Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 70 - TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT › Part XXIII - Purchasing › Chapter 3 - Purchasing Rules and Regulations › Section XXIII-349 - Specifications

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. A specification
				is defined as any description of the physical, functional, or performance
				characteristics of a supply, service, or major repair item.
B. The specification includes, as
				appropriate, requirements for inspecting, testing, or preparing a supply,
				service, or item for delivery.
C.
				Unless the context requires otherwise, the terms "specification" and "purchase
				description" are used interchangeably throughout this rule.
D. The purpose of a specification is to serve
				as a basis for obtaining a supply, service, or major repair item adequate and
				suitable for the needs of the department in a cost effective manner, taking
				into account, to the extent practicable, the costs of ownership and operation
				as well as initial acquisition costs.
E. It is the policy of the Department of
				Transportation and Development that specifications permit maximum practicable
				competition consistent with this purpose. Specifications shall be drafted with
				the objective of clearly describing the requirements of the
				department.
F. All specifications
				shall be written in such a manner as to describe the requirements to be met,
				without having the effect of exclusively requiring a proprietary supply,
				service, or major repair item, or procurement from a sole source, unless no
				other manner of description will suffice. In that event, a written
				determination shall be made that it is not practicable to use a less
				restrictive specification.
G. It is
				the general policy of the Department of Transportation and Development to
				procure standard commercial products whenever practicable. In developing
				specifications, accepted commercial standards shall be used and unique
				requirements shall be avoided to the extent practicable.
H. Bid specifications may contemplate a fixed
				escalation or de-escalation in accordance with a recognized escalation
				index.
I. Specifications and any
				written determination or other document generated or used in the development of
				a specification shall be available for public inspection.
J. This Section applies to all persons who
				may prepare a specification for use by the Department of Transportation and
				Development, including consultants, architects, engineers, designers, and other
				draftsmen of specifications used for public contracts.
K. To the extent feasible, a specification
				may provide alternate descriptions of supplies, services, or major repair items
				where two or more design, functional, or performance criteria will
				satisfactorily meet the requirements of the Department of Transportation and
				Development.
L. Whenever a
				manufacturer's name, trade name, brand name, catalog number or approved
				equivalent is used in a solicitation, the use is for the purpose of describing
				the standard of quality, performance, and characteristics desired and is not
				intended to limit or restrict competition.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
				  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 39:1551-1736 and
				  48:204-210.