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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Member Eligibility Requirements​ ​

    The Procurement Code authorizes Pennsylvania local public procurement units and Pennsylvania state-affiliated entities to participate in certain contracts for supplies and services managed by the Department of General Services (DGS).

    A Pennsylvania "local public procurement unit" is defined as:
    • Any political subdivision (local government unit), such as a municipality, school district or commission
    • Any public authority (including authorities formed under the Municipality Authorities Act of 1955 or other authorizing legislation, such as the Public Transportation Law or the Aviation Code)
    • Any tax-exempt, nonprofit educational institution or organization
    • Any tax-exempt, nonprofit public health institution or organization
    • Any nonprofit fire company, rescue company, or ambulance company
    • Any other entity that spends public funds for the procurement of supplies, services, and construction (such as council of governments or an area government, or an organization that receives public grant funds)

    DGS reserves the right to review and determine eligible applicants as local public procurement units on a case-by-case basis.

    A "state-affiliated entity" is a Commonwealth authority or other Commonwealth entity that is not a Commonwealth agency.  This includes:

    • Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
    • Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
    • Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System
    • Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority
    • State Public School Building Authority
    • Pennsylvania Higher Education Facilities Authority
    • State System of Higher Education

    The COSTARS Program is not available for use by Executive Agencies and Independent Agencies as defined by the Commonwealth Procurement Code, or any agency or entity using funds appropriated to the Department of General Services through Capital Budget Project Itemization legislation for the procurement of furniture, fixtures, and equipment.

    The COSTARS Program is intended for the exclusive use of member organizations.  Individuals associated with the member Organization are prohibited from using the contracts for personal purchases.  Failure to abide by this may result in the member organization being removed from the COSTARS Program and appropriate legal action being taken against the individual(s) who improperly used the COSTARS Contract.

    Member Registration

    Eligible local public procurement units must register on-line with the Department of General Services. Once you register, and if eligible, you will receive an approval letter with your member number. Please note that local public procurement units will not be permitted to register their organization more than once. To see if your organization is already registered, search the list of current COSTARS members. Please share your organization's member ID with other staff within your organization. To learn more about COSTARS, please review the potential member FAQs.