Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 125 - DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES › Division 55 - STATE PURCHASING › Section 125-055-0020 - Determination of Suitability of Product or Service

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1) The Department will publish and maintain
			 a Procurement List that identifies the products and services of OFCs suitable
			 for procurement by Agencies. No Agency or OFC may enter into or renew a
			 contract under the Oregon Forward Program for products or services not on the
			 Procurement List. OFC products and services determined suitable will remain
			 listed, subject to the Department's examination of the OFC's annual report and
			 compliance with subsection (2).
(2)
			 For a product or service to be suitable for addition to the Procurement List,
			 each of the following criteria must be satisfied:
(a) OFC Status. The organization's OFC status
			 must be current.
(b) Ownership. An
			 OFC must own the product or directly provide the service the OFC proposes to
			 provide to Agencies through the Oregon Forward Program. For example, a product
			 or service will not be suitable for procurement by Agencies where the OFC
			 operates merely as a broker, distributor, licensor or sales agent for another
			 person or entity in providing a product to an Agency.
(c) Tied Products. An OFC's contract to
			 provide a service cannot obligate an Agency to buy a product tied to that
			 service unless the product is incidental to, or consumed in, the performance of
			 the service.
(d) No Excessive
			 Prices. The price proposed by the OFC must not be excessive. When proposed
			 pricing is determined by the Department to be excessive, the Department may
			 require the OFC to demonstrate that the proposed pricing is not
			 excessive.
(e) Purpose. The OFC
			 must demonstrate capacity to address the policy of the law as stated in ORS
			 279.840. To ensure that
			 an OFC achieves this goal, the OFC must disclose to the Department:
(A) The projected employment potential for
			 Individuals with a Disability in connection with the proposed product or
			 service; and
(B) That appreciable
			 value will be added to the products or services by Individuals with a
			 Disability. The term "appreciable value" means a measurable addition of value,
			 or an objectively observable improvement, enhancement or change, to the final
			 product or service. No product or service may be suitable where the process of
			 the manufacture, assembly or production of the product or the rendition of the
			 service contains or is affected by any procedure, device or artifice under
			 which the work of individuals with disabilities does not contribute, in a
			 substantial, economically meaningful manner, to the value of the product or to
			 the performance of the service, or under which the work of Individuals with a
			 Disability is not a logical element of the chain of production.
(f) Compensation. Individuals with
			 a Disability must be compensated for their work at a rate of pay that is
			 consistent with the applicable legal requirements of the state and federal
			 governments.
(g) Subcontractor
			 Disclosure. Direct labor performed by subcontractors in the manufacture of a
			 product or provision of a service to an Agency must be disclosed in the OFC's
			 direct labor ratios reported to the Department as required by OAR
			 125-055-0016(1). The OFC must disclose subcontractor utilization, partnerships
			 or planned joint ventures, including:
(A) the
			 portion of the labor to be performed;
(B) the equipment to be used or supplied by;
			 and
(C) the location of work
			 performed by any subcontractor, partner or joint venturer (collectively,
			 "subcontractor").
(h)
			 Quality Standards and Delivery Schedules. The OFC must demonstrate the
			 capability to meet the applicable specifications and to make the product or
			 service available within the time required by the procuring Agency.
(i) Additional Information. The Department
			 reserves the right to request additional information such as start-up costs and
			 estimated cost recovery, market research conducted by the OFC, and physical
			 location of business space dedicated to the product or service. The Department
			 may conduct on-site investigations of the OFC's work sites and production
			 processes.