Did Bossier Parish have to publicly bid prescription drugs for prisoners when annual purchases exceeded the threshold?

Plain-English summary

Bossier Parish asked whether it had to bid prescription drugs for prisoners when annual spending was about $100,000, and whether its prior wholesale-price bids affected the answer. The AG said prescription drugs were materials and supplies under the Public Bid Law. Like commodities purchased during a fiscal year had to be aggregated; if their total exceeded the statutory threshold, the purchases had to be advertised and let by public bid. Drug variety and price changes could be addressed in bid documents, and the parish’s prior bids showed bidding was feasible.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the parish buy prescriptions in smaller orders without public bidding?
The opinion said like purchases during a fiscal year had to be totaled for the bid threshold.

Were prescription drugs covered as supplies?
Yes. The AG expressly classified them as materials and supplies.

Did variable drug prices eliminate the bidding requirement?
No. The AG said bid documents might need special provisions but the drugs remained subject to bidding when the threshold was crossed.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied R.S. 38:2212.1A(1)(a) and earlier AG opinions on aggregating like commodities. The threshold amount quoted in this 2002 opinion is historical.

Citations and references

• The authorities discussed appear in the reproduced opinion below.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0122

Original opinion text

DFPARTMFNT OF JUSTICF
One American Place
301 Mare Street, Suite 600
cw,t roWS,ON
P O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGF
TEL.: (225; 342-7013
FAX: (225) 342-20’:)0
RICHARD P. ]EYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

APR 0 5 200Z
Opinion Number 02-0122

90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Purchases of Materials & Supphes

R S. 38:2212.1A(1)(a)
Mr. Patrick R. Jackson
Parish Attorney
Prescription drugs purchased by the parish for prisoners,
the total cost of which exceeds the bid threshold in a fiscal Bossier Parish Police Jury year, must be purchased by pubhc b~d.
P.O. Box 70
Benton, LA 71006

Dear Mr. Jackson:

On behalf of the Bossier Parish Police Jury you have requested our opinion on the following issue:

Under Louisiana law, is the Bossier Parish Police Jury required to take bids for the providing of prescription drugs for Parish prisoners when the Bossier Parish Police Jury expends approximately $100,000 in any calendar year?
If so, does it have any impact on your decision that bids have already been taken and four qualifying bids have been obtained based on average wholesale price of the drugs in the marketplace?

As you are aware the Louisiana Public Bid Law, R.S. 38:2211 and following, is applicable to the Bossier Parish Police Jury and all political subdivisions of the State. R.S.
38:2212.1A(1)(a) requires that "All purchases of materials or supplies exceeding the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to be paid out of public funds shall be advertised and let by contract to the lowest responsible bidder...". This office has long interpreted that provision to require that purchases of like commodities during the course of a fiscal year must be aggregated and be publicly bid if the total amount of purchases of those commodities during the fiscal year exceeds the statutory threshold for bidding. See Attorney General Opinions 95-123, 95-140, 80-987, 79-51 and 78-598. Prescription drugs, because of their variety and price volatility, may require special provisions in the bid documents, but are clearly within the meaning of "materials and supplies" which are required to be bid. Your own history of successfully securing bids for prescription drugs confirms that such bidding is feasible.

Page 2

Opinion Number 02-0122
Mr. Patrick R. Jackson
Parish Attorney
Bossier Parish Police Jury
Page -2-

It is our opinion that bidding for prescription drugs to be provided to prisoners, when the
total cost of such drugs in a fiscal year will exceed the bid threshold must be advertised
and let by public bid.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

BY:
JCOTE
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/GRD/dam