Texas law prohibits contracting with companies boycotting Israel or doing business with Iran or Sudan or foreign terrorist organizations on the U.S. Government's SDN (Specifically Designated Nationals and blocked persons) List. Other states may have similar laws. All new PCA contracts and current contract holders at annual contract renewal will be required to sign off on this legislative requirement. TX GOV'T CODE, Chapters 2252 and 2270, respectively, as amended.

PCA posts its solicitations to the ESBD system of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, in addition to newspaper notifications and posting on the PCA website.

Vendors will respond to PCA solicitations via the Bonfire system. To access solicitations. Step 1 - New Vendors: Complete the online Vendor Registration on the VENDOR tab www.pcamerica.org/vendor. Step 2 - First Time Vendors (register & after DUNS & EIN check) and Returning Vendors: log in with USERNAME and PASSWORD on the VENDOR tab and then go to the SOLICITATIONS tab and select the "Solicitations Link" to go to the Bonfire system. After you do this once and then register in the Bonfire system, you may access your solicitation of choice directly through the Bonfire system. Bonfire will automatically CLOSE responses promptly at the solicitation's designated due date and time.

PCA Members who require Due Diligence or Contract information, please register on the Member's Tab & then submit your request to pcamerica@pcamerica.org.

Regulations govern expenditures of third party recipients of U. S. Dept. of Education Federal grant funds. PCA is current with the EDGAR update, see the Forms Tab for the compliance letter.

REBATES TO NON-FEDERAL RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL GRANTS from procurement cards, credit cards or purchasing cooperatives. A percentage of the rebate, based on the percentage of expenditures from federal funds with that p-card, credit card or purchasing cooperative to total expenditures with that p-card, credit card or purchasing cooperative, must be returned to the Federal Government either (1) as a credit to the expenditure account if the grant program is still open OR (2) by check made payable to the Federal Government if the grant program has closed. [2 CFR 200.406. Applicable Credits]

PCA contracts are IDIQ contracts. In all cases wherein the Member is using federal funds to purchase goods or services through a PCA Contract. PCA recommends that the Member conduct their own independent price or cost analysis in compliance with 2 CFR 200.323 before issuing a purchase order or entering into a contract with an awarded contractor.

Open Records Policy: If a Vendor believes that parts of its response to a solicitation may be exempted from disclosure under Texas law, Vendor must specify which exception(s) to the TPIA are applicable and provide detailed reasons to substantiate the exception(s). More information may be found in the solicitation. PCA assumes no obligation or responsibility relating to the disclosure or nondisclosure of information submitted by Vendors. 

PCA is a national cooperative. PCA is based in Texas and all PCA contracts are written to be used by local, state and Federal government agencies, educational institutions, Indian tribal governments, and non-profit, non-taxed organizations in all 50 states, U.S. Territories, Canada and Mexico.

PCA contracts are awarded following legally mandated procedures? Contracts are competitively bid and the procedure meets Texas and other states' procurement and contracting statutes as well as the applicable Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) by reference.

How PCA contracts are awarded: PCA contracts are awarded by the Awarding Government Agency by the Board of Directors or Council, using a competitive solicitation process consistent with Texas procurement and contracting laws and regulations. 

Does PCA perform contract reviews? To ensure member/awarded contractor accountability, PCA will perform a review upon request. PCA provides for member-awarded contractor liaison in the event of contract questions. Otherwise, members work directly with awarded contractors.

There is NO membership fee to join PCA! Eligible entities join and participate in PCA for free. PCA operations are supported through an administrative fee paid by awarded contractors; the administrative fee does not impact the cost the the Member because it is an component of the awarded contractor's overhead cost. 

Eligiblity for membership in the PCA: ALL 50 States, U.S. Territories, Canada, Mexico, Local, State, Federal and Other Government Agencies; Educational Institutions and Non-Taxed Non-Profit Organizations; including Religious and Charitable Organizations. 

Online registration issues: First, verify that your PCA login information/password email is not in your spam/junk file. If it is not there, please contact our office by sending an email from the 'Contact Us' Tab. If applying over the weekend, you may not get access until Monday because PCA vets your entity before giving you access to the website. 

How eligible entities in Texas become members of the PCA Cooperative: Certain entities in Texas, including school districts, according to Tex. Gov't. Code, Chapter 791, Interlocal Cooperation Act, and Tex. Local Gov't. Code, Chapter 271, Subchapter F. Cooperative Purchasing Program, must sign an interlocal agreement with another governmental agency to participate in their cooperative purchasing program. 

How eligible entities outside Texas become members of the PCA Cooperative: Entities in states other than Texas are responsible for knowing the interlocal contracting requirements of their state. Most entities just complete the online Membership Form to become a Member and participate in the time and money savings offered by the PCA program. 

Yes, a public agency may use the PCA program without going out for solicitation! PCA Members meet Texas' and other states' competitive bidding requirements and benefit from volume purchasing power. The entire process has been completed following Texas', other states', and the FAR's purchasing and contracting statutes. Due diligence documentation is available in the Bonfire system to PCA Members; access will be provided to you upon request at pcamerica@pcamerica.org. 

More than one person may sign in from your organization. Your organization can have multiple users just as long as they create their account with a unique USERNAME and PASSWORD and EMAIL ADDRESS.

PCA encourages Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), economic and social, to respond to PCA solicitations, including MBE, WBE, DBE, WOSB, HUB, VOSB, etc. for construction-type contracts. PCA encourages participation by DBE Vendors both as prime contractors and subcontractors. Subcontractors must meet the same minimum standards and requirements as the prime contractor. It will be the responsibility of the prime contractor to pre-qualify any subcontractors offered as DBE participants. Some PCA Members have specific goals for DBE requirements and will require that a plan be presented by the prime contractor to meet their goals. A Vendor shall indicate in their submitted proposal whether or not they are DBE and with whom they are certified. Upon utilization of a contract, a Member may require verification of the Awarded Contractor's or their subcontractor's DBE status. PCA allows Members to negotiate with the Awarded Contractor they are dealing with to use DBE subcontractors in order to meet their HUB goals. Our goal is to provide maximum practicable opportunities to small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns. 

Federal agencies use PCA contracts! According to federal contracting officers. PCA contracts are nationally advertised and legally procured per Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), give contracting control over purchases and projects to the contracting agency, and allow for supplemental contracts and agreements between the agency and the Awarded Contractor. The FAR specifies the procurement process; it does not say that an agency of a state cannot carry out the procurement process. PCA contracts qualify under the FAR because the Regulations are met and PCA contracts are awarded by an agency of the State of Texas. Federal agencies can become members of PCA at no cost. 

GSA (U.S. Governmental Services Administration) customers benefit from using PCA contracts as many PCA contracts offer equal to or best price available for Federal, state and local governments. 

How to identify the contract for procurement justification: The Member will reference the PCA contract number and project title on the purchase order.

Click here to download the PCA SOLICITATION PROCESS handout.

What does a company do if they have questions while preparing their response to a solicitation? Questions must be posted on Bonfire at least 5 working days prior to the bid opening date; subsequently, all questions and answers will be posted in the Bonfire application. Answers to questions will NOT be discussed by phone or in person during the response period.

When changes are made to a solicitation subsequent to its advertisement an addendum will be made available to all entities that have registered for that solicitation in the Bonfire application. It is the vendor’s responsibility to check Bonfire for an addendum and include the signed addendum in their response.

PCA provides a complete contracting solution! From solicitation to contract award, the process has been completed following Texas (and other states) purchasing and contracting statutes. Due diligence documentation will be provided to Members upon request. 

Because PCA is a national cooperative, it may be in PCA Members' best interest to offer multiple contract awards. PCA reserves the right to award multiple contracts for the following reasons; including, but not limited to: geographic location of offices/services; different offerings, such as product lines; ''Value Add' offerings; vendor qualifications/market presence; small businesses and large companies offering quality goods/services; and other reasons vendors provide value to PCA members.