Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Late
Bids or Proposals, Late Withdrawals and Late Modifications
1) Definition. Any bid or proposal received
after the time, date and place set for receipt is late. A bid that is delivered
to the wrong location but that is subsequently delivered to the correct
location by the date and time specified shall be considered, but the OAG will
not be responsible for ensuring the subsequent delivery. Any withdrawal or
modification of a bid or proposal received after the time and date set for
opening of bids or proposals at the place designated for opening is
late.
2) Treatment. No late bid or
proposal, late modification, or late withdrawal will be considered unless the
Procurement Officer, and not a designee, determines it would have been timely
but for the action or inaction of OAG personnel directly serving the
procurement activity (e.g., providing the wrong address).
3) Records. Records shall be made and, in
accordance with the State Records Act [5 ILCS 160 ],
kept for each late bid or proposal, late modification, or late
withdrawal.
4) Other Submissions.
Any other submission that has a time or date deadline shall be treated in the
same manner as a late bid.
b) Extension of Time
1) The Procurement Officer may, prior to the
date or time for submitting or modifying a bid or proposal, extend that date or
time for the convenience of the OAG. Reasons for extension include but are not
limited to allowing additional time for submissions to account for inclement
weather, labor strikes, accidents and similar reasons.
2) After opening bids or proposals, the
Procurement Officer may request bidders or offerors who submitted timely bids
or proposals to extend the time during which the OAG may accept bids or
proposals, provided that, with regard to bids, no other change is permitted.
The reasons for requesting such extension shall be documented. An extension
does not provide an opportunity for others to submit bids or
proposals.
c) Electronic
and Facsimile Submissions
1) The Invitation
for Bids or Request for Proposals may state that electronic and facsimile
machine submissions will be considered if they are received at the designated
office by the time and date set for receipt. Any required attachments will be
submitted as stated in the IFB or RFP.
2) Electronic submissions authorized by
specific language in the IFB or RFP will be opened in accordance with
electronic security measures in effect at the OAG at the time of opening.
Unless the electronic submission procedures provide for a secure receipt,
vendor assumes risk of premature disclosure due to submission in unsealed
form.
3) Fax submissions authorized
by specific language in the IFB or RFP will be placed in a sealed container
upon receipt and opened as other submissions. Vendor assumes risk of premature
disclosure due to submission in unsealed form.
d) Intent to Submit
The IFB or RFP may require that vendors submit, by a certain
time and date, a notice of their intent to submit a bid or proposal in response
to the IFB or RFP. Bids and proposals submitted without complying with the
notice of intent requirement shall be rejected.
e) Only One Bid or Proposal Received
If only one responsive bid is received, or if only one
proposal is received, an award may be made to the single bidder or offeror if
the Procurement Officer finds that the price submitted is fair and reasonable,
and that either other prospective bidders had reasonable opportunity to
respond, or there is not adequate time for resolicitation. Otherwise:
1) new bids or offers may be solicited,
including under sole source (Section
1300.2025) or emergency (Section
1300.2030) procedures;
or
2) the procurement may be
cancelled.
f) Alternate
or Multiple Bids or Proposals
1) Alternate
bids or proposals may be accepted if:
A)
permitted by the solicitation and in accordance with instructions in the
solicitation;
B) only one vendor
responded, in which case the alternate submission(s) may be evaluated and
treated in accordance with Section
1300.2025 (Sole Source
Procurement) of this Part; or
C)
the low bidder, who has met all requirements of the solicitation, has provided
a lower cost alternative that meets all of the material requirements of the
specifications.
2)
Multiple bids or proposals may be accepted if:
A) permitted by the solicitation and in
accordance with instructions in the solicitation; or
B) only one vendor responded, then one or
more of the submissions may be evaluated, provided that in the case of bids,
only the lowest cost bid meeting specifications may be considered.
3) If a vendor clearly indicates a
primary submission among alternate or multiple bids or proposals, then that
primary submission shall be considered for award as though it were the only bid
or proposal submitted by the vendor.
g) Multiple Items
An IFB or RFP may call for pricing of multiple items of
similar or related type with award based on individual line item, group total
of certain items, or grand total of all items.
h) "All or None" Bids or Proposals
"All or none" bids or proposals may be accepted if the
evaluation shows an "all or none" award to be the lowest cost or best value of
those submitted. Factors to be used to determine the State's best interest
include but are not limited to whether the bid is the lowest of those
submitted, reasonableness of the price and the cost and time necessary to
solicit other bids.
i)
Conditioning Bids or Proposals Upon Other Awards
Any bid or proposal that is conditioned upon receiving award
of the particular contract being solicited and one or more other State
contracts shall:
1) be rejected unless
the vendor removes the condition; or
2) be evaluated and award made to that vendor
if the vendor is also independently evaluated as the winner of the other IFB or
RFP provided the agency need not delay procurement actions to accommodate the
vendor's "all or none" condition.
j) Unsolicited Offers
1) Processing of Unsolicited Offers. The
Procurement Officer may consider unsolicited offers and shall have final
authority with respect to evaluation, acceptance and rejection of such
unsolicited offers.
2) Conditions
for Consideration. An unsolicited offer must be in writing and must be
sufficiently detailed to allow a judgment to be made concerning the potential
utility of the offer to the OAG.
3)
Award. An award may not be made based on an unsolicited offer in place of the
notice and competition requirements of the Code and this Part unless the
unsolicited offer meets the requirements for small (Section
1300.2020), sole source (Section
1300.2025), or emergency (Section 1300.2030) procurement.
4) Confidentiality. Any request for
confidentiality of data contained in an unsolicited offer must be made in
writing, and vendors must clearly identify any information that is exempt from
the disclosure requirements of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act
[5 ILCS
140 ]. If an award is made, confidentiality of data
shall be agreed upon by the parties and governed by the provisions of the
contract. If agreement cannot be reached on confidentiality, the OAG shall
reject the unsolicited offer.
k) Clarification of Bids and Proposals
The Procurement Officer may request that a vendor clarify its
bid or proposal as a part of the evaluation process. A vendor shall not be
allowed to change its bid or proposal in response to a request for
clarification.
l) Extension
of Time on Indefinite Quantity Contracts
The time of performance of an indefinite quantity contract
may be extended upon agreement of the parties, provided the extension is for 90
days or less and the Procurement Officer determines in writing that it is not
practical to award another contract at the time of such extension.
m) Increase in Quantity on
Definite Quantity Contracts
1) The quantity
that may be ordered from a definite quantity contract may be increased by up to
20% provided the Procurement Officer determines that separate bidding for the
additional quantity is not likely to achieve lower pricing.
2) The quantity may be increased by any
percentage provided the dollar value of the increase does not exceed the
applicable small purchase (Section 1300.2020) threshold.
n) Assignment, Novation or Change of Name
1) Assignment. No OAG contract is
transferable, or otherwise assignable, without the written consent of the
Procurement Officer, provided, however, that a vendor may assign monies
receivable under a contract after due notice to the OAG. Assignment may require
the execution of a contract with the assignee and in such cases the assignee
must meet all requirements for contracting with the OAG.
2) Recognition of a Successor in Interest;
Novation. When in the best interest of the State, a successor in interest may
be recognized in a novation agreement in which the transferor and the
transferee shall agree that:
A) the transferee
assumes all of the transferor's obligations;
B) the transferee meets all requirements for
contracting with the OAG;
C) the
transferor waives all rights under the contract as against the OAG;
and
D) unless the transferor
guarantees performance of the contract by the transferee, the transferee shall,
if required by the OAG, furnish a satisfactory performance bond.
3) Change of Name. A vendor may
submit to the Procurement Officer a written request to change the name in which
it holds a contract with the OAG. The name change shall not alter any of the
terms and conditions of the contract or the obligations of the
vendor.
4) Reports. All change of
name or novation agreements effected under this subsection (n) other than by
the CPO shall be reported to the CPO within 30 days after the date that the
agreement becomes effective.
o) Contracting for Installment Purchase
Payments, Including Interest
Contracts may provide for installment purchase payments,
including interest charges, over a period of time. The interest rate may not
exceed that established by law, including the Bond Authorization Act
[30 ILCS
305 ].
p) Use of Source Selection Method Not
Required
If OAG uses a method of source selection that is not, by law,
required to be used (e.g., use of a competitive sealed bid for a small
purchase), the OAG is not bound to strict compliance with the Code and rules
governing the method of source selection used.
q) Vendor Signature
A bid or proposal submitted unsigned will be evaluated if the
vendor submits a written signature acceptable to the Procurement Officer within
the time specified by that officer.
r) Stringing
Dividing or planning procurements to avoid use of competitive
procedures (stringing) is prohibited.
s) Documentation of Procurement Actions
Each Purchasing Officer shall maintain in the procurement or
associated contract file all substantive documents and records of
communications that pertain to the procurement and any resulting contract. This
shall include, as applicable, but is not limited to:
1) The formal request for approval to
procure, signed by the Procurement Officer, that establishes the reason for the
contract decision or other form of decision memo showing the Procurement
Officer approvals to proceed with the contract award;
2) Procurement Bulletin postings;
3) Solicitation document (e.g., IFB) and all
amendments, clarifications and Best & Final requests;
4) Vendors' responses, including
clarifications and responses to Best & Final requests;
5) Evaluation material (e.g., scoring
guidelines and forms; completed score sheets for individual evaluators,
including notes; evaluation committee's combined score sheets; evaluation
committee's recommendation; and management's decision);
6) Protest and resolution;
7) Contract and any order, change, amendment,
renewal or extension;
8) Contractor
Performance Reviews;
9) All
information from subsections (s)(1) through (8), less information exempt from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140 ],
shall be prepared and available for inspection and copying, with information
from subsections (s)(1) through (5) available on the date any award is posted
to the Procurement Bulletin.
