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 and date for receipt, and at other than the specified location,
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 agency shall not be responsible for ensuring such
subsequent delivery. Any withdrawal or modification of a bid or proposal
received after the time and date set for opening of bids or proposals is late.
If received at other than the specified location, the submission 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 State 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 the date
or time for the convenience of the State.
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 State may accept the bids or
proposals, provided that, with regard to bids, no other change is permitted.
This extension does not provide an opportunity for others to submit bids or
proposals.
c) Electronic
and Facsimile Submissions
1) The Invitation
for Bids (IFB) or Request for Proposals (RFP) 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 SOS 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 Invitation for Bids or the Request for Proposals 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 may
be rejected.
e) Only One Bid
or Proposal Received
If only one bid or 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
2000.2025
) or emergency (Section
2000.2030
) procedures; or
2) the procurement
may be canceled.
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; or
B) only one vendor responded, in which case
the alternate submission may be evaluated and treated in accordance with
Section
2000.2025
(Sole Economically Feasible Source Procurement); 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 submitted 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 Invitation for Bids or Request for Proposals 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.
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 IFBs
or RFPs 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 offer.
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 State.
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 except if that unsolicited offer meets the requirements for
a small (Section
2000.2020) , sole
source (Section 2000.2025), or emergency (Section 2000.2030)
procurement.
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 materially change its bid or proposal in response to a request for
clarification. A clarification is not an opportunity to make changes or for
submission of best and finals as authorized elsewhere in this
Part.
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 without
additional notice and competition 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. A particular procurement may
specify a different percentage.
2)
The quantity may be increased by any percentage provided the dollar value of
the increase does not exceed the applicable small purchase (Section 2000.2020)
threshold.
n) Subsequent
Purchase Request
If, within 30 days after making an award to a particular
vendor pursuant to a competitive sealed bid on behalf of the SOS, the SPO
receives a purchase request for the same item and for the same or lesser
quantity, the SPO may contract with that vendor on the same terms and
conditions, including price, without additional notice and competition, if such
contract is acceptable to the vendor.
o) Assignment, Novation or Change of Name
1) Assignment. No State contract is
transferable, or otherwise assignable, without the written consent of the
Procurement Officer, provided, however, that a vendor may assign money
receivable under a contract after due notice to the State. 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 State.
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 agree that:
A) the transferee
assumes all of the transferor's obligations;
B) the transferee meets all requirements for
contracting with the State;
C) the
transferor waives all rights under the contract as against the State;
and
D) unless the transferor
guarantees performance of the contract by the transferee, the transferee shall,
if required by the State, 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 State. 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 under this subsection (o) shall be reported to the
CPO of DCMS within 30 days after the date the agreement becomes effective so
that the bid list may be updated.
p) 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 ].
q) Use of Source
Selection Method that is Not Required
If SOS uses a method of source selection that it is not, by
law, required to use (e.g., use of a competitive sealed bid for a small
purchase), the SOS is not bound to strict compliance with the Code and rules
governing the method of source selection used.
r) 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.
s) Stringing
Dividing or planning procurements to avoid use of competitive
procedures (stringing) is prohibited.
t) Confidential Data
Vendors must clearly identify any information that is exempt
from the disclosure requirement of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act [ 5
ILCS 140 ] and must request special handling of that material.
u) Documentation of Procurement Actions
Each SPO 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)
Procurement Business Case, signed by the CPO or SPO, that establishes the
reason for the contract decision or other form of decision memo showing CPO or
SPO approvals to proceed with the contract award;
2) 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,
amendments, renewal or extension;
8) Contractor Performance Reviews;
9) All information from subsections (u)(1)
through (8), less information exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act [5 ILAC 140], shall be prepared and available for inspection
and copying, with information from subsections (u)(1) through (5) available on
the date any award is posted to the Bulletin.
