Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 761 - Transportation Department › General › Chapter 20 - Procurement of Equipment, Materials, Supplies and Services › Rule 761-20.3 - Procurement Policy

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
It is the policy of the department to procure equipment,
				  materials, supplies and services in the most efficient and economical manner
				  possible. It is also the policy of the department that procurement shall be
				  competitive to the maximum practicable extent.
(1)
Formal advertising.
The
				formal advertising method of procurement shall be used whenever this method is
				feasible and practicable under the existing conditions and circumstances and
				the estimated, aggregate amount of the purchase equals or exceeds
				$50,000.
(2)
Limited
				solicitation.
The limited solicitation method of procurement may be
				used if formal advertising is not feasible or practicable, or the estimated,
				aggregate amount of purchase is less than $50,000.
(3)
Negotiation.
The
				negotiation method of procurement may be used if formal advertising or limited
				solicitation is not feasible or practicable, or in any of the following
				instances:
a. Procurement by negotiation is
				determined to be necessary and in the public interest during a period of
				man-made or natural disaster or emergency.
b. The estimated, aggregate amount of the
				purchase is less than $5,000.
c.
				The procurement is for architectural, landscape architectural, engineering, or
				related professional and technical services.
d. The procurement is for other professional
				and technical services.
e. When
				cost is only one of many factors considered to determine the award.
f. The procurement is for services to be
				rendered by an educational institution.
g. It is impracticable to secure competition
				through formal advertising or limited solicitation, such as when:
(1) Equipment, materials, supplies or
				services can be obtained from only one source.
(2) Competition is precluded because of the
				existence of patent rights, copyrights, secret processes, control of basic raw
				materials, or similar circumstances.
(3) Solicitations have been made available to
				prospective bidders and no responses to the solicitation have been
				received.
(4) Solicitations have
				been made available and the submitted responses do not cover the quantity
				requirements of the solicitation. In this case, negotiation is permitted for
				the remaining quantity requirements.
(5) The procurement is for electrical power
				or energy, natural or manufactured gas, water or other utility services, or the
				procurement is for construction of a part of a utility system or railroad and
				it would not be practicable to allow a contractor other than the utility or
				railroad company to perform the work.
(6) The procurement is for professional and
				technical services in connection with the assembly, installation or servicing
				(or the instruction of personnel therein) of equipment of a highly technical or
				specialized nature.
(7) The
				procurement involves maintenance, repair, alteration or inspection, and the
				exact nature or amount of work to be done is not known.
(8) The procurement is for commercial
				transportation.
(9) It is
				impossible to draft adequate specifications or any other adequately detailed
				description of the item or services to be procured.
(10) The procurement is for a part or
				component being procured as a replacement in support of equipment specially
				designed by the manufacturer, and the data available is not adequate to ensure
				that the part or component supplied by another manufacturer will perform the
				same function as the part or component it is to replace.
(11) The procurement involves construction
				where a contractor or group of contractors is already at work on the site, and
				either it would not be practicable to allow another contractor or an additional
				contractor to work on the same site or the amount of work involved is too small
				to interest other contractors to mobilize and demobilize.
h. The procurement is for experimental,
				developmental or research work or for the manufacture or furnishing of property
				for experimentation, development, research or testing.
i. It is determined that the responses
				received are not reasonable or have not been independently arrived
				at.
j. Procurement by negotiation
				is otherwise authorized by law including, but not limited to, Iowa Code section
				73.19.
k. The manufacturer is willing to sell
				directly to the state at distributor cost.