Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The department shall deny
prequalification to a prospective contractor for any of the following reasons:
(1) The applicant knowingly made materially
false, deceptive, or fraudulent statements either on the application, or at any
conference with the prequalification committee, or on any bid proposal
form;
(2) The applicant has been
convicted of participating in anti-trust violations;
(3) The applicant is currently debarred from
performing work in any state or on federal projects; or
(4) Other factors are present which would
materially affect the contractor's ability to perform contractual
responsibilities, including but not limited to poor performance on previous
contracts in any state or on federal projects.
(b) The department shall debar any
prequalified contracting firm, its affiliates, or subsidiary firms, or
principal individuals if the prequalification committee receives information
from the contractor, a governmental unit, or a public record that:
(1) The contractor knowingly made materially
false, deceptive or fraudulent statements either on the application, at any
conference with the prequalification committee, on any bid proposal form, or on
documents filed with the department including but not limited to statement of
hours worked, work performed, finances, cost, equipment used/purchased,
materials used, or payments made;
(2) The contractor has been convicted of
participating in anti-trust violations;
(3) A contractor, or any of its principal
individuals, has been convicted of any bidding crime as a result of a jury or
bench trial, any plea of guilty or nolo contendere, any public admission of a
contractor related to a bidding crime, or any admission of a bidding crime
written and signed or made under oath by an unindicted
co-conspirator;
(4) A contractor,
or any of its principal individuals, has been debarred by some other state or
federal agency for reasons substantially similar to those listed above in
preceding subparagraph (3) regarding bidding crimes;
(5) Other factors of a serious and compelling
nature are present which materially affect the contractor's ability to perform
its contractual responsibilities, including but not limited to poor performance
reflected in performance evaluations created during the performance of the work
on previous contracts; or
(6) A
contractor has failed or neglected to advise the department of a conviction
upon any bidding crime or debarment by any other state or federal agency within
30 days of such conviction or debarment.
(c) Any contracting firm, its affiliates or
subsidiary firms, or any principal individual considered for debarment shall be
formally notified by certified mail of the opportunity to request a hearing
pursuant to Tra 202 30 days prior to actual debarment, provided that if
necessary to protect the public interest in situations involving threat to
public health or safety, the committee shall debar a contracting firm, its
affiliates or subsidiary firms, or any principal individual effective
immediately, and hold a hearing pursuant to
RSA
541-A:30, III.
(d) The prequalification committee shall
suspend or otherwise delay inquiry into possible debarment if such inquiry
might impede state or federal investigations.
(e) If debarred, the term of debarment shall
be 36 months, unless the prequalification committee determines that the reason
for debarment no longer exists, or that the debarred contractor has
successfully completed the terms of sentence, including probation
responsibilities, for a bidding crime.
(f) The prequalification committee shall
extend the debarment term beyond 36 months if any of the bases for debarment
still exist, and such bases continue to materially affect the contractor's
ability to perform contractual responsibilities.
(g) Debarment shall in no way affect the
obligation of a contracting firm to complete services already under
contract.
(h) Any debarred
contracting firm, its affiliates or subsidiary firms, or any principal
individual shall not participate in any capacity on any project administered by
the state unless the terms of the debarment are limited to enable the
contractor to participate in activities not covered by the debarment
order.
(i) A contractor shall be
debarred by the department based upon debarment in another state or by a
federal agency, unless after investigation and inquiry of the contractor, the
debarring agency, and any available outside sources, the department makes an
exception to the debarment requirement based upon the circumstances involved,
including:
(1) Whether the action for which
the contractor was disbarred would have resulted in disbarment in New Hampshire
if the action had occurred here;
(2) Whether the contractor has dismissed any
officers or employees who were responsible for the action that resulted in
disbarment;
(3) The process
involved with the debarment from the other state or federal agency, including
whether the debarment is being appealed;
(4) Whether the state is experiencing a need
that the disbarred contractor is particularly suited to fill;
(5) Whether the contractor has met or
exceeded contract performance expectations for a contract in New Hampshire
within the past 5 years;
(6)
Whether the disbarment was the result of a unique instance of misconduct, as
opposed to a pattern of misbehavior;
(7) The severity or lack of severity of the
conduct that resulted in disbarment in the other state or by a federal agency
suggest that a different penalty, if any, should apply in New
Hampshire;
(8) Any other facts or
conditions exist which indicate the contractor will be able to successfully
complete its work on behalf of the state of New Hampshire; or
(9) Any other facts or conditions exist which
would indicate that the contractor will not continue to act in the manner that
resulted in disbarment.
#7176, eff 12-23-99; EXPIRED: 12-23-07
New. #9452, eff
4-8-09
