41-2581. Procurement of certain professional
services
A. A purchasing agency may procure under this section a single contract or multiple
contracts for professional services if the contract is for professional services by an
architect or architect firm and the contract amount is two hundred fifty thousand dollars
or less or if the contract is for professional services by a person or firm other than an
architect and the contract amount is five hundred thousand dollars or less. For such
procurements, the director shall encourage persons or firms engaged in the lawful
practice of the profession to submit annually a statement of qualifications and
experience.
B. The director or head of the purchasing agency shall initiate an appropriately
qualified selection committee for each procurement, which may include one contract or
multiple contracts, pursuant to rules adopted by the director or purchasing agency. The
amount of each contract in a single procurement under this section shall not exceed the
dollar amount limits in subsection A. The selection committee shall evaluate current
statements of qualifications and experience on file with the director or purchasing
agency, together with those that may be submitted by other persons or firms regarding the
procurement. If possible and practicable, the selection committee shall conduct
interviews regarding the procurement and the relative methods of furnishing the required
services and, if possible, shall select, in order of preference and based on criteria
established and published by the selection committee, one or more final lists of the
persons or firms deemed to be the most qualified to provide the services required. The
selection committee shall base the selection of each final list and the order of
preference on demonstrated competence and qualifications only. The purchasing agency and
the selection committee shall not request or consider fees, price, man-hours or any other
cost information at any point in the selection process under this section, including the
selection of the persons or firms to be interviewed, the selection of the persons and
firms to be on a final list, in determining the order of preference of persons and firms
on a final list or for any other purpose in the selection process. If the procurement is
for:
1. A single contract or if the procurement is for multiple contracts to be awarded
to a single person or firm, there shall be one final list of three persons or firms.
2. Multiple contracts for different professional services to be awarded to separate
persons or firms, there shall be a separate final list of three persons or firms for each
contract.
3. Multiple contracts for the same professional services to be awarded to separate
persons or firms, there shall be one final list and the number of persons or firms on the
final list shall be the number of contracts plus another number that is determined by the
purchasing agency and that is not more than five.
C. After each final list is selected pursuant to subsection B, the procurement
officer shall enter into negotiations with the highest qualified person or firm on each
final list or, in the case of a single final list for multiple contracts for the same
professional services to be awarded to separate persons or firms, the purchasing agency
shall enter into negotiations with a number of the highest qualified persons or firms on
the final list equal to the number of contracts that may or will be awarded. The
negotiations shall include consideration of compensation and other contract terms that
the procurement officer determines to be fair and reasonable to this state. In making
this determination, the procurement officer shall take into account the estimated value,
the scope, the complexity and the nature of the professional services to be rendered. If
the procurement officer is unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with a person or
firm with which the purchasing agency is negotiating at a price and on other contract
terms the procurement officer determines to be fair and reasonable to this state, the
procurement officer shall formally terminate negotiations with that person or firm. The
procurement officer may undertake negotiations with the next most qualified person or
firm on the final list in sequence until an agreement is reached or a determination is
made to reject all persons or firms on the final list. If the procurement officer
terminates negotiations with a person or firm on a final list and commences negotiations
with another person or firm on the final list, the procurement officer shall not in that
procurement recommence negotiations or enter into the single contract or multiple
contracts for the professional services covered by that final list with any person or
firm on that final list with whom the procurement officer has terminated negotiations.
D. If the purchasing agency does not have a procurement protest policy and
procedures that have been formally adopted and published by the purchasing agency, for
protests relating to procurements under this section the purchasing agency shall follow
the procurement protest policy and procedures of the department. The purchasing agency
shall process all protests relating to procurements under this section.
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