A state agency must keep its contracts and related solicitation documents, including electronic solicitation documents in electronic form.
Sec. 441.1855. RETENTION OF CONTRACT AND RELATED DOCUMENTS BY STATE AGENCIES. (a) Notwithstanding Section 441.185 or 441.187, a state agency: (1) shall retain in its records each contract entered into by the state agency and all contract solicitation documents related to the contract; and (2) may destroy the contract and documents only after the seventh anniversary of the date: (A) the contract is completed or expires; or (B) all issues that arise from any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review, or other action involving the contract or documents are resolved. (b) A contract solicitation document that is an electronic document must be retained under Subsection (a) in the document's electronic form. A state agency may print and retain the document in paper form only if the agency provides for the preservation, examination, and use of the electronic form of the document in accordance with Subsection (a), including any formatting or formulas that are part of the electronic format of the document. (c) In this section: (1) "Contract solicitation document" includes any document, whether in paper form or electronic form, that is used by a state agency to evaluate responses to a competitive solicitation for a contract issued by the agency. (2) "Electronic document" means: (A) information that is created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means; or (B) the output of a word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, or business productivity application. Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 326 (S.B. 20), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2015. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 953 (S.B. 65), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019.