Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
Responsibilities Regarding Specifications
Subject to the SPO's direction, the State agency shall draft
the necessary specifications.
b) Procedures for the Development of
Specifications
1) All procurements shall be
based on specifications that accurately reflect the State's needs.
Specifications shall clearly and precisely describe the salient technical or
performance requirements and shall be written in such a manner as to describe
the requirements to be met, without being unduly restrictive or having the
effect of exclusively requiring a proprietary supply or service, or procurement
from a sole source, unless no other manner of description will
suffice.
2) Any specifications or
standards adopted by business, industry, not-for-profit organization or
governmental unit may be adopted by reference.
3) A specification may provide alternate
descriptions when two or more design, functional or performance criteria will
satisfactorily meet the State's requirements.
4) Article 45 of the Code shall be considered
and applied when required or appropriate.
5)
A solicitation or specification
for a contract, or a contract, may not require, stipulate, suggest or encourage
a monetary or other financial contribution or donation, cash bonus or
incentive, or economic investment as an explicit or implied term or condition
of awarding or completing the contract. [30 ILCS
500/20-50 ]
c) Brand Name or Equal Specification
1) Brand name or equal specifications may be
used in a competitive solicitation when:
A)
no specification for a common or general use specification or qualified
products list is available;
B) time
does not permit the preparation of another form of specification;
C) the nature of the product or the nature of
the State's requirement makes use of a brand name or equal specification
suitable for the procurement; or
D)
use of a brand name or equal specification is in the State's best
interest.
2) Brand name
or equal specifications shall seek to designate more than one brand as "or
equal", and shall further state that substantially equivalent products to those
designated will be considered for award.
3) Unless the State agency determines that
the essential characteristics of the brand names included in the specifications
are commonly known in the industry or trade, brand name or equal specifications
shall include a description of the particular design, functional or performance
characteristics that are required.
4) When a brand name or equal specification
is used in a solicitation, the solicitation shall contain explanatory language
that the use of a brand name is for the purpose of describing the standard of
quality, performance, and characteristics desired and is not intended to limit
or restrict competition. "Or equal" submissions will not be rejected because of
minor differences in design, construction or features that do not affect the
suitability of the product for its intended use. Burden of proof that the
product is equal is on the bidder.
d) Brand Name Only Specification
1) A "brand name only" specification may be
used in a competitive solicitation or a request to place an order with a vendor
who has a contract that was the result of a multiple award, provided the State
agency makes a written request justifying that only the identified brand name
item will satisfy the State's needs and the SPO approves in writing the use of
the brand name only specification.
2) Brand name alone may be specified in order
to fill medical prescription needs, to stock State retail-type operations, to
ensure compatibility in existing systems, to preserve warranty, to ensure
maintenance, or as authorized in writing by the SPO. A State agency may,
pursuant to an authorized competitive procedure, select a particular vendor to
provide supplies or services for a specified period of time, and for that
period the supplier of additional, related and updated supplies and services
may be limited to the selected vendor or the brand initially
selected.
3) The SPO shall seek to
identify sources from which the designated brand name item or items can be
obtained and shall solicit those sources to achieve whatever degree of
competition is practicable. Except in a request to place an order with a vendor
who has a contract that was the result of a multiple award, if only one source
can supply the requirement, the procurement shall be made under Section
1.2025
(Sole Source or Sole Economically Feasible Source Procurement).
e) Qualified Products List
1) A qualified products list may be developed
by the SPO when testing or examination of the supplies prior to issuance of the
solicitation is desirable or necessary in order to best satisfy State
requirements.
2) When developing a
qualified products list, a notice shall be posted to the Bulletin soliciting
potential suppliers to submit products for testing and examination to determine
acceptability for inclusion in a qualified products list.
3) Inclusion on a qualified products list
shall be based on results of tests or examinations conducted in accordance with
established requirements.
f) Proven Products
The supply or service may be rejected if it has not been
offered to other governmental or commercial accounts for at least one year
prior to the notice date of a solicitation. Specifications may require that the
supply or services must have been used in governmental or commercial venues for
a specified period of time to be considered.
g) State Required Samples
1) Samples or descriptive literature may be
requested when it is necessary to evaluate required characteristics of the
items bid. Any required samples must be submitted as instructed in the
solicitation, with transportation prepaid by the vendor. Each sample must be
labeled with the vendor's name, address and a means of matching the sample with
the applicable bid or proposal.
2)
Any sample submitted must be representative of the item that would be delivered
if a contract were awarded for that item. Samples submitted by a successful
vendor will be retained to check continuing quality. Submission of samples will
not limit the State's right to require adherence to specifications.
3) No payment will be made for samples.
Samples not destroyed or consumed by examination or testing will be returned
upon request and at vendor's expense. The request must be made at time of
submission with return collect or prepayment provisions and instructions for
return accompanying the samples. If the vendor does not request return of
samples not destroyed or consumed by examination or testing, the State agency
may use, donate or destroy unused or leftover samples.
4) Unsolicited bid samples or descriptive
literature are submitted at the vendor's risk, may or may not be examined or
tested, will not be deemed to vary any of the provisions of the solicitation,
and may not be utilized by the vendor to contest a decision or understanding
with the State agency.
h) Product Demonstration
Subject to the requirements of Section 50-39 of the Code, a
vendor may request to demonstrate a product or service. Agreement to allow a
demonstration will be solely at the State's discretion and will not entitle the
bidder to a contract nor shall payment for the demonstration be allowed unless
a written contract had been executed prior to the demonstration. No payment
will be made for the product demonstration period. The product demonstration
will be returned upon request and at the vendor's expense. The request must be
made prior to the time of product demonstration with return collect or
prepayment provisions and instructions for return accompanying the product
demonstration.
i)
Specifications Prepared by Other Than State Personnel
Specifications may be prepared by other than State agency
personnel, including, but not limited to, consultants, architects, engineers,
designers or other drafters of specifications for public contracts when the SPO
determines that there will be no conflict of interest involved and is otherwise
in the best interest of the State agency. The SPO retains the authority for
final approval of the specifications. Contracts for the preparations of
specifications by other than State agency personnel shall require the
specification writer to adhere to State agency requirements and the terms of
the Code and this Part.
j)
Pre-Solicitation Request for Information
When the SPO does not have sufficient information about
available supplies or services to issue a solicitation, he or she may issue a
pre-solicitation request for information inviting vendors to submit non-price
information about the availability of specified types of supplies and services.
Vendors may be provided an opportunity to comment on the RFI itself and make
non-proprietary suggestions as to the scope and information being requested
that would facilitate the best possible responses from the vendor community.
Public notice of the pre-solicitation request for information shall be
published in the Bulletin at least 14 days before the date set for the receipt
of information. The submission of information by a vendor in response to a
pre-solicitation request for information is not a prerequisite for that vendor
to respond to a subsequent solicitation for the types of supplies and services
for which information was solicited, and the issuance of a pre-solicitation
request for information does not commit the State agency to make any
procurement of supplies or services of any kind. Confidential information will
not be accepted from a vendor in response to a pre-solicitation request for
information. All information received through a pre-solicitation request for
information will be available for public review.
k)
State contracts for the
procurement of freight, small package delivery, and other cargo shipping and
transportation services shall require providers to report, using generally
accepted reporting protocols adopted by the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency for that purpose:
1)
the amount of energy the service provider consumed to provide those
services to the State and the amount of associated greenhouse gas emissions,
including energy use and greenhouse gases emitted as a result of the provider's
use of electricity in its facilities;
2)
the energy use and greenhouse gas
emissions by the service provider's subcontractors in the performance of those
services. [30
ILCS 530/10 ]
l) Optional Supplies or Services
1) The solicitation shall identify which
parts or features of the work are essential and which optional supplies or
services may be included in the project.
2) All optional supplies or services must be
clearly identified in the solicitation as optional work.
3) The solicitation shall identify how the
State agency will evaluate bids, offers, or responses to determine the lowest
price bid or most advantageous proposal, for award purposes, by identifying
whether optional supplies or services will or will not be included in the price
evaluation.
4) A bid, offer, or
response may be rejected if the prices, including optional supplies or
services, are significantly or materially unbalanced. A bid or offer is
significantly or materially unbalanced:
A)
when it is based on prices significantly less than the cost for some work and
prices that are significantly overstated in relation to the cost for other
work; and
B) if there is a
reasonable doubt that the bid will result in the lowest overall cost or the
best overall value to the State agency, even though it may be the low bid or
best value offer.
5)
Evaluation of optional supplies or services does not obligate the State agency
to use those optional supplies or services. If the State agency adds optional
supplies or services not accepted at the time of contract award, a change order
must be executed based on the price provided in the bid, offer, or response.
Notice of the intent to exercise any optional supply or service must be
published in the Bulletin 14 days in advance of exercise of the optional
supplies or services.
6) Pricing
for any renewal terms identified in the solicitation shall be applied in
determining the price. A renewal term is not an optional supply or
service.
7) Negotiations are
permitted with the lowest responsible bidder or the best value offeror to
obtain a reduction in the price of the bid or offer.