The quoted subsections of G.S. 143-129 list nine purchase categories that are exceptions to competitive bidding, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The categories cover purchases from the United States or any other government unit, special emergencies involving health and safety, group purchasing programs, work during a project begun under the section, fuel, information technology, guaranteed energy savings contracts, and purchases from State or federal contracts when the contractor is willing to extend the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions.
Key takeaways
- the nine categories come from the quoted subsections of G.S. 143-129, so each purchase needs a match to one of them.
- emergency purchases are tied to special emergencies involving the health and safety of people or their property.
- state and federal contract purchases depend on the contractor being willing to extend the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions.
- fuel is named by product, and the list includes natural gas, motor oil and fuel oil.
- asking the buyer which category they rely on is a practical first step before you price the job.
Where bidding does not apply
This guide covers the nine categories set out in the quoted subsections of G.S. 143-129. It does not give dollar thresholds, and it does not say that small purchases are exempt from bidding. Whether a particular purchase fits one of these categories is a question for the buyer and the full statute, and this guide does not offer legal advice on any specific purchase.
The first category is broad in what it names, so the item being bought matters as well as the government source, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The quoted wording applies to North Carolina's statute, and this guide does not extend it to any other state.
The quoted list skips subsection (6). A buyer's written statement of which subsection applies gives the file a fixed reference point, and that reference is more useful than a general description of the project.
This guide quotes selected subsections, so the complete section is the source to check before relying on any one category. For related public bid rules, see public construction bid requirements.
Government sources and existing contracts
The first category covers purchases from government sources. The subsection covers the purchase, lease, or other acquisition of any apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment from the United States of America or any agency thereof, or from any other government unit or agency thereof within the United States, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The quoted government source wording does not include the extension condition that appears in the contract subsections.
A file for this category should record two things: the item lines from the buyer's order, and the government source the buyer names for them. Recording both in the buyer's own words keeps the note tied to the subsection's wording.
The State contract category works differently. The subsection covers purchases from contracts established by the State or any agency of the State, if the contractor is willing to extend to a political subdivision of the State the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions as established in the State contract, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The condition turns on the contractor's willingness, and the comparison point is the State contract itself.
According to North Carolina General Assembly, the State contract wording uses the phrase a political subdivision of the State, and the federal contract wording uses the same phrase. Before quoting to a local body, check the buyer's organization against that phrase in the quoted wording.
The federal version is labeled (9a) in the quoted text. It covers purchases of apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment from contracts established by the United States of America or any federal agency, if the contractor is willing to extend to a political subdivision of the State the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions as established in the federal contract, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The State and federal contract subsections sit next to each other in the quoted text, so a file should cite the one the buyer actually relies on.
One practical step is to ask the buyer which contract their purchase relies on. Then compare the prices, terms, and conditions you plan to offer against that contract before you quote. A government source purchase and a contract purchase carry different tests in the statute, so the file should record which one the buyer is using.
Emergencies and continuing work
The emergency category names one test in its wording. It covers cases of special emergency involving the health and safety of the people or their property, according to North Carolina General Assembly.
A useful habit is to write down the health or safety reason the buyer gives for any emergency order. Keeping that reason in the file lets the record match the words the subsection uses. If the buyer cannot state a health or safety reason, the emergency wording does not give a clear basis for that order.
An order that concerns neither the health nor the safety of people, nor their property, does not match the emergency words on their face.
The continuing work category depends on an earlier start. It covers construction or repair work undertaken during the progress of a construction or repair project initially begun pursuant to this section, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The wording points back to a project that began under the section, so the question is whether the later work belongs to that same project.
A dated record of how the project first began under the section is the document to pull when that question comes up. The emergency test and the continuing work test are separate, so the file should record each one on its own. Mixing the two in one note makes it harder to see which test a given order relies on.
As quoted, those words do not describe a supply-only order placed on that job, so the buyer should identify which other category, if any, it relies on.
Fuel and information technology
The fuel subsection names products. It covers the purchase of gasoline, diesel fuel, alcohol fuel, motor oil, fuel oil, or natural gas, according to North Carolina General Assembly. Because the list names products, a mixed order needs line-by-line sorting. One check is to match each line of the buyer's order to one of those named products before you quote.
Natural gas and motor oil appear in the same list as gasoline and diesel fuel. The list is the test, so a line that does not match one of the named products falls outside the wording as quoted. A file that records the line-by-line match gives each price a traceable product name.
A line that names a product outside that list should be raised with the buyer before you quote it. Asking the question early keeps the category decision separate from the pricing work.
The information technology subsection is tied to a contract route. It covers purchases of information technology through contracts established by the Department of Information Technology as provided in Article 15 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, according to North Carolina General Assembly.
The route matters as well as the product. The quoted wording ties the category to contracts the Department of Information Technology established. When a buyer asks for information technology, the question to put to them is whether the purchase runs through a contract that department established. The answer decides whether this subsection is the right one to cite.
Keep the contract name beside the subsection number in the file. If the buyer cannot name the contract, the information technology category is not yet established in the file, and the purchase needs a separate check against the other subsections.
Group purchasing and energy savings contracts
The group purchasing subsection describes a particular kind of purchase. It covers purchases or repair work involving a combination of installation labor and equipment acquisition made through a competitive bidding group purchasing program, according to North Carolina General Assembly. That program is defined as a formally organized program that offers competitively obtained purchasing services at discount prices to two or more public agencies.
The quoted wording includes the phrase combination of installation labor and equipment acquisition, so a materials-only order does not match that wording on its face. The definition also requires a program that serves two or more public agencies, so a purchase made for a single agency does not match that element. One check is to ask whether the buyer's purchase runs through a program with that description before you assume the category applies. For labor in bid pricing, see public bid labor checks.
A buyer who cannot name the program has not shown the elements the wording describes. In that case the file should say so plainly, rather than filling the gap with an assumption about the program. A supplier can also ask the buyer to name the program and the public agencies it serves, since the definition, according to North Carolina General Assembly, names both.
The energy savings subsection is a separate category. It covers guaranteed energy savings contracts, which are governed by Article 3B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The file can note that article reference beside the contract, so the category can be traced back to the statute. Separate notes for the group program and the energy savings category keep the two tests apart.
A supplier who receives an order that refers to a guaranteed energy savings contract should ask the buyer for that contract's reference before pricing the order. The reference lets the file tie the order to the article named in the subsection.
Illustrative example: sorting a mixed order
Suppose a buyer's order has 3 lines: diesel fuel, motor oil, and a line for information technology equipment. The first two lines name products in subsection (5), so each can be matched to that subsection. The information technology line needs a check against subsection (7), which covers purchases through contracts established by the Department of Information Technology. If the buyer cannot name that contract, the file records the line as unresolved, and the buyer confirms the category before you quote.
Records to keep
The table below lists the subsections of G.S. 143-129 that this guide quotes.
A practical file keeps the subsection number the buyer relies on, beside the wording you quoted in your own notes. Dated copies of the statute text you relied on belong in the file as well, since this guide quotes selected subsections.
The file can use short labels for the nine quoted categories: government source, emergency, group purchasing, continuing work, fuel, information technology, energy savings, State contract, and federal contract. Each label should point to the subsection it came from, so a reader can check the label against the quoted wording.
The file should also hold the buyer's written statement of the category, the name of the contract when a contract category applies, and the product line for any fuel order. These are editorial recommendations, and this guide does not quote them from the statute.
A short cover note for each order can list the subsection the buyer relies on, the item lines it covers, and the date the buyer named the category. If the buyer changes the category after a quote, the note should record the new subsection and the reason the buyer gave.
For the submission step once the category is settled, see the sealed bid submission checklist.
Next step: check which of the nine quoted exceptions your public customer relies on before you quote a price.
FAQ
Are emergency purchases exempt from bidding in North Carolina?
Only special emergencies involving the health and safety of people or their property qualify, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The quoted wording does not name urgent timing alone, so this guide does not treat other emergencies as covered by the category.
Can a buyer use a federal contract instead of bidding?
Yes, under subsection (9a), if the contractor is willing to extend the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions as established in the federal contract, according to North Carolina General Assembly. Check that willingness before you quote.
Is fuel covered by the bidding exceptions?
Yes, for the products the subsection names, according to North Carolina General Assembly: gasoline, diesel fuel, alcohol fuel, motor oil, fuel oil, or natural gas. A product outside that list does not match the subsection as quoted, so each product line on the order should be matched to one of the named items.
What condition applies to State contract purchases?
The condition is that the contractor is willing to extend to a political subdivision of the State the same or more favorable prices, terms, and conditions as established in the State contract, according to North Carolina General Assembly. The comparison is against the State contract itself, so have that contract's prices, terms, and conditions in hand before you quote.