Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 730 - Department of Transportation
Chapter 25 - Highway Contractors
Subchapter 3 - Contractor Prequalificaiton and Proposals
Section 730:25-3-1 - Prequalification

(a) The purpose of contractor qualification is to make an initial determination if a contractor has adequate financial resources, integrity, experience, and proven performance to maintain progress on Oklahoma Department of Transportation projects and to make timely payments to sub-contractors and material suppliers. Prequalification is the method of qualification which has been adopted by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission and the Department pursuant to the Public Competitive Bidding Act at Title 61 OS § 118. Prequalification provides a method by which the Department may review a contractor's financial resources and technical expertise before a contractor is allowed to bid on projects which have not been exempted from the prequalification requirement. Prequalification is not a license, but is rather a procedure used by the Department to evaluate prospective bidders' ability to perform. Prospective bidders must ensure that their prequalification application is accurate and complete in all aspects, and fully discloses all information requested in the application form. Prospective bidders will be allowed to submit one application in a twelve month period. The Department may request additional information for clarification of a prospective bidder's application. The owners and officers who comprise a company will be the determinative factor as to the existence of prior prequalification applications not an alteration or change of an organization name. The prequalification application and all financial information submitted to the Department by a contractor for the purpose of prequalification shall be held in confidence by the Department and shall not be an open record pursuant to the Oklahoma Open Records Act at Title 51 OS § 24A.3(1)(d).

(b) Except as provided in this subchapter, only prequalified contractors will be permitted to bid on construction and maintenance contracts to be awarded by the Commission on the recommendation of the Department. When projects do not encompass highway construction maintenance, the Department may waive prequalification when it is in the best interest of the State and to increase competition on individual projects of a special nature including, but not limited to:

(c) A prospective bidder may obtain a "sample" copy of the bidding documents for use in preparing bid computations after official advertisement of a project, but must submit an application for prequalification not less than twenty-one days prior to the announced bid opening date to the Office Engineer Division and obtain a Certificate of Qualification in order to submit a bid proposal to the Department. The submitted application for prequalification will be considered by a prequalification committee composed of the Office Engineer, along with representatives from the Comptroller Division, the Construction Division, Director of Operations, and the General Counsel's Office. Contractors prequalified by the committee may be approved for the classes of work specified by the applicant on the prequalification application, dependent on personnel, equipment, capital and experience in highway construction.

(d) A prospective bidder must submit as part of their Prequalification Application, an Audited Financial Statement in which a Certified Public Accountant has expressed an opinion. The prospective bidder's fiscal year end Audited Financial Statement shall not be dated more than 180 days prior to the date of receipt by the Department of the Prequalification Application. Based upon these statements and other materials submitted or subsequently requested by the Department, the Department may, at its discretion, grant the prospective bidder a conditional prequalification. The Department shall impose such additional requirements on a conditionally prequalified contractor as the Department deems necessary and in the best interests of the public. If a conditional prequalification is granted, it is valid only for the remainder of the prospective bidder's fiscal year in which the conditional prequalification is granted, plus an additional period not to exceed 180 days.

(e) No prospective bidder will be qualified unless the prospective bidder's Prequalification Application and the Department's review of that Application determines that the prospective bidder possesses working capital, equipment, experience and personnel sufficient in the judgment of the Department, to indicate that the prospective bidder can satisfactorily perform its contract and meet all obligations incurred therein. The Audited Financial Statement must show all liabilities (current, deferred and contingent). The prospective bidder will not be qualified for more than two and one-half times its current working capital as computed by the Department, based on an evaluation of the contractor's Audited Financial Statement. When a conditionally prequalified contractor receives a notice of project completion on a project, that notice may be submitted to the Department for removal of that project from its bidding limit.

(f) If the prospective bidder submits cash value of life insurance as an asset, the applicant will support the submission with a letter from the insurance company, showing that the prospective bidder absolutely controls the cash value and that there are no legal encumbrances, preexisting loans or any other impediment which would prevent or interfere with the access of the prospective bidder to that cash value.

(g) When a partnership is being considered, an Audited Financial Statement of the partnership, which will include all the assets and liabilities of each member, will be required.

(h) Prospective bidders will furnish an itemized list of all Secondary Cash Resource items such as marketable securities, stocks and bonds.

(i) Prospective bidders will sign, under oath, all forms submitted to the Department.

(j) The Department will make such investigation of the information submitted as it deems necessary.

(k) The Department will qualify, or refuse to qualify, any prospective bidder for paving, grade and drain, bridge or other Department construction work in accordance with such prospective bidder's experience and financial condition.

(l) Prospective bidders who are conditionally prequalified will not be permitted to bid on individual projects that, in aggregate, exceed maximum bidding limits. Proposals may be "taken out" without limitation as to aggregate total. Should a conditionally prequalified contractor be low bidder on contracts totaling, in aggregate, more than the amount for which the contractor is conditionally prequalified, the Commission reserves the right to:

(m) Any prospective bidder not satisfied with a rejection of its application for prequalification may appeal to the Department's Executive Director or the Executive Director's designated representative by giving notice of the applicant's objection by certified mail addressed to the Executive Director. The applicant's objection must be mailed within fourteen (14) calendar days after the date such prospective bidder received written notice of the Department's action. The Executive Director shall review the prequalification file and make an independent determination concerning the applicant's prequalification.

(n) Upon being conditionally prequalified a minimum of one (1) year from the date of the initial prequalification, and satisfactory final completion of either:

(o) Prequalification shall expire after a two year term at the completion of the contractor's fiscal years following issue of the contractor's Certificate of Qualification. After the expiration date of the contractor's Certificate of Qualification, the contractor shall have a period of 180 days to submit audited financial statements, or a financial review of the contractor's business operations. During this 180 day period the contractor shall remain prequalified under its current Certificate of Qualification. If the contractor does not submit audited financial statements or a financial review of its operations within the 180 day period following the expiration date of the contractor's Certificate of Qualification, the contractor's prequalification status will cease and the contractor will not be eligible to submit bid proposals to the Department at that date. The contractor's audited financial statement or financial review of its operations must demonstrate that the contractor has a positive amount of working capital that is sufficient to satisfactorily perform its contract in the judgment of the Department. The Department will renew the contractor's Certificate of Qualification if the contractor's working capital is sufficient in the opinion of the Department. If the Department's review determines that the contractor has insufficient working capital, the contractor's Certificate of Qualification will not be renewed and will expire at that time.

(p) When a previously fully prequalified contractor re-applies for prequalification within two years of the expiration of their prequalification, upon approval the Department may, at its sole discretion, reinstate the contractor to fully prequalified status, provided that:

(q) The Department will consider a contractor to be in good standing if: