(A) A board of county hospital trustees may adopt, annually, bidding procedures and purchasing or leasing policies provided through a joint purchasing arrangement sponsored by a nonprofit organization, for services, supplies, and equipment, that are routinely used in the operation of the hospital and that cost in excess of the amount specified in section 307.86 of the Revised Code as the amount above which purchases must be competitively bid. If a board of county hospital trustees adopts those policies and procedures, and if the board of county commissioners approves them, the board of county hospital trustees may follow those policies and procedures in lieu of following the competitive bidding procedures of sections 307.86 to 307.92 of the Revised Code.

(B) Notwithstanding section 307.86 of the Revised Code, the board of county hospital trustees is exempt from competitive bidding as required under that section if the board, by a unanimous vote of its members, makes a determination that a real and present emergency exists, and either of the following applies:

(1) The estimated cost is less than one hundred thousand dollars.

(2) There is actual physical damage to structures or equipment.

The board shall enter the determination of emergency and the reasons for it in the minutes of its proceedings.

(C) For purposes of this section, a vote is unanimous if all members of a board of county hospital trustees are present, or a lesser number of members of the board if not all members are present, provided that the number of members present constitutes a quorum. Board members participating in a vote by means of authorized communications equipment in accordance with section 3 39.02 of the Revised Code are considered to be present in person and may vote on matters under this section.

(D) Whenever a contract of purchase, lease, or construction is exempted from competitive bidding because the estimated cost is less than one hundred thousand dollars, but the estimated cost is fifty thousand dollars or more, the board shall solicit informal estimates from not fewer than three persons who could perform the contract, before awarding the contract. With regard to each such contract, the board shall maintain a record of the informal estimates, including the name of each person from whom an informal estimate was solicited. The board shall maintain the record for the longer of at least one year after the contract is awarded or an amount of time required by the federal government.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 235, §1, eff. 3/28/2017.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.

Effective Date: 09-05-2001 .