(a) Procedures after bid submission. Upon
closure of the bid submission period, the Director or their designee shall:
(i) Note the date and time of receipt of all
bids;
(ii) Open all bids in the
presence of one or more witnesses, at the time and place designated in the bid
advertisement;
(iii) Record each
bid opened, including bidder name and bid total;
(iv) Examine each bid for validity and
completeness;
(v) Prepare a summary
of bids received;
(vi) Provide the
summary to the Commission or Evaluation Committee that includes the bidders and
bid totals and provide notification that the Commission or Evaluation Committee
may review and evaluate bids.
(b) Evaluation process. The Commission or
Evaluation Committee shall:
(i) Evaluate bids
to determine which bidders are responsible in accordance with the evaluation
criteria set forth in the advertisement for bids per Section 19(a) of this
chapter;
(ii) Determine which bid,
submitted by a responsible, qualified bidder, offers the lowest cost to the
state; and
(iii) Draft a written
recommendation specifying the apparent responsible, qualified low bidder
including justification for that recommendation.
(c) Award of contract. The Commission shall
be the final authority on the award of a contract per
W.S.
40-31-105(c)(iii). The
Commission reserves the right to reject any and all bids. The contract shall be
awarded to the lowest qualified bidder whose bid meets the requirements and
criteria set forth in the advertisement for bids, subject to the considerations
below:
(i) Award to multiple bidders. The
Commission may, at its discretion, award portions of a single advertised
project to multiple bidders when it is in the best interest of the State to do
so.
(ii) Higher quality item. A
contract may not be awarded to a bidder submitting a higher quality item than
that designated in the invitation for bids or request for proposals, unless
such bidder is also the lowest bidder as determined by value analysis or
life-cycle cost formulas. The Commission shall not apply a value analysis or
life cycle cost formula unless the call for bids clearly stated that such
analysis or formula would be applied.
(iii) Tie bids. In the event of tie bids, the
contract shall be awarded to the bidder most reasonably able to complete the
work based on the evaluation criteria set forth in the advertisement for bids
per Section 9 of these rules.
(iv)
Single bid received. If, at the time of bid opening, only one bid has been
received, the Commission may:
(A) Determine
that the bid submitted is a fair price and that other entities had sufficient
opportunity to bid, and award the contract to the single bidder; or
(B) Determine that the bid submitted is not
at a fair price or that sufficient opportunity was not given to encourage
multiple bids, and reject the bid. The Commission's decision to cancel the
procurement or re-advertise the project for bids under this paragraph is
subject to review by the Governor or their designee at their
discretion.
(v) Award to
next lowest bidders. In the event the low bidder originally awarded the
contract is unable to complete the work as bid, the Commission may award the
contract to the second lowest bidder. If the second lowest bidder declines to
accept the award, the Commission may:
(A)
Offer the award to the next lowest bidder;
(B) Re-advertise for bids; or
(C) Cancel the advertisement for bids,
pursuant to Section 21 of this chapter.
(d) Errors after award. Errors discovered in
a successful bid after the award of a contract may only be corrected if, after
consultation with the Director and the Attorney General's office, it is
determined that the correction of the mistake does not violate the requirements
of applicable laws. Any correction made under this subsection must be supported
by a written determination signed by the Director.
