Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 5, February 29, 2024
(1) Application.
In accordance with Code of Ala. 1975, §
41-4-134 (Small Purchases), this Rule establishes $25,000 as the amount for supplies or
services below which small purchase procedures may be used for procurements,
except as otherwise provided in this Rule.
(2) Authority to Make Small Purchases.
(a) Amount. The Office of the Chief
Procurement Officer or a Purchasing Agency may use this Rule if the procurement
is to be less than $25,000 for supplies or services. If these methods are not
used, the other methods of source selection provided in Code of
Ala. 1975, §
41-4-131 (Methods of Source Selection) shall
apply except as otherwise provided in this Rule.
(b) Existing State Contract for Item.
Supplies or services which may be obtained under current State contracts shall
be procured under such agreements in accordance with the terms of such
contracts. Further, supplies or services available from State stocks shall not
be procured under this Rule. Operational procedures and contract terms may
provide for waivers or exceptions to this Subsection.
(c) Available from One Business Only. If the
supply or service is available from only one business, the sole source
procurement method set forth in Rule 355-4-3-.06 (Sole Source Procurement) of
these Rules shall be used even if the procurement is a small purchase as
specified in Subsection (2) (a) of this Rule.
(3) Competition for Small Purchases of
Supplies or Services Between $5,000 and $25,000.
(a) Procedure. For small purchases of
supplies or services between $5,000 and $25,000, no less than three businesses
shall be solicited to submit written quotations that are recorded, including
the date and amount of each quotation, and placed in the procurement file.
Award shall be made to the business offering the lowest acceptable
quotation.
(5) Small Purchases of
$5,000 or Less. The Chief Procurement Officer or the head of a Purchasing
Agency shall adopt operational procedures for making small purchases of less
than $5,000. Such operational procedures shall provide for obtaining adequate
and reasonable competition such as obtaining quotations and for making records
to properly account for funds and to facilitate auditing of the Purchasing
Agency.
(6) Procurement of Experts
and Non-biddable Items. Procurement of the following supplies or services shall
be considered Small Purchases under the dollar amount set forth below, shall
not be aggregated for purposes of this Rule, and shall not be subject to the
competition requirements in this Rule:
(a)
Experts retained for the purposes of litigation, or avoidance of litigation,
below $200,000 per expert.
(b)
Physicians retained to provide medical services, below $100,000 per physician.
Such physicians shall be selected by the Purchasing Agency from a list of
qualified physicians maintained by the Alabama Medical Licensure Commission.
All physicians interested in providing medical services to the State of Alabama
may apply and shall be included on the listing.
(c) Physicians, pharmacists, dentists,
optometrists, opticians, nurses, and other health professionals retained by the
Alabama Medicaid Agency which involve only service on agency task forces,
boards, or committees, below $25,000 per professional.
(d) Supplies or services which by their very
nature are impossible of award by competitive procurements, as determined in
writing by the Chief Procurement Officer or head of a Purchasing Agency. This
subsection shall only apply to supplies or services at or below $50,000 per
supply or service, unless determined otherwise in writing by the Chief
Procurement Officer or head of a Purchasing Agency.
(e) Veterinary services below $150,000 per
provider.
(7) Amendments
to Small Purchases. For reasons not forseeable at the time of the original
procurement, contracts entered into under these Small Purchase procedures may
be amended during the period of performance provided that the amendment is
within the scope of the original contract and the overall cost of the original
procurement plus the amendment does not exceed the original procurement's small
purchase threshold by more than 20 percent. Any amendments resulting in a cost
exceeding 120 percent of the original small purchase threshold must be approved
in writing by the Chief Procurement Officer.
Renumbered from
355-4-3-.04
Author: Department of Finance, Legal
Division
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
1975, §
41-4-134.
