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State and Local Government Purchasing

How State and Local Government Can Purchase Off a GSA Schedule

The GSA Schedule provides many features and benefits for state and local governments. Some of the benefits are:

  • Leading information technology, law enforcement, and security solutions from “responsible” commercial organizations.
  • Awarded “fair and reasonable” pricing that may offer additional discounts.
  • Value-added features such as warranty, commercial terms and conditions, and expected delivery date with tracking information provided.
  • Complimentary access to GSA eTools such as GSA Advantage!, eLibrary, and eBuy that come with free training on how to use these procurement portals.

40 U.S.C § 502 (c) offers the following definition of state or local government:

“The term, ‘State or local government’ includes any State, local, regional, or tribal government, or any instrumentality thereof (including any local educational agency or institution of higher education).” Hospitals that are instrumentalities of state and local governments have access to the same programs as state and local governments. Educational Institutions include:

  • Local elementary, middle, and high schools operated by public school boards
  • Public colleges, community colleges, technical colleges
  • Public universities that provide at least a two-year program that offers a degree or offers credit toward such a degree

The term does not include contractors or grantees of state or local governments.

There are four authorized purchasing programs where state and local government buyers can use the GSA Schedule: Cooperative Purchasing Program, Disaster Purchasing Program, Public Health Emergencies, and the 1122 Program.

Cooperative Purchasing Program

IT, security, and law enforcement products, services, and solutions that support everyday activities and your overall mission.  This includes GSA Schedule contracts with Large Category F (Information Technology) and Large Category J (Security and Protection).

Disaster Purchasing Program

All GSA Schedule products and services are available, when buying in support of disaster preparation, response, and major disaster recovery, as well as recovery from natural or man-made disasters, including acts of terrorism, or nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack.

“Preparedness” means actions that involve a combination of planning, resources, training, exercising, and organizing to build, sustain, and improve operational capabilities. Preparedness is the process of identifying the personnel, training, and equipment needed for a wide range of potential incidents, and developing jurisdiction – specific plans for delivering capabilities when needed for an incident.

“Response” means immediate actions to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs. Response also includes the execution of emergency plans and actions to support short-term recovery.

“Recovery” means the development, coordination, and execution of service- and site-restoration plans; the reconstitution of government operations and services; individual, private-sector, nongovernmental, and public-assistance programs to provide housing and to promote restoration; long-term care and treatment of affected persons; additional measures for social, political, environmental, and economic restoration; evaluation of the incident to identify lessons learned; post incident reporting; and development of initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents.

Public Health Emergencies

When a federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) is declared, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments can benefit from GSA Schedules’ speed, savings, and ease of use. Under the PHE program, non-federal entities are authorized to buy from all GSA Schedules when spending federal grants funds in direct response to PHEs.

1122 Program

The 1122 Program, owned and managed by the Department of Defense, allows states and units of local government access to federal sources of supply to purchase equipment to support counter-drug, homeland security, and emergency response activities. In order to make a purchase under the 1122 Program, your state must have a certified State Point of Contact.

How to Order - Terms and Conditions

To ensure you receive the best value from GSA Schedule contractors, GSA recommends eligible buying entities follow GSA Schedule ordering procedures to receive best value (GSAR 552.238-79 (h)). Following federal ordering guidelines is not mandated.

State and local government buyers are responsible for following the ordering and competitive procedures outlined by their local procurement regulations. Buyers may add additional terms and conditions or enhancements to Schedule terms and conditions as long as they do not conflict with the base level Schedule terms and conditions.  Additionally, when purchasing with Federal grant funds, buyers must follow the regulations and procedures outlined by the granting agency.

The flow down of GSA terms and conditions is outlined by GSAR Clause 552.238-79(a)(3).

In general, when orders are placed by a state or local government, all terms and conditions of the contractor’s Schedule flow down to the order level, except the following;

  • Disputes Clause;
  • Patent Indemnity Clause;
  • Prompt Payment Clause and
  • Certain Commercial Item Contract Terms and Conditions. Portions of the commercial item contract terms and conditions that specify compliance with laws unique to federal government contracts are not applicable to state and local government orders.