Chapter
26A
PROCUREMENT[1]
Art. I. Procurement,
§§ 26A-1—26A-49
Art.
II. Materials Management, §§
26A-50—26A-53
ARTICLE
I. PROCUREMENT
Sec.
26A-1. General procurement
applicability.
(a) Except as otherwise provided, this chapter
applies to all expenditures of public monies irrespective of their source,
including federal assistance monies to this city, for the purchase of
materials, goods and services, under any contract, except that this chapter
does not apply to either grants, or contracts between the city and other
governments. Nothing in this chapter
shall prevent the city from complying with the terms and conditions of any
grant, gift, bequest or cooperative agreement.
(b) The provisions of this chapter are not
applicable to the following types of procurements that by their nature are not
applicable to the competitive process and therefore exempt from the procurement
code. However, any procurements at or in
excess of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) require formal council approval.
(1) Professional witnesses if the purpose of such contracts is to
provide for professional services or testimony relating to an existing or
probable judicial proceeding in which the city is or may become a party or to
contracts for special investigative services for law enforcement purposes;
(2) Agreements negotiated by the city attorney or risk manager in
settlement of a claim or litigation or threatened litigation are exempt from
the provisions of this chapter;
(3) Worker's compensation payments for medical and related expenses;
(4) Works of fine art which are not physically a part of functional
construction features, and performing art entertainment;
(5) The purchase of miscellaneous books, magazines, newspapers,
subscriptions, on-line library reference services, film, videos and assorted
materials for library customer check-out purposes for which contracts by
competitive bid solicitation is not practicable. Does not include major book provider
contracts which are competitively bid;
(6) Intergovernmental payments, purchases and agreements;
(7) Public utility purchases of water, power and related services;
(8) Specialized seminar, training and educational classes;
(9) Magazine and media advertisement;
(10) Financial advisory and investment broker/dealer and related
services;
(11) Election services;
(12) Council initiated contracts;
(13) Memberships in organizations; or
(14) Political lobbyist services.
(c) The determination of procurements
considered exempt shall be made by the procurement administrator.
(d) The provisions of this chapter are not
applicable to the types of procurement described in this paragraph. However, any procurements at or in excess of
thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) require formal council approval. Procurement of architect services,
construction, construction services, construction-manager-at-risk construction
services, design-build construction services, engineer services, job-order-contracting
construction services, landscape architect services, assayer services,
geologist services, and land surveying services shall comply with Title 34 of
the Arizona Revised Statutes. These
provisions will also be utilized for the following services: construction
program management, construction management, feasibility studies, materials
testing, mapping, related data collection and analysis, infrastructure system
analysis or other related services. The
public works department, engineering division shall act as the city procurement
agency and administrator for the above listed services.
(Ord. No. 97.55, 12-11-97; Ord. No.
2005.69, 9-29-05; Ord. No. 2007.72, 10-25-07)
Sec.
26A-2. Chapter
definitions, unless the context otherwise requires.
Adequate evidence means more than mere accusation but less
than substantial evidence. Consideration
shall be given to the amount of credible information available, reasonableness
in view of surrounding circumstances, corroboration and other inferences that
may be drawn from the existence or absence of affirmative facts.
Administrative directive means the document issued by the city
manager to establish administrative policy and procedures for city departments
and employees.
Affiliate means any person whose governing
instruments require it to be bound by the decision of another person or whose
governing board includes enough voting representatives of the other person to
cause or prevent action, whether or not the power is exercised. It may also include persons doing business
under a variety of names, or where there is a parent-subsidiary relationship
between persons.
Assignment of rights and duties means the rights and duties of a city
contract are not transferable or otherwise assignable without the written
consent of the procurement office.
Authorized
formal contract signer means
the mayor or procurement administrator, as appropriate under the city charter
and city code, once the contract has been reviewed and approved by the city
procurement office, city risk management and the city attorney's office and
awarded by the city council, if necessary.
Business means any corporation, partnership,
individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture or any
other private legal entity.
Central services administrator means the person designated by the
financial services manager to administer the activities of the city procurement
office, including the duplicating and mail center and surplus property.
Change order means a written order signed by the
procurement administrator or the mayor, as necessary, who directs the
contractor to make changes that are authorized by the original city
solicitation and any resulting contract.
City means the municipal corporation now existing and known as
the City of
Confidential information means that if a person believes that a
bid, proposal, offer, specification or protest contains information that should
be withheld, a statement advising the procurement officer of this fact shall
accompany the submission and the information shall be so identified wherever it
appears. The information identified by
the person as confidential shall not be disclosed until the procurement officer
makes a written determination. The procurement
officer shall review the statement and information and shall determine in
writing whether the information shall be withheld. Such determination statement may be reviewed
by the city attorney's office and shall be approved by the procurement
administrator; and if the procurement officer determines to disclose the
information, the procurement officer shall inform the person in writing of such
determination.
Construction means the process of building, altering,
repairing, improving or demolishing any public structure or building, or other
public improvements of any kind to any public real property. Construction does
not include the routine operation, routine repair or routine maintenance of
existing structures, buildings or real property. Procurement responsibility for construction
and related architectural and engineering services are delegated to the manager
directing the activities of the public works department and set apart from the
procurement of goods and services.
Contract means all types of city agreements,
regardless of what they may be called, for the procurement of goods and
services.
Contract administrator means any person
authorized to manage, supervise, and monitor compliance with the requirements
of a contract.
Contract amendment means a written modification of the
terms and conditions of a contract signed by the parties to the contract.
Contract value means the dollar value or
estimated dollar value of single-requirement procurement or for the initial
period of a term contract.
Contractor means any person who has a contract with
the city.
Cooperative procurement means procurement conducted by, or on
behalf of, more than one eligible public procurement unit.
Cost-reimbursement contract means a contract under which a
contractor is reimbursed for costs which are reasonable, allowable and
allocable in accordance with the contract terms and the provisions of this
chapter, and a fee, if provided for in the contract.
Days means calendar days unless otherwise specified as business
days and shall be computed pursuant to A.R.S. § 1-243.
Debarment means the disqualification of a vendor
to receive bid solicitations or the award of a contract by the city for a
specified period of time, not to exceed three (3) years, commensurate with the
seriousness of the offense resulting from conduct, failure or inadequacy of
contract performance or causing harassment to the award or performance of a
city contract.
Designee means a duly authorized representative
of a responsible party.
Discussions means an exchange of information or any
form of negotiation.
Eligible procurement unit means a public procurement unit or a
nonprofit educational or public health institution which follows a procurement
process comparable to the process set forth in this code.
Emergency procurement means the procurement of goods,
materials, supplies or services which are required to remedy a situation where
the health, safety, welfare or quality of welfare of the public or public
property is endangered or severely reduced if immediate corrective or
preventive action is not taken.
Evaluation committee means a selected group of people
representing the city in evaluating bid, proposal or qualifications responses
for the purpose of making a contract award; and whose responsibility is to make
fair and impartial decisions.
Filed means delivery to the procurement officer or to the
procurement administrator, whichever is applicable. A time/date stamp affixed to a document by
the office of the procurement officer or the procurement administrator,
whichever is applicable, shall be determinative of the time of delivery for
purposes of filing.
Financial services manager means the person responsible for
directing the activities of the city's financial services department.
Formal contract means a written contract resulting from a
formal solicitation issued by the city procurement office and, if necessary, has
been formally approved and awarded by city council.
Governing instruments means those legal documents that
establish the existence of an organization and define its powers including
articles of incorporation or association, constitution, charter and by-laws.
Grant
means the furnishings by the city of assistance, whether financial or
otherwise, to any person to support a program authorized by law. Grant does not include an agreement whose primary
purpose is to procure a specific end product, whether in the form of goods,
materials, supplies or services. A
contract resulting from such an agreement is not a grant but a procurement
contract.
Gratuities means gifts, services or money offered or
given to any officer or employee of the city or to any of their family members
with a view toward securing an unfair advantage of obtaining an order or
favorable treatment with respect to an award or contract.
Interested party means an actual or prospective bidder or
offeror whose economic interest may be affected substantially and directly by
the issuance of a solicitation, the award of a contract or by the failure to
award a contract. Whether an actual or
prospective bidder or offeror has an economic interest will depend upon the
circumstances of each case.
Invitation for bid means all documents, whether attached or
incorporated by reference, which are used for soliciting bids.
Late bid means a bid or proposal response that is
received by the city procurement office after the due date and time stated in
the city's solicitation document or as may be modified by any supplemental
addendum; and such late bids or proposals shall be rejected and not considered.
Legal counsel means a person licensed as an attorney
pursuant to rules of the Supreme Court, Title 17A, Arizona Revised Statutes.
Manager means a person directing the activities
of a city department.
Materials means all personal property, including,
but not limited to, equipment, supplies, printing, insurance and leases of
personal property but does not include purchase of land, acquiring a permanent
interest in land or real property or leasing land or real property.
May denotes the permissive.
Minor informality means a mistake, excluding judgmental
errors, that have negligible material effect on price, quantity, delivery or
contractual terms and waiver or correction of such mistake does not prejudice
other bidders or offerors.
Model procurement code means the comprehensive plan or
"model" for the fundamental principles of public procurement as
developed by the American Bar Association, Section of Urban, State and Local
Government Law.
Multi-step sealed bidding means a two-phase process consisting of
a technical first phase composed of one or more steps in which bidders submit
unpriced technical offers to be evaluated by the city and a second phase in
which those bidders whose technical offers are determined to be acceptable
during the first phase have their price bids considered.
Multiple award means an award of an indefinite quantity
contract for one or more similar materials or services to more than one bidder
or offeror.
Must denotes the imperative.
Nonprofit educational or public health
institution means any
educational or public health institution, no part of the income of which is
distributable to its members, directors or officers.
Person means any corporation, business,
individual, union, committee, club, other organization or group of individuals.
Price analysis means the evaluation of price data.
Price data means information concerning prices,
including profit and overhead, for goods, materials and services substantially
similar to those being procured under a contract or subcontract. In this definition, "prices" refers
to offered or proposed selling prices, historical selling prices or current
selling prices of the items being procured.
Procurement means buying, purchasing, renting,
leasing or otherwise acquiring any materials, supplies or services. Procurement also includes all functions that
pertain to the obtaining of any material or service, including description of
requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of
contract, and all phases of contract administration.
Procurement administrator means the central services administrator.
Procurement officer means any buyer, duly authorized to
enter into and administer contracts and make written determinations with
respect to city contracts; and includes an authorized representative acting
within the limits of the officer's authority.
Professional services means those services requiring
specialized knowledge, education or skill and where the qualifications of the
person(s) rendering the services are of primary importance. Professional services shall include but not
be limited to appraisers, land surveyors, attorneys, architects, engineers,
psychologists, physicians, health practitioners, auditors, systems and software
analysts and professional consultants.
Public procurement unit means a political subdivision, the city,
the State of
Purchase requisition means that document, or electronic
transmission, whereby a department requests that a contract be entered into for
a specific need, and may include, but is not limited to, the description of the
requested item, estimated cost, delivery schedule, transportation data,
criteria for evaluation, and suggested sources of supply.
Qualified products list means an approved list of materials, goods
or services described by model or catalogue numbers, that, prior to competitive
solicitation, the city has determined will meet the applicable specification
requirements.
Qualified providers list means a list of service firms which have
been pre-qualified to provide a service in a specific field. Such list may be established by a competitive
sealed proposals or request for qualifications.
Requirement of good faith means that all parties involved in the
negotiation, performance or administration of city contracts are required to
act in good faith.
Request for proposals means all documents whether attached or
incorporated by reference, which are used for soliciting proposals in
accordance with procedures prescribed within this chapter.
Request for qualifications means a request by the city for detailed
information concerning the qualifications of firms to provide professional
services.
Responsible bidder or offeror means a person who has the capability to
perform the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability which will
assure good faith performance.
Responsive bidder or offeror means a person who submits a bid which
conforms in all material respects to the invitation for bids or request for
proposals.
Services means the furnishing of labor, time or
effort by a contractor or subcontractor which does not involve the delivery of
a specific end product other than required reports and performance. Services shall include but not be limited to
repair and maintenance, trades and crafts work, clerical and machine operating
functions, concession operations, food catering, etc.
Shall denotes the imperative.
Single
requirement procurement
means the purchase, lease, or rental of materials or services without a known
pattern of recurring need by the city.
Solicitation means an invitation for bids, a request
for technical offers, a request for proposals, a request for quotations, a
request for qualifications or any other invitation or request by which the city
invites a person to participate in a procurement process.
Spot market means a short lived market where
specific materials are subject to limited
purchase availability; or where a significantly reduced price offer
requires the material's immediate procurement to secure and obtain the
item.
Subcontractor means a person who contracts to perform
work or render services to a contractor or to another subcontractor as a part
of a contract with the city.
Substantial evidence means such relevant evidence as a
reasonable person might accept as sufficient to support a particular
conclusion.
Supplementary general principles of law means that unless displaced by the
particular provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and equity,
including the uniform commercial code of this state, the common law of
contracts as applied in this state and law relative to agency, fraud,
misrepresentation, duress, coercion and mistake are applicable and supplement
the provisions of this chapter.
Suspension means an action taken by the financial
services manager temporarily disqualifying a person from participating in city
procurements.
Technical offer means unpriced written information from
a prospective contractor stating the manner in which the prospective contractor
intends to perform certain work, its qualifications, and its terms and
conditions.
Term contract means a contract for the
supply of materials or services for a specified period of time as stated within
the solicitation document and has provisions for contract cancellation, and for
additional contract renewal periods.
Term contract administration means the
monitoring of term contracts to ensure compliance with the city's contract
award and any term contract exceeding its estimated value shall be resubmitted
for review and approval by city council.
Vendor means a person or firm in the business
of selling or otherwise providing products, materials or services.
Void contract means a contract that contains unlawful
language or a contract that conflicts with the requirements of the city's
solicitation.
(Ord. No. 97.55, 12-11-97; Ord. No.
2001.17, 7-26-01; Ord. No. 2005.69, 9-29-05; Ord. No. 2007.72, 10-25-07)
Sec.
26A-3. Authority of the procurement
administrator.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this
chapter, the procurement administrator, under the direction of the financial
services manager, may adopt operational procedures, consistent with this
chapter, governing the procurement and management of all materials and services
to be procured by the city and the disposal of materials.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this
chapter, the procurement administrator shall:
(1) Supervise and administer the procurement of all materials and
services required by the city in general conformity to procurement practices
promoted by the
(2) Establish rules and regulations for the
procurement of all materials and services for the city;
(3) Establish rules and regulations for the sale, trade, transfer or
disposal of surplus materials belonging to the city; and
(4) Prepare, issue, revise, maintain and monitor the use of
specifications for materials and services required by the city.
(c) Written determinations required by this
chapter shall be retained in the appropriate official file of the procurement office.
(Ord. No. 97.55, 12-11-97; Ord. No.
2001.17, 7-26-01; Ord. No. 2005.69, 9-29-05; Ord. No. 2007.72, 10-25-07)
Sec.
26A-4. Procurement procedures by dollar
value.
(a) Small
purchases under $5,000. The single
requirement procurement of materials and services, of less than five thousand
dollars ($5,000) shall be made in accord with those rules and regulations set
forth and published by the city procurement administrator.
(b) Small
purchases $5,000 to $29,999. The
single requirement or term contract procurement of materials and services, of
less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) and greater than or equal to five
thousand dollars ($5,000) shall be made in accord with § 26A-11(b).
(c) Formal
procurements $30,000 and over.
Materials, goods and services, except as otherwise provided herein, when
the single requirement or estimated value during an initial term contract
period shall be equal or exceeding thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) shall be
procured by formal, written solicitation.
(Ord. No. 97.55, 12-11-97; Ord. No.
2005.69, 9-29-05; Ord. No. 2007.72, 10-25-07)
Sec.
26A-5. Procurement authorization levels.
(a) The procurement administrator shall have
the authority to approve and sign, if necessary, procurements up to and
including twenty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine dollars ($29,999).
(b) Except for formal contracts requiring the
signature of the mayor, the financial services manager or designee shall have
the authority to enter into city council approved procurements equal to or
exceeding thirty thousand dollars ($30,000).
(c) The city council shall award contracts with
a value equal to or exceeding thirty thousand dollars ($30,000).
(Ord. No. 97.55, 12-11-97; Ord. No.
2001.17, 7-26-01; Ord. No. 2005.69, 9-29-05; Ord. No. 2007.72, 10-25-07)
Sec.
26A-6. Competitive sealed bidding.
(a) Conditions
for use. All contracts of the city
shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in
this chapter.
(b) Invitation
for bids. An invitation for bids
shall be issued and shall include specifications, and all contractual terms and
conditions applicable to the procurement.
(c) Public
notice. The procurement office shall
develop and maintain a method for providing adequate notice of public bid solicitations,
which shall identify the place, date and time of bid opening. Notice of the bid solicitation shall be
posted for public inspection and a copy of the bid solicitation shall be
available for public inspection review in the procurement office.
(d) Late
bids. A bid is late if it is
received at the location designated in the invitation for bids after the time
and date set for bid opening. A late bid
shall be rejected and not considered, regardless of the reason for lateness,
including circumstances beyond the control of the bidder. A late bid shall not be opened, except (if
necessary), for identification purposes.
Delivery and return of late bids shall be handled in the following
manner:
(1) If hand delivered, a late bid shall be refused and returned to
the bidder with a late bid notice placed in the bid file;
(2) If not hand delivered and electronically delivered, if
available, record the time and date of receipt and bid shall be filed unopened
within the procurement office for thirty (30) days. The procurement administrator may discard the
document within thirty (30) days after the recorded date unless the offeror
requests the document be returned;
(3) A late bid notice shall be mailed or electronically sent to the
late bidder; and
(4) The procurement office shall determine the method for bid
issuance and for acceptable response delivery and so state in the invitation
for bids document.
(e) Bid
opening. Bids shall be opened
publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place
designated in the invitation for bids.
The amount of each bid, and such other relevant information as the
procurement administrator deems appropriate, together with the name of each
bidder shall be recorded. This record
shall be open to public inspection. The
bids shall not be opened for public inspection until after a contract is
awarded. After contract award, the bids
shall be available for public inspection, except to the extent that the
withholding of information is permitted or required by law. If the bidder designates a portion of its bid
as confidential, it shall isolate and identify in writing the confidential
portions in accordance with procedures set forth in this chapter, but the city
remains subject to the
(f) Bid
acceptance and bid evaluation. Bids
shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as
authorized in this chapter. Bids shall
be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitations for
bids. No criteria may be used in bid
evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bids.
(g) Correction
or withdrawal of bids; cancellation of awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently
erroneous bids before or after bid opening, or cancellation of awards or
contracts based on such bid mistakes, may be permitted where appropriate. Mistakes discovered before bid opening may be
modified or withdrawn by written notice received in the procurement office
prior to the time set for bid opening.
After bid opening corrections in bids shall be permitted only to the
extent that the bidder can show by clear and convincing evidence that a mistake
of a non‑judgmental character was made, the nature of the mistake, and
the bid price actually intended. After bid opening, no changes in bid prices or
other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the city or fair
competition shall be permitted. All
decisions to permit the correction or withdrawal of bids, or to cancel awards
or contracts based on bid mistakes, shall be supported by a written
determination made by the procurement officer and approved by the procurement
administrator. In lieu of bid
correction, a low bidder alleging a material mistake of fact may be permitted
to withdraw its bid if:
(1) The mistake is clearly evident on the face of the bid document
but the intended correct bid is not similarly evident; or
(2) The bidder submits evidence which clearly and convincingly
demonstrates that a mistake was made.
(h) Contract
award. The contract shall be awarded
by appropriate written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder
whose bid conforms in all material respects to requirements and criteria set
forth in the invitation for bids:
(1) In evaluating the bids, and for purposes of determining the low
bidder, the procurement office shall include the amount of applicable business
privilege tax, except that the amount of city business privilege tax shall not
be included in the evaluation. Tempe
privilege tax that is to be paid (returned) to the city shall be considered as
a pass-through cost and calculated as zero expense to the city for evaluation
purposes;
(2) In the event the low responsive and responsible bid for a
purchase exceeds available funds as certified by the procurement officer and
budget office, and such bid does not exceed such funds by more than five
percent (5%), the procurement office is authorized, when time or economic
considerations preclude re‑solicitation of work of a reduced scope, to
negotiate an adjustment of the bid price with the low responsive and
responsible bidder, in order to bring the bid within the amount of available
funds. Any such negotiated adjustment
shall be based only upon eliminating independent deductive items specified in
the invitation for bids;
(3) After contract award, bids shall be available for public
inspection, except to the extent that the withholding of information is
permitted or required by law. If the
bidder designates a portion of its bid as confidential, it shall isolate and
identify in writing the confidential portions as designated in the definition
of confidential information, but the city remains subject to the Arizona public
records law;
(4) The city, at its option, may not recommend for award the bid of
a vendor who is in default on the payment of city taxes, licenses or other
monies due the city at the time of bid opening;
(5) The city, at its option, may not recommend for award the bid of
a vendor who has defaulted on a previous contract with the city; or has
defaulted on a similar contract with another jurisdiction or public entity
during a past three (3) year period;
(6) If there are two (2) or more low responsive bids from
responsible bidders that are identical in price and that meet all the
requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids, award may be
made by a coin toss; and
(7) The procurement office shall procure recycled materials in
accord with ordinances, resolutions and administrative directives of the city.
(Ord. No. 97.55, 12-11-97; Ord. No.
2007.72, 10-25-07)
Sec.
26A-7. Multi-step sealed bidding.
(a) General. When it is considered impractical to
initially prepare a specification to support an award based on price, an
invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers
to be followed by an invitation for bids limited to those bidders whose offers
have been determined to be technically acceptable under the criteria set forth
in the first solicitation.
(b) Multi-step
sealed bidding. Multi-step sealed
bidding shall be initiated by the issuance of an invitation for bids. The multi-step invitation for bids shall
state:
(1) That unpriced technical offers are requested;
(2) Whether priced bids are to be submitted at the same time as
unpriced technical offers; if they are, such priced bids shall be submitted in
a separate sealed envelope;
(3) That it is a multi-step sealed bid procurement, and priced bids
will be considered only in the second phase and only from those bidders whose
unpriced technical offers are found acceptable in the first phase;
(4) The criteria to be used in the evaluation of the unpriced
technical offers;
(5) That the city, to the extent the procurement officer finds
necessary, may conduct oral or written discussions of the unpriced technical
offers;
(6) That bidders may designate those portions of the unpriced
technical offers which contain trade secrets or other proprietary data which
are to remain confidential; and
(7) That the item being procured shall be furnished in general
accordance with the bidder's technical offer as found to be finally acceptable
and shall meet the requirements of the invitation for bids.
(c) Amendments
to the invitation for bids. After
receipt of unpriced technical offers, amendments to the invitation for bids
shall be distributed only to bidders who submitted unpriced technical offers,
and they shall be permitted to submit new unpriced technical offers or to amend
those submitted. If, in the opinion of
the procurement officer, having obtained the procurement administrator's
approval, a contemplated amendment will significantly change the nature of the
procurement, the invitation for bids shall be cancelled and a new invitation
for bids issued.
(d) Receipt
and handling of unpriced technical offers.
Unpriced technical offers shall not be opened publicly but shall be
opened in front of two (2) or more procurement officials. Such offers shall not be disclosed to
unauthorized persons. Bidders may
request non-disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary data identified
in writing.
(e) Evaluation
of unpriced technical offers. The
unpriced technical offers submitted by bidders shall be evaluated solely in
accordance with the criteria set forth in the invitation for bids. The unpriced technical offers shall be
categorized as:
(1) Acceptable;
(2) Potentially acceptable, that is, reasonably susceptible of being
made acceptable; or
(3) Unacceptable. The
procurement officer shall record in writing the basis for finding an offer
unacceptable and make it part of the procurement file.
(f) Initiation
of phase two. The procurement
officer may initiate phase two of the procedure if, in the procurement
officer's opinion, there are sufficient acceptable unpriced technical offers to
assure effective price competition in the second phase without technical
discussions. If the procurement officer
finds that such is not the case, the procurement officer shall issue an amendment
to the invitation for bids or engage in technical discussions.
(g) Discussion
of unpriced technical offers. The
procurement officer may conduct discussions with any bidder who submits an
acceptable or potentially acceptable technical offer. During the course of such discussions the procurement
officer or members of the evaluation team shall not disclose any information
derived from one unpriced technical offer to any other bidder. Once discussions are begun, any bidder who
has not been notified that its offer has been finally found unacceptable may
submit supplemental information amending its technical offer at any time until
the closing date established by the procurement officer. Such submission may be made at the request of
the procurement officer or upon the bidder's own initiative.
(h) Notice
of unacceptable unpriced technical offer.
When the procurement officer determines a bidder's unpriced technical
offer to be unacceptable, such offeror shall not be afforded an additional
opportunity to supplement its technical offer.
(i) Mistakes
during multi-step sealed bidding.
Mistakes may be corrected or bids may be withdrawn during phase one at
any time. During phase two, mistakes may
be corrected or withdrawal permitted in accordance with subsection (c) above.
(j) Procedure
for phase two initiation. Upon the
completion of phase one, the procurement officer shall either:
(1) Open priced bids submitted in phase one (if priced bids were
required to be submitted) from bidders whose unpriced technical offers were
found to be acceptable; or
(2) If priced bids have not been submitted, technical discussions
have been held, or amendments to the invitations for bids have been issued,
invite each acceptable bidder to submit a priced bid.
(k) Procedure
for phase two conduct. Phase two
shall be conducted as any other competitive sealed bid procurement except:
(1) No public notice need be given of this invitation to submit
priced bids because such notice was previously given;
(2) After award the unpriced technical offer of the successful bidder shall be disclosed as follows. The procurement officer shall examine written requests of confidentiality for trade secrets and proprietary data in the technical offer of such bidder to determine the validity of any such requests. If the parties do not agree as to the disclosure of data, the proc