(a) Except for such emergency purchases as are made by a budgeted agency under regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Administrative Services, no budgeted agency or any agent thereof shall incur any obligation, by order, contract or otherwise, except by the issue of a purchase order or any other documentation approved by the Comptroller, necessary to process the transaction transmitted by the budgeted agency or its agents to the commissioner and the Comptroller, provided the amount to be charged against the appropriation for a budgeted agency in any year for a purchase order for a current expenditure shall be the amount anticipated to be spent in such year. The amount to be charged against the appropriation for any budgeted agency in any year for a capital expenditure, including an installment purchase, shall be the state’s total cost for such capital expenditure unless otherwise authorized by the General Assembly or approved by the Finance Advisory Committee. Upon the receipt of any such purchase order or any other documentation approved by the Comptroller necessary to process the transaction, the Comptroller shall immediately charge the same to the specific appropriation of the budgeted agency issuing the same and certify on the face of the purchase order or approve such other documentation that the purchase is approved and recorded, if the proposed purchase is within the applicable specific appropriation and the budgeted agency has unencumbered funds sufficient to defray such expenditure. In transactions requiring purchase orders, the Comptroller shall promptly transmit such certified purchase order to the vendor named in the purchase order.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the Comptroller may delegate to any budgeted agency the certification and transmission requirements of purchase orders using authorized electronic methods, provided such agency transmits the information contained in such purchase orders to the Comptroller. Upon receipt of any such electronic transmission, the Comptroller shall immediately charge the same to the specific appropriation of the budgeted agency issuing the same and shall electronically certify that the purchase is approved and recorded, if the proposed purchase is within the applicable specific appropriation and the budgeted agency has unencumbered funds sufficient to defray such expenditure. Upon receipt of the Comptroller’s certification, the budgeted agency shall transmit the purchase order to the vendor named in the purchase order.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Comptroller may allow budgeted agencies to use purchasing cards for purchases not exceeding two hundred fifty thousand dollars, unless such agency receives written approval from the Comptroller and the Commissioner of Administrative Services to exceed such amount. No budgeted agency, or any official, employee or agent of a budgeted agency, shall incur any obligation using such a card, except in accordance with procedures established by the Comptroller.