Terms of Participation

Generally, a public body may participate in, sponsor, conduct or administer a cooperative procurement agreement with one or more other public bodies, or agencies of the United States, for the purpose of combining requirements to increase efficiency or reduce administrative expenses. Each state has its own laws regarding intergovernmental purchasing. 

All OMNIA Partners contracts have been competitively solicited by a lead public agency in accordance with their public purchasing rules and regulations. Each solicitation contains language that advises all suppliers of the subsequent contract that may be used by other government agencies throughout the United States. This language is based on the lead jurisdiction “Joint Powers Authority” or “Cooperative Procurement” program. Although each government may have different purchasing procedures to follow, applying these competitive principles satisfies the competitive bid requirements for most state and local government agencies. 

State statutes and, if applicable, local ordinances generally allow one government agency to purchase from contracts competitively solicited by another government agency (“Lead Public Agency”). This, of course, would require the consent of all parties including the supplier, the Lead Public Agency and government agency purchasing from the Lead Public Agency contract. OMNIA Partners contracts are established to meet both the competitive solicitation and consent requirements. Public agencies accessing OMNIA Partners consent to a Master Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement (MICPA) with the various lead public agencies that have competitively solicited and awarded available contracts.