Chapter 4 - § 4.2 • PROCUREMENT OF CONSTRUCTION SERVICES: PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS
| Jurisdiction | Colorado |
§ 4.2.1-Invitations for Bids
Construction projects for public works that do not receive federal funds may be awarded by invitations for bids.18 Invitations for bids are issued and include project descriptions and all conditions applicable to the public project.19 Invitations for bids must receive adequate public notice at least 14 days prior to the date of bid opening.20
Bids received after bid opening shall not be opened and shall be rejected as late bids.21 Exceptions are provided in the event of labor unrest that affects mail delivery, or where a courier or delivery service is delayed by one day through no fault of the bidder.22 In the situation where the bid is outside the control of the bidder, the chief procurement officer or head of a purchasing agency must find that extraordinary circumstances exist.23
Bids are evaluated based upon the requirements set forth in the invitations for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability, such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose.24 Bids may be evaluated based only upon criteria set forth in the invitations for bids.25
The contract must be awarded with reasonable promptness and by written notice "to the low responsible bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids."26 In determining the low bidder, the procurement officer relies upon objectively measurable criteria set forth in the invitations for bids, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life-cycle costs.27
When all bids exceed available funds for the project, the procurement officer may re-solicit the work with a reduced scope, or may negotiate an adjustment of the bid price with the low responsible bidder in an effort to bring that bid within the amount of available funds.28
In the event of low tie bids,29 the procurement agent gives preference to a resident bidder30 over a non-resident bidder.31 If the low bids are both from resident bidders or non-resident bidders, the procurement agent uses a fair and reasonable procedure to determine the award of the contract.32
§ 4.2.2-Invitations for Best Value Bids
Construction projects for public works that do not receive federal funds also may be awarded by invitations for best value bids.33 Invitations for best value bids are made in a similar fashion to invitations for bids, except public notice must be given 30 days prior to bid opening.34
Similar to federal government contracting, invitations for best value bids must identify the evaluation factors upon which the award will be made.35 The evaluation factors may vary, but must include (1) project price, (2) design and technical approach, (3) past performance of the contractor and primary subcontractors, (4) project management plan, (5) staffing plan, (6) safety plan and safety record, (7) job standards, including employment of Colorado workers, and (8) availability and use of domestically produced materials.36 In making an award determination, the procurement officer must only evaluate the evaluation factors and may not consider unspecified factors.37
The contract must be awarded with reasonable promptness and by written notice to the bidder whose bid provides the best value at the lowest cost to the state.38 The governmental body must maintain the basis on which the award determination is made in the contract file, which is relevant for bid protests.39 For more information on bid protests, see § 4.14 of this chapter. Additionally, the governmental body must make all statements of qualification available to the public, as well as requests for proposals and score sheets.40
§ 4.2.3-Requests for Proposals
The executive director, chief procurement officer, head of a purchasing agency, or proper designee may procure professional services through requests for proposals.41 Other supplies, services, and construction may be procured by requests for proposals where it is neither practicable, nor advantageous to procure through invitation for bids.42
The state and its agencies solicit proposals from offerors through requests for proposals,43 and the manner and format in which proposals are to be submitted are set forth in the requests.44 Adequate public notice of requests for proposals is given in the same manner as invitation for bids.45 The state and its agencies must provide offerors with a minimum of 30 days to prepare and submit their proposals.46
The state and its agencies may conduct discussions with offerors who submit proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.47 Discussions may be held to assure full understanding of and responsiveness to the solicitation requirements and to facilitate arriving at a contract that will be most advantageous to the state.48 In the course of any discussions, the state and its agencies may not use auction techniques or disclose any information derived from competing proposals.49
Requests for proposals state a statement of work or specifications that address the specific goals or problems that are the subject of the solicitation, proposed terms of the resulting contract, and evaluation factors.50 The contract must be awarded to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the state, taking into consideration the price and the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals.51
§ 4.2.4-Multi-Step Invitation for Bids
Multi-step invitation for bids is a two-phase process consisting of a technical first phase, in which bidders submit un-priced technical bids, and a second phase, in which bidders whose technical offers are acceptable have their price bids considered.52 Multi-step invitation for bids may be used when it is not practical to prepare a definitive purchase description that will be suitable to award based upon price.53
In phase one of multi-step invitation for bids, invitations for bids are issued.54 The invitation for bids may require bidders to submit both the technical bid...
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