Golden West League MVP player Billy Keller to graduation in June but have an experienced roster returning. "This team is deep in talent," Jimmy Harris said. "It will be their commitment to each other that will tell the tale of this group. Sustained effort, plus focus, plus talent, will dictate their success."
Season opener: Saturday, 7 p.m., vs. Foothill at Coaches for a Cure event at Ocean View.
Brethren Christian Girls' Team
League: Academy
Head coach: Jeff Wallace (fourth year)
Staff: Gary Wallace
2010-11 record: 20-8
League record/finish: 6-4 (second place)
CIF results: Reached quarterfinal round of Division 5A playoffs
Returning players: Abby Luce (G, Jr.); Brooke Hernandez (F, Jr.); Diannia Demaziliere (G, Sr.); Emily Hammond (F, Sr.); Emily Janio (F, Sr.); Jessica Wayland (G, Jr.): Kate Jensen (P, Sr.); Sara Hodges (G, first-team all-league, second-team all-CIF, Jr.).
The roster: Annie Huie (G, Jr.)
Outlook: Jeff Wallace starts his fourth year with all-CIF player Hodges in the lineup but the Warriors must replace graduated all-league and all-CIF players Madison Desler, Kirsten Sakata and Rebekah Rudd. "What we lost in height from last year's squad, we are gaining in heart from the returners," he said. "They recognize the voids that the graduating seniors left and have worked hard in the off-season to fill them. I am anticipating an exciting year that will not leave us wanting for effort on the floor."
Season opener: Monday, 5:30 p.m., vs. Estancia at Corona del Mar tournament.
Brethren Christian Boys' Team
League: Academy
Head coach: Jon Bahnsen (14th year)
Staff: Dan Healy; AJ McGregor
2010-11 record: 26-3
League record/finish: 9-1 (first place)
CIF Results: Reached Division 5A quarterfinals
Returning players: Dakota Warren (F, Jr.); Caleb Keller (F, Soph.).
The roster: Luke Anzaldo (F, Sr.); Jesse Walker (P, Sr.); Billy Bryson (G, Sr.); Caleb Wesdell (F, Jr.); Mamadou Ndiaye (P, Jr.); Devonte Barr (G, Soph.); Patrick Poss (G, Soph.); Brandon Bryson (G, Fr.).
Outlook: The three-time defending Academy League champion Warriors must replace all-league and all-CIF players Daniel Healy and Riley Thomas from last year's team but Bahnsen has a talented roster that includes newcomers Billy Bryson, a transfer from Ocean View, and Ndiaye who, Bahnsen said, is the "tallest player in the state," and "possibly" the country, at 7-foot-5. "Our team should be the favorite to win the Academy League for the fourth-straight season," he said. "With the addition of Mamadou Ndiaye and Billy Bryson, we should have size and guard play. Returning starter Dakota Warren should be one of the best players in the Academy League. We hope to improve on our quarterfinal appearance last year with a run to the CIF semis or finals."
Season opener: Monday at the Godinez Tournament (TBA).


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Bitter Brew
A dissenting group of Southeast Texas Tea Party Patriot members have taken their displeasure with the direction of the local movement headed by President Ralph McBride to the courtroom by filing a lawsuit against McBride for his handling of the group's finances and how the group is currently constituted.
Ryan Gertz, who is representing the nearly two-dozen disenchanted members calling themselves the "Spindletop Patriots," stated in a letter to McBride that his clients believe McBride is liable for "damages stemming from fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conspiracy, and civil theft under Texas law."
"What the letter is really saying," Gertz said, "is that we don't want to take your money from you; we want to sit down and mediate this and reconstitute this organization as a membership organization where we are shareholders and not contributors, and we want a full accounting of where every dime has gone since April of 2009. And we want open and fair elections."
The Southeast Texas Tea Party is a local manifestation of a national political movement that challenges the sovereignty of the federal government and calls for a return to the democratic principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The fracturing of the local group has been building since members have been at odds over items as important as the transparency of the group's finances to items as benign as meeting schedule changes and who's allowed to know why the schedule was changed. The turning point was finally reached at a meeting Thursday, Feb. 17, when an Examiner reporter who was invited by a Southeast Texas Tea Party Patriot member was asked to leave by Tea Party member Julie Melancon. This was a mere three days after The Examiner's managing editor Jerry Jordan sat through another Tea Party meeting, in which McBride showed him a profit/loss sheet regarding a fundraiser being questioned by the new Spindletop Patriots. He was aware the newspaper would be covering the Thursday event and offered to provide additional information that had been requested for review.
However, several attempts to reach McBride for this article were unsuccessful and he did not return multiple messages left for him on his cell phone. Additionally, attempts to obtain IRS 990 Forms related to McBride's group were unsuccessful because they were not on file with Guidestar, a group that monitors not-for-profit organizations.
At the Thursday meeting, the reporter who was asked to leave was told the meeting was closed and his invitation from another member was "incorrect."
According to people who attended the meeting from which the reporter was dismissed, the discussion grew heated after members asked for more transparency of the group's business, yet they were told that "nothing was going to change," and thus a group of nearly 15 members walked out.
One of the primary problems the dissenting group has with McBride is that he created a nonprofit corporation out of the Southeast Texas Tea Party Patriots, also known as a 501(c)(4). Yet when McBride was completing the paperwork for the creation of the corporation, he decided that the corporation would have no members, according to the official filing document obtained by The Examiner.
That categorization goes against the group's Web site on www.meetup.com, which lists 943 "Patriots" as part of the SETX Tea Party Patriots, and in the group's message on its site, it stresses that each "member is the core of the Tea Party!"
Just below the group's message is an encouragement to donate money.
"We've given our time, donated money, we've done block walks, and for Ralph McBride to incorporate (SETX Tea Party) without members and not disclose it to the members, that's not right," said Peggy Harris, one of the co-organizers of the Spindletop Patriots, at the group's first meeting Monday night.
For Gertz, McBride's decision was mind boggling. "It's not like he can say 'I just never thought about having members,'" Gertz said, "it gives you the option of members or no members; it's one of the boxes that you check! And he went with no members!"
And McBride's decision to incorporate the group with no members yet continue to collect money from Tea Partiers who thought they were members is the problem, according to Gertz.
"What makes matters worse, after he's incorporated the group in September (2009), this is kind of when the fraud takes over. … Now he's taking their money and intentionally telling them they are members on an ongoing basis so that he can get their money even though they're not members, and have absolutely no control of where their money's going."
Another major question of the dissenting members is where all the donated money has gone since the first $3,000 donation was made to the SETX Tea Party from the Golden Triangle Republican Women's group in April of 2009.
Several of the members of the Spindletop Patriots were upset because each time they raised the question of where the funds were going, they were met with resistance from McBride and the other leaders of the Southeast Texas Tea Party. In fact, in a recent open meeting, when Jack Sammons, who is a co-organizer of the Spindletop Patriots, asked for the financial accounting of the Southeast Texas Tea Party, he was told that he was "not privy" to that information.
What is becoming clear is that it is hard to determine who is privy to the Southeast Texas Tea Party's financial information, because Gertz said that he has not been able to identify what bank the corporation is actually using or how much money has actually been raised.
"That's what's particularly bad about this," Gertz said of the unsolved financial questions. "Under 501(c)(4) status, they're supposed to be filing yearly reports to the IRS about their finances, and we don't have any information, and they're not turning it over. So essentially, I've got clients who are liable to the IRS as members of this group that they're not actually members of."
Gertz isn't sure if McBride even knows where the money is going.
"If he's taking the money, where's he taking it to? We don't know where the money went and we don't know what the money's being used to accomplish," Gertz said.
Both Gertz and Sammons cited an example where the Southeast Texas Tea Party group spent $11,000 last month to bring Michael Berry, a conservative talk show host from Houston, to speak in Beaumont. The problem with that, according to both men, was that the group was never asked nor voted on bringing Berry down and how much the Tea Party would spend to make it happen.
The letter from Gertz is not the first letter that has been sent to McBride regarding concerns from members of the Southeast Texas Tea Party. Sammons handed out a letter at a meeting in early February addressed to McBride that thanked him for all that he has done in leading the Tea Party; however, Sammons expressed in the letter that he and others were concerned "that their voices were not being heard and their questions were being answered with condescension, ridicule and character assassination."
Sammons said he was never given an opportunity to explain the letter to other members in an open meeting and his requests were ignored.
Sammons, who has been a longtime Southeast Texas Tea Party Patriot member, does not want this problem with McBride and some of the other leadership members to drag down what has been a successful organization in promoting change in Southeast Texas. He maintains that this flap is not indicative of what the Tea Party represents in Southeast Texas and that there are plenty of good, hard working people who espouse what the Tea Party is all about.
"The Tea Party has proven its usefulness to the community, and has proved it well prior to now," Sammons said. "We just want to continue it. I've got projects I want to get done. True the Vote, for the example, and we want to discover all the voting fraud here in Jefferson County. We've got projects to do locally. We're not in this to destroy the Tea Party; we just had questions we had the right to ask, and the response we got brought this on."


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Mentally ill more likely to smoke
Listed below are all STTAC's current articles, events and news pieces. Please check back periodically for updates and look for more information to come!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 | GateHouse News Service | Categories:
New Research A study has found the adults with mental illness have a smoking rate approximately 70 times higher than mentally healthy adults. The study, published by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA), found that 36 percent of adults with mental illness smoke, opposed to 21 percent of those without mental illness. Mentally ill smoking adults smoke an average of 20 more cigarettes a month than mentally healthy smokers, adding up to 240 extra cigarettes a year. -- Medicalnewstoday.com Number to Know 12.7 million: Each year, 12.7 million people around the world learn they have cancer, according to the CDC. Senior Health Numerous factors impact a senior's ability to live independently, such as health and memory problems, mobility issues, and care coordination concerns. Often overlooked is the fact that one quarter of all nursing home admissions are the result of poor medication adherence. Almost half of seniors aged 65 and older take at least five prescription drugs regularly, and one in four take between 10 and 19 pills each day according to data compiled by Kelton Research. In addition, more than half of seniors admit to not taking their medications as directed, and the adherence rate decreases as the number of daily medications prescribed increases. "For seniors, taking one pill a day is manageable, however the complexity of taking multiple medications each with its own set of instructions, represents a real challenge that impacts their health and independence," says Ian Salditch, CEO of Medicine-On-Time. "However, the difficulties associated with taking multiple medications can effectively be addressed through customized prescription packaging." -- BrandpointThe Leader


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Highlights from the 5/1/17 through 5/5/17 issues of the Daily Tax Report: State :
Some notable developments from the State Tax Developments Tracker —Bloomberg BNA's tool for monitoring important developments in all the states:
For more information about this and other state tax issues, sign up for a free trial of the Bloomberg BNA Premier State Tax Library.
In other developments …
State tax policies vary widely on car sharing, home rentals and disaster relief by Accounting Today
Connecticut – Guidance on single-sales factor apportionment and market-based sourcing by PwC
Compiled by Lauren E. Colandreo
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cue fog machines, cue twilight zone music, he's back again with yet another stupid episode of how to mutilate your beautiful expensive guitar's sound, and obiterate the effect of them beautiful expensive toneful tubes..
SUBmitted for your approval or disproval in which case i don't care so go away and soak thy head in a bog or something....
here's uncle ed's overdriver. my partner-in- crime in the luthier thing asked me if i could make him a box that would "sound just like my guitar and amp, only about 3-4 notches louder"... so i said ya want it to sound like your guitar goes to 13 for solos? he said yeah.
so just to make it safe, this goes to 15. thats one more than he required. quite a lot, actually, for his purposes
but i digress.
here's a vero and a schematic for it. as you can see it's a fairly simple overdriver. it sounds a lot like just reaching over and turning your amp up. mild overdrive on its own, but enough to kick a clean fender (which eddie plays) into overdrive. it sounds great in my marshall too tho, so hopefully it will sound good for other applications, too.
schematic and vero layout. the vero isn't built (in this version) yet but the circuit is together on the one i originally worked up for him.
believe it or not we tweaked it in til it sounded good during a 2 hour phone convo. weird planet.
which leads to....
what do ya get when ya cross an NPN GE FAL treble booster and uncle ed's overdrive?
ya get MONKEY BALLS!!
this thing is SICK. the combo of the two together is pretty slammin. into a clean fender or solid state amp, ya get an octave up fuzz ya can play chords with that will track most of the neck with buckers or single coils, neck or bridge. into a just breaking up amp it sounds like a really thick overdrive with a strong upper harmonic.
into a cranked marshall ya get ooh for days.
i was gonna put a switch in to put the treb boost part in line or out, but once i heard it i said fuck it.
you can do that if ya want.
you can of course swap out the q1 1k resistor for a pot... wire it just like the front of a fuzzface, but you'd probably just leave the pot cranked.
ac128 for q1, or any old ge. lowish gain npn. you could sub a silicon in here too, just limit the gain with a smallish e resistor.
q2, any old si that ya like that's npn. i prefer gain ranges in the 200 area here, but it doesn't sound bad with a darlington. (at least in just the overdrive alone part)
so anyways two for one deal. three, really, as ya can build the fal, the monkey balls or the uncle ed's. the fal is the input of the monkey balls to the first 4.7m resistor between the 4.7n cap and the 22n one.
polarity protection in there, pull down resistance added, you COULD probably get away with an LED clipper in parallel with the snubber cap on q2 or before the output cap to ground, but i didn't try that yet. would probably up the distortion and noise a bit tho.
why monkey balls? long story. some people would get butthurt if i explained it so best left unsaid
FUCK! just noticed i forgot the snubber on q2 of the monkey balls schem. 100p and ya can't go wrong