Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 220 - Department of Administration › Chapter 30 - Purchases › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 13 - General Conditions of Purchase › Section 220-RICR-30-00-13.3 - Procurement Process

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Pricing
All pricing offered or extended to the State is considered
					 to be firm and fixed unless expressly provided for to the contrary in the
					 Purchase Order or Purchase Agreement.
B. Cost of Preparation
All costs associated with the preparation, development and
					 submission of bids or proposals and/or protests arising therefrom, in response
					 to solicitations issued on behalf of the State, shall be the Vendor's sole
					 responsibility. The State will not reimburse any Vendor for such
					 costs.
C. Selection
1. Vendor bids and proposals shall be
				 evaluated and Purchase Orders or Purchase Agreement issued with reasonable
				 promptness and by written notice to the successful Vendor (only); bids and
				 proposals are considered to be irrevocable for a period of sixty (60) days
				 following the opening date unless expressly provided for to the contrary in the
				 solicitation document, and may not be withdrawn during the specified period
				 without the express written permission of the State Purchasing Agent.
2. The State reserves the right, before
				 making an award, to initiate investigations as to whether or not the materials,
				 equipment, supplies, services, qualifications, integrity, capability, capacity,
				 and/or facilities offered by the Vendor meet the requirements set forth in the
				 solicitation and are ample and sufficient to ensure the proper performance of
				 the Contract in the event of award. Failure to pay subcontractors on previous
				 Vendor Contracts may be considered (also see §
											13.5     of this Part herein).
				 If upon such examination it is found that the conditions of the solicitation
				 are not complied with, and/or that the goods or services proposed to be
				 furnished do not meet the requirements called for in the solicitation, and/or
				 that the services, qualifications, integrity, capability, capacity and/or
				 facilities of the Vendor are not satisfactory, then the State may reject
				 Vendor's bid or proposal at the State's sole discretion. Nothing in the
				 foregoing shall mean or imply that it is obligatory upon the State to make any
				 examinations before issuance of a Purchase Order or Purchase Agreement. If such
				 examination is made, it in no way relieves the Vendor from fulfilling all
				 requirements and conditions of the Contract.
3. Qualified or conditional offers which
				 impose limitations of the Vendor's liability or modify the requirements of the
				 solicitation, offers for alternate specifications, or offers which are made
				 subject to different terms and conditions, including form contracts, other than
				 those specified by the State may be, at the sole discretion of the State
				 Purchasing Agent:
a. Rejected as being
				 non-responsive; or,
b. Set aside in
				 favor of the requirements set forth in the solicitation (with the consent of
				 the Vendor); or,
c. Accepted, if
				 the State Purchasing Agent determines in writing that such acceptance is in the
				 best interest of the State.
d.
				 Acceptance or rejection of alternates or counter-offers by the State Purchasing
				 Agent shall not constitute a precedent and shall not be considered to be
				 binding on successive solicitations or procurements.
4. Vendor bids and proposals must bear an
				 authorized signature or certification in a form approved by the State
				 Purchasing Agent. Vendor bids and proposals which do not bear the required
				 signature or certification may be deemed to be non-responsive to the
				 solicitation. Bids submitted in pencil will not be accepted.
5. Vendor bids and proposals must utilize the
				 unit of measure specified in the solicitation. In the event of any discrepancy
				 between unit prices and their extensions, the unit price will govern.
6. The State Purchasing Agent reserves the
				 right to determine whether a Vendor's bid or proposal is Responsive to a
				 solicitation and whether a Vendor is Responsible.
7. The State Purchasing Agent reserves the
				 right to reject any and all bids or proposals in whole or in part, to waive
				 technical defects, irregularities, and omissions, to give consideration to a
				 Vendor's past performance where, in the State Purchasing Agent's judgment, the
				 best interest of the State will be served, to require additional competitive
				 negotiations and/or to issue a request for best and final offers.
8. The State Purchasing Agent reserves the
				 right to make awards by items, group of items or on the total low bid for all
				 the items specified as indicated in the solicitation, unless the Vendor
				 expressly indicates otherwise in its bid or proposal that doing so is not
				 acceptable.
9. Preferences may be
				 given as authorized by law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the
				 following:
a. Preference may be given to bids
				 for products raised or manufactured in Rhode Island, in the event that all
				 other things are equal. Contracts funded entirely by State funds, when all
				 factors are equal, a Vendor or service provider whose headquarters or primary
				 place of business is located within the State, or in the event of a joint
				 venture with a Vendor or service provider whose headquarters or primary place
				 of business is within the State, shall receive preference.
b. MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES - Pursuant
				 to the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 37-14.1 reserves the right to apply
				 additional consideration to offers, and to direct awards to bidders other than
				 the responsive bid representing the lowest price where:
(1) The offer is fully responsive to the
				 terms and conditions of the Request;
(2) The price offer is determined to be
				 within a competitive range (not to exceed 5% higher than the lowest responsive
				 price offer) for the product or service;
(3) The firm making the offer has been
				 certified by the R.I. Department of Administration, Office of Diversity Equity
				 and Opportunity to be a small business concern meeting the criteria established
				 to be considered a Minority Business Enterprise. A minimum of ten percent [10%]
				 of the dollar value of the work performed against contracts shall be performed
				 by certified Minority Business Enterprises where it has been determined that
				 subcontract and/or supply opportunities exist, and where certified Minority
				 Business Enterprises are available. A vendor may count 60% of its expenditures
				 for materials and supplies required under a contract and obtained from an MBE
				 certified as a regular dealer or supplier, and 100% of such expenditures when
				 obtained from an MBE certified as a manufacturer, towards the MBE participation
				 requirement under R.I. Gen. Laws §
													37-14.1-6.
				 For materials or supplies obtained from firms certified as a broker or
				 manufacturer's rep, vendors may receive MBE participation credit only for the
				 fees and commissions charged for the procurement of the goods and materials,
				 but not the cost of the materials themselves. Awards of this type shall be
				 subject to approval, by the Director of Administration, of a Subcontracting
				 Plan submitted by the bidder receiving the award.
10. The State Purchasing Agent
				 reserves the right to act in the State's best interest regarding awards caused
				 by clerical errors or omissions by the Division.
11. Any Contract issued by the Division is
				 subject to the resolution of any timely bid protest.
12. Any objections to specifications or
				 requirements in a solicitation must be received by the Chief Purchasing Officer
				 in accordance with State Procurement Regulation (§
											1.6     of this
				 Subchapter).