Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 19 - CORPORATION AND BUSINESS › Part VIII - Small Entrepreneurship (Hudson Initiative) Certification Program › Subpart 2 - Procurement › Chapter 13 - Procedures › Section VIII-1311 - Purchasing Methods

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. The
				  state utilizes various purchasing methods to acquire goods, services, major
				  repairs and public works including requests for proposals (RFP), invitations to
				  bid (ITB), and purchase orders. The procurement method to be used is based upon
				  statutes and regulations applicable to the nature of the procurement.
B. Nothing in the SE (HI) should be construed
				  to give a proposer/bidder a property interest in an ITB, RFP, or contract prior
				  to the state's award of the contract.
C. Agencies will participate in the program
				  by using any or all of the following procurement methods:
1. purchasing directly from a certified SE
				  within the agency's discretionary procurement authority for goods, operating
				  services, major repairs, construction and personal, professional and consulting
				  services;
2. issuing an order to a
				  certified SE (prime contractor or distributor) on statewide contract;
3. using an ITB process to award a contract
				  either to a certified SE or to a bidder who can demonstrate a good faith plan
				  to use certified SE's as subcontractors in performing the prime contract. To be
				  responsive to the ITB the bidder must be either a certified SE or be able to
				  demonstrate its good faith subcontracting plan:
a. good faith subcontracting plans in an
				  invitation to bid:
i. the ITB will require the
				  bidder to certify that the bidder is either a certified SE or that the bidder
				  has a good faith subcontracting plan;
ii. the following describes the process a
				  non-certified SE bidder shall follow in order to comply with the requirement
				  for a good faith subcontracting plan:
(a).
				  the bidder has or will use the SE (HI) certification list maintained by the
				  Department of Economic Development to provide notice of the potential
				  subcontracting opportunities to three or more certified SE's capable of
				  performing the subcontract. Notification must be provided to the certified SE's
				  no less than five working days prior to the date of bid opening;
(b). written notification is the preferred
				  method to inform certified SE's. This written notification may be transmitted
				  via fax and/or e-mail;
(c). written
				  notification must include:
(i). the scope of
				  work;
(ii). information regarding
				  the location to review plans and specifications (if applicable);
(iii). information about required
				  qualifications and specifications;
(iv) bonding and insurance information and/or
				  requirements (if applicable);
(v).
				  contact person;
(d). the
				  successful bidder must be able to provide written justification of the
				  selection process if a certified SE was not selected;
b. post audits may be conducted.
				  In the event that there is a question as to whether the low bidder's good faith
				  subcontracting plan was complied with, the prime contractor must be able to
				  provide supporting documentation to demonstrate its good faith subcontracting
				  plan was actually followed (i.e., phone logs, fax transmittals, letters,
				  e-mails). If it is at any time determined that the contractor did not in fact
				  perform its good faith subcontracting plan, the contract award or the existing
				  contract may be terminated;
4. using a request for proposals (RFP)
				  process to award a contract to a certified SE or to a proposer demonstrating a
				  good faith effort to use certified SE's as subcontractors:
a. if an agency decides to issue an RFP to
				  satisfy its SE (HI) goal, the procurement process will include either of the
				  following:
i. require that each proposer
				  either be a certified SE, or have made a good faith subcontracting effort in
				  order to be responsive; or
ii.
				  reserve 10 percent of the total RFP evaluation points for otherwise responsive
				  proposers who are themselves a certified SE or who have made a good faith
				  effort to use one or more SE's in subcontracting;
b. in evaluating proposals, the evaluation
				  committee will follow the scoring criteria set forth in the RFP. In its
				  evaluation process, the evaluation committee will not give additional points
				  for SE participation beyond the designated amount set forth in the
				  RFP;
c. good faith subcontracting
				  in a request for proposal:
i. proposers
				  alleging to have made a good faith subcontracting effort may be required in the
				  RFP to verify their good faith subcontracting plan. A good faith effort can be
				  evidenced by many things including those listed below:
(a). the proposer divided the contract work
				  into reasonable lots or portions;
(b). the proposer used the SE (HI)
				  certification list maintained by the Department of Economic Development to
				  provide notice to three or more certified SE's of the potential subcontracting
				  opportunities available in performance of the prime subcontract. Notification
				  must have been provided to the certified SE's no less than five working days
				  prior to the submission of the proposal;
(c). the notification from the proposer was
				  in writing. This written notification may have been transmitted via fax and/or
				  e-mail;
(d). the written
				  notification gave the SE's complete information regarding the potential
				  subcontract including such things as:
(i). the
				  scope of work;
(ii). information
				  regarding the location to review plans and specifications (if
				  applicable);
(iii). information
				  about required qualifications and specifications;
(iv). bonding and insurance information
				  and/or requirements (if applicable);
(v). contact person;
ii. an RFP under Clause 4.a.i
				  shall require all proposers who are not certified SE's to certify they made a
				  good faith subcontracting effort in their proposals;
iii. an RFP under Clause 4.a.ii may require
				  that proposals include a proposed schedule of certified SE participation that
				  lists the names of potential certified SE subcontractors, a description of the
				  work each would perform, and the dollar value of each proposed certified SE
				  subcontract;
iv. an RFP under
				  Clause 4.a.ii may require that proposers provide documentation to demonstrate
				  their good faith subcontracting effort (i.e., phone logs, fax transmittal logs,
				  letters, e-mails) in order to receive any reserved points;
v. proposers responding to RFP's under either
				  Clauses 4.a.i or 4.a.ii may be asked to provide written justification of the
				  subcontractor selection process if a certified SE is not used as a
				  subcontractor;
d. if at
				  any time the state determines that the contractor did not in fact make a good
				  faith effort, the contract award or the existing contract may be
				  terminated.