Louisiana

Plain-language summary

Louisiana's cooperative purchasing framework is found in the Louisiana Procurement Code at La. R.S. 39:1701 through 1710 (Part VII — Intergovernmental Relations). R.S. 39:1702(A)(1) is the foundational authority: any public procurement unit may participate in, sponsor, conduct, or administer a cooperative purchasing agreement for the acquisition of supplies, services, major repairs, or construction. The statute explicitly contemplates joint or multi-party contracts and open-ended state contracts made available to local procurement units. A separate but related provision — La. R.S. 38:321.1 — authorizes a "piggyback" mechanism by which state agencies, municipalities, parishes, and other political subdivisions may purchase items through existing Louisiana public contracts of other political subdivisions within one year of bid opening. State agencies may rely on a certificate from the Office of State Procurement confirming compliance.

Key requirements

• →The participating entity must qualify as a "public procurement unit" as defined in La. R.S. 39:1556.
• →Cooperative purchasing must occur pursuant to a formal agreement between participants.
• →Where the state and a local public procurement unit enter an agreement under R.S. 39:1702, the state must conduct the procurement in compliance with the Louisiana Procurement Code, and the local unit's purchases must be made by placing purchase orders against the appropriate state contract.
• →Cooperative purchasing activity may include joint or multi-party contracts and open-ended state contracts made available to local procurement units (R.S. 39:1702).
• →For piggyback purchasing under R.S. 38:321.1, the acquisition must occur within one year of the opening of bids for the original contract.
• →State agencies may rely on a certificate from the Office of State Procurement confirming that a contract bid complies with Title 39 and has been adopted as a statewide cooperative contract under R.S. 39:1702.

Construction services

Louisiana is one of the most explicitly construction-friendly states for cooperative purchasing. R.S. 39:1702(A)(1) directly authorizes cooperative purchasing for "supplies, services, major repairs, or construction" — and the inclusion of "construction" in the statutory text removes much of the ambiguity that exists in other states. Cooperative purchasing extends Louisiana Procurement Code coverage to participating local political subdivisions and quasi-public entities, even those that would otherwise be exempt — a public entity that enters into a cooperative purchasing agreement under §1702 becomes subject to the Louisiana Procurement Code with respect to that purchase. Agencies should verify both the cooperative contract's compliance with R.S. 39:1702 et seq. and the specific construction procurement's compliance with applicable Title 38 public works requirements.