Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Scope of this
Section
The provisions of this Section shall govern the cancellation
of any solicitations whether issued by the State under competitive sealed
bidding, competitive sealed proposals, small purchases, or any other source
selection method, and rejection of bids or proposals in whole or in
part.
b) Policy
Any solicitation may be canceled when the Procurement Officer
believes cancellation to be in the State's best interest. Nothing shall compel
the award of a contract.
c)
Cancellation of Solicitation; Rejection of All Bids or Proposals Prior to
Opening
1) As used in this Section, "opening"
means the date set for opening of bids, receipt of unpriced technical offers in
multi-step sealed bidding, or receipt of proposals in competitive sealed
proposals.
2) Prior to opening, a
solicitation may be canceled in whole or in part when the Procurement Officer
determines in writing that such action is in the State's best interest for
reasons including, but not limited to:
A) the
OLG no longer requires the supplies or services;
B) the OLG no longer can reasonably expect to
fund the procurement; or
C)
proposed amendments to the solicitation would be of such magnitude that a new
solicitation is desirable.
3) When a solicitation is canceled prior to
opening, notice of cancellation shall be sent to all businesses that responded
to the solicitation.
4) The notice
of cancellation shall:
A) identify the
solicitation;
B) briefly explain
the reason for cancellation; and
C)
where appropriate, explain that an opportunity will be given to compete on any
resolicitation or any future procurements of similar supplies or
services.
d)
Cancellation of Solicitation; Rejection of All Bids or Proposals After Opening
1) After opening but prior to award, all bids
or proposals may be rejected in whole or in part when the Procurement Officer
determines in writing that such action is in the State's best interest. Such
reasons may include, but are not limited to:
A) the supplies or services being procured
are no longer required;
B)
ambiguous or otherwise inadequate specifications were part of the
solicitation;
C) the solicitation
did not provide for consideration of all factors of significance to the
State;
D) prices exceed available
funds and it would not be appropriate to adjust quantities to come within
available funds;
E) all otherwise
acceptable bids or proposals received are at clearly unreasonable prices;
or
F) there is reason to question
whether the bids or proposals may not have been independently arrived at in
open competition, may have been collusive, or may have been submitted in bad
faith.
2) When the
solicitation is canceled or when all bids or proposals are rejected, all
vendors who submitted bids or proposals shall be sent a notice upon request
informing them of the reasons for the cancellation or rejection.
e) Documentation
The reasons for cancellation or rejection shall be made a
part of the procurement file and shall be available for public
inspection.
f) Rejection of
Individual Bids or Proposals
1) General. This
subsection (f) applies to rejections of individual bids or proposals in whole
or in part.
2) Notice in
Solicitation. Each solicitation shall provide that any bid or proposal may be
rejected in whole or in part when in the best interest of the State as provided
in this Section.
3) Reasons for
Rejection. Reasons for rejecting a bid or proposal may include, but are not
limited to:
A) the business that submitted
the bid or proposal is nonresponsible as determined under Section
1600.2045(Responsibility)
of this Part;
B) the bid or
proposal is not responsive, that is, it does not conform in all material
respects to the solicitation;
C)
the proposal ultimately (that is, after any opportunity has passed for altering
or clarifying the proposal) fails to meet the announced requirements of the
State in some material respect;
D)
the supply or service item offered in the bid is unacceptable by reason of its
failure to meet the requirements of the specifications or permissible
alternates or other acceptability criteria set forth in the Invitation for
Bids; or
E) the proposed price is
clearly unreasonable.
4)
Notice of Rejection. Upon request, unsuccessful bidders or offerors shall be
advised of the reasons for rejection.