New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL
Chapter 9 - STATE HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM
Subchapter 10 - PROCUREMENT OF STATE HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM CONTRACTS
Section 17:9-10.3 - Definitions
The following words and terms, as used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Auctioning" means, in a negotiated procurement, the practice of promoting price bidding between bidders by disclosing other bidders' prices and/or holding repeated rounds of best and final offers.
"Best and final offer" or "BAFO" means a price timely submitted by a bidder upon invitation by the Division after proposal opening, with or without prior discussion or negotiation.
"Bidder" means a vendor who has offered a proposal in response to the solicitation of proposals by the Division, on behalf of the Commission.
"Bid proposal" refers to the bidder's offer to furnish services in response to a Request for Proposal.
"Bid list" refers to a list of vendors maintained by the Division of Pensions and Benefits who have expressed an interest in submitting bid proposals in response to future Requests for Proposals.
"Bid security" means a guarantee, in a form acceptable to the Division, acting on behalf of the Commission, that the bidder, if selected, will accept the contract as bid; otherwise, the bidder or, as applicable, its guarantor will be liable for the amount of the loss suffered by the State, which loss may be partially or completely recovered by the State in exercising its rights against the instrument of bid security.
"Business registration" means the formal certification by the Department of the Treasury's Division of Revenue that a business entity, upon its application to the Division of Revenue, has attained and maintained status as a registered business in accordance with the provisions of 52:32-44.
"Bypass" means a contract award made to a proposal other than the lowest priced responsive proposal from a responsible bidder. A bypass occurs when the Commission determines that the responsive proposal that is most advantageous to the State is not the lowest priced responsive proposal.
"Commission" means the State Health Benefits Commission.
"Competitive range" means the group of responsive proposals that are among the most highly rated proposals.
"Contract" means a mutually binding legal relationship obligating the contractor to furnish goods and/or services and the purchaser to pay for them, subject to appropriation where the using agency derives its annual budget by means of appropriation from the State Legislature. For publicly advertised contracts, the contract consists of standard terms and conditions, the RFP, the responsive proposal, the notice of acceptance or award, any subsequent written document memorializing the agreement, any amendments or modifications to any of these documents and any attachments, addenda, or other supporting documents, or other agreed-upon writings describing the work to be performed.
"Contract documentation" refers to paperwork verifying that the selected bidder has satisfied the conditions precedent to contract execution. Examples include, but are not limited to: evidence of compliance with State Affirmative Action requirements, N.J.S.A. 10:5- 31 et seq.; evidence of compliance with the MacBride principles of nondiscrimination in employment, 52:34-12.2 ; evidence of business registration with the Division of Revenue; required certificates of insurance; and required performance security.
"Contract execution" refers to the signing of the contract by the selected bidder and the Director following Commission approval and the selected bidder's submission of contract documentation.
"Contractor" refers to a business entity awarded a contract.
"Day" or "business day" means any weekday, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, State legal holidays, and State-mandated furlough days.
"Director" refers to the Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits or the Director's designee.
"Division" refers to the Division of Pensions and Benefits.
"Evaluation committee" refers to a formal selection committee established by the Director to evaluate bid proposals received in response to a Request for Proposal on the basis of price and other factors, as set forth in the Request for Proposal.
"Evaluation criteria" refers to factors set forth within the Request for Proposal, usually weighted, specifying the basis for the technical evaluation of bid proposals received.
"Filed" means received by the Director or the Director's Division representative.
"Hearing officer" means the Commission's representative from within or outside the Division, but independent of the procurement process, appointed by the Commission to review the written record of an advertised procurement, and/or, in the discretion of the Commission, to preside over an in-person presentation or informal hearing in response to a vendor's challenge, in accordance with 52:34-10.10 .
"Negotiation" refers to discussions conducted with responsive bidders whose bid proposals are determined to be within the competitive range.
"Negotiation component" refers to an RFP provision that establishes the intent of the Division, on behalf of the Commission, to negotiate with bidders pursuant to the provisions of 52:34-12(f) , the codified generic procedures set forth at 17:12-2.7 , and the specified provisions for negotiation set forth in the RFP.
"Notice of Intent to Award" refers to the Director's correspondence to all bidders advising of the Commission's contract award decision.
"Performance security" means a guarantee, executed subsequent to award, in a form acceptable to the Division, on behalf of the Commission, that the successful bidder will complete the contract as agreed and that the State will be protected from loss in the event the contractor fails to complete the contract as agreed.
"Protest" refers to a timely filed challenge to a specification in an advertised RFP, to a rejection of a proposal declared non-responsive, or to a contract award decision.
"Request for Proposal" or "RFP" refers to all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, used for a publicly advertised procurement process that solicits proposals or offers to provide the goods and/or services specified therein.
"Responsible bidder" refers to a bidding entity deemed to have integrity and to be reliable and capable of performing all contract requirements.
"Responsive bidder" refers to a bidder whose bid proposal conforms to all material requirements of the RFP.
"Responsive proposal" refers to a proposal that is deemed to have adequately addressed all material provisions of an RFP's terms and conditions, specifications, and other requirements.
"Sealed bidding" means bidding in which the contents of proposals cannot be opened or viewed before the formal opening of proposals, without leaving evidence that the document has been opened or viewed.
"Signed" means a physical or electronic signature evincing a bidder's intent to be bound.
"State" refers to the State of New Jersey.
"Technical leveling" means, in a negotiated procurement, helping a bidder bring its bid proposal up to the level of other bid proposals through successive rounds of negotiations by pointing out the weaknesses that remain in the bid proposal due to the bidder's lack of diligence, competence or inventiveness.
"Technical transfusion" means, in a negotiated procurement, the disclosure of the contents of one bidder's bid proposal to another bidder to help the other bidder improve its bid proposal.
