State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Utah > Title-63g > Chapter-06 > 63g-6-40163G-6-401. Contracts awarded by sealed bidding -- Procedure.
(1) Contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwiseprovided by this chapter.
(2) (a) An invitation for bids shall be issued when a contract is to be awarded bycompetitive sealed bidding.
(b) The invitation shall include a purchase description and all contractual terms andconditions applicable to the procurement.
(3) (a) Public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given a reasonable time before thedate set forth in the invitation for the opening of bids, in accordance with rules.
(b) The notice may include:
(i) publication in a newspaper of general circulation a reasonable time before bidopening; and
(ii) publication, in accordance with Section 45-1-101, for a reasonable time before bidopening.
(4) (a) Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the timeand place designated in the invitation for bids.
(b) The amount of each bid and any other relevant information specified by rules,together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded.
(c) The record and each bid shall be open to public inspection.
(5) (a) Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except asauthorized in this chapter.
(b) (i) Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation forbids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality,workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose.
(ii) Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for awardshall be objectively measurable.
(iii) The criteria may include discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs.
(c) No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation forbids.
(6) (a) Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before or after award, orcancellation of awards or contracts based on the bid mistakes, shall be permitted in accordancewith rules.
(b) After bid opening, no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial tothe interest of the state or fair competition may be permitted.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by rule, all decisions to permit the correction orwithdrawal of bids or to cancel awards or contracts based on bid mistakes shall be supported by awritten determination made by the chief procurement officer or the head of a purchasing agency.
(7) (a) The contract shall be awarded with reasonable promptness by written notice to thelowest responsive and responsible bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forthin the invitation for bids.
(b) (i) If all bids for a construction project exceed available funds as certified by theappropriate fiscal officer, and the low responsive and responsible bid does not exceed thosefunds by more than 5%, the chief procurement officer or the head of a purchasing agency may, insituations where time or economic considerations preclude resolicitation of work of a reducedscope, negotiate an adjustment of the bid price, including changes in the bid requirements, with
the low responsive and responsible bidder in order to bring the bid within the amount of availablefunds.
(ii) If the State Building Board establishes alternative procedures by rule under Section63A-5-103, the Division of Facilities Construction and Management need not comply with theprovisions of this Subsection (7) when a bid meets the requirements of the State Building Board'srule.
(8) When it is considered impractical to prepare initially a purchase description tosupport an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submissionof unpriced offers to be followed by an invitation for bids limited to those bidders whose offershave been qualified under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation.
Amended by Chapter 388, 2009 General Session
