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Purchases
for items, goods, or services. No employee may
expend UTMB funds for any purchase unless the person is authorized
to make the purchase in accordance with Regents’ Rules, Part Two,
Chapter 4 http://www3.utsystem.edu/bor/,
and the purchase is made in accordance with all institutional
purchasing procedures. UTMB employees should aid in achieving
the current Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) purchasing
goals. See UTMB IHOP policy 4.2.1, Historically Underutilized
Business, on the Internet at
http://www.utmb.edu/policy/ihop/. All purchases greater than
$1,000 must be submitted to the UTMB Purchasing Department.
UTMB’s
HUB Program. The Historically Underutilized Business
(HUB) Program at UTMB has been established in order to facilitate
and provide access, opportunities and education to minorities
and women owned firms interested in doing business with UTMB.
A HUB is a business in which 51% of the business is owned by one
or more economically disadvantaged persons (i.e., African Americans,
Hispanic Americans, Women, Asian Pacific American, and Native
Americans) who participate in the control, operation and management
of the business.
It is UTMB’s policy to maximize opportunities for HUB firms
to provide materials, supplies, equipment and services needed
to support the administrative and logistical operations of UTMB.
UTMB is committed to increasing the number and value of business
transactions with HUB firms and encourages the use of HUB firms
in providing products and supplies needed to support daily operations.
Purchases
of items, goods, or services from employees or employees’ family
members. Purchases from or sales to an employee
or student of supplies, materials, services, equipment, or property
must have the prior approval of the University of Texas System
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. Such purchases should
be submitted through the UTMB Purchasing Department. Any such
purchases shall be made only if the cost is less than from any
other source. This policy does not apply to sales or purchases
made at a public auction.
Contracts
and agreements. Only individuals expressly authorized
in writing by the UTMB President may enter into contracts or agreements,
either oral or written, on behalf of UTMB. No person may sign
a contact unless expressly authorized to do so in writing by the
UTMB President.
Vendor
paid travel. In certain specific circumstances,
vendors may pay for travel related to product or equipment use,
upgrades, and training. It is expected that these types of activities
are rare and should be approved by your supervisor and/or UTMB
Purchasing Department.
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Q |
If I reimburse
the department, can I take advantage of a vendor’s discounted
UTMB price to buy an item personally? |
A |
No. Discounted
UTMB prices exclude tax for UTMB. For employees to forgo
sales tax would jeopardize UTMB’s tax-exempt status. |
Q |
A sales representative
tells you that he will give you 50 new IV pumps for free
if you will just purchase his disposable IV products. He
asks you to keep this just between the two of you. You place
a purchase requisition for the IV products and you don’t
mention the free IV pumps. Have you violated the purchasing
rules? |
A |
Yes, in several
ways.
- Under-the-table deals do not allow
for fair competition.
- If you accept the “free” pumps, there
is no way of knowing that the cost of the pumps was not
included in the cost of the disposable supplies.
- The pumps, even though given “free”
to UTMB, are a UTMB asset and need to be recorded. This
will not happen because the pumps were not on a purchase
order.
- The free items are really a rebate
to UTMB and must be recorded as such. If not, UTMB has
falsified information to the federal government when filing
federal reimbursement forms stating the cost of items
and services.
- This could be considered an inducement
or payment to purchase products and therefore a kickback
under federal and state laws
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Q |
An employee
purchases goods that cost less than $1,000 from a vendor
and expects reimbursement. The vendor is not registered
on the UTMB list of vendors. The employee says the vendor
will register and will bill UTMB after the proper paperwork
has been completed. Can the employee be reimbursed for the
supplies? |
A |
Possibly. The
items that were purchased should not be an item(s) for which
UTMB has a “state contract” or an item(s) that is available
in the UTMB Materials Management Store. Sales tax on the
items is not reimbursable to the employee. |
Q |
A sales representative
has asked me to sign a “purchase agreement” immediately
because the price of the product will increase tomorrow.
May I sign such an agreement? |
A |
No. This is a contract
for purchasing goods and services and must be approved by
the UTMB Purchasing Department. |
Q |
My department needs to
lease some space to perform a specific task in another city.
Can I sign the lease for my department? |
A |
No. The UTMB Facilities,
Operations and Management Department must secure all space
leases. |
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