SECTION 260:115-7-30. Competitive sealed solicitations

(a)   General. The State Purchasing Director shall utilize a competitive sealed solicitation as required by state law and rules of this Chapter or when it is determined by the acquiring agency to be in the best interest of the state. Competitive sealed solicitations for acquisitions shall be issued by invitation to bid, request for proposal or request for quotation.

(b)   Solicitation contents. The solicitation shall indicate all information the supplier shall submit with the supplier's bid.

(c)   Supplier notification.

(1)   Registered suppliers. The State Purchasing Director shall notify suppliers of solicitations for commodities for which the supplier registers. Notification is dependent upon a supplier providing the Office of Management and Enterprise Services valid and up-to-date information.

(2)   Suppliers a state agency recommends. The State Purchasing Director will also notify suppliers recommended by a state agency for a solicitation.

(d)   Amendments to a solicitation. If the State Purchasing Director amends a solicitation, the State Purchasing Director shall notify each supplier sent the original solicitation of the amendment.

(1)   A supplier shall acknowledge receipt of an amendment in the supplier's bid or quotation for submission by the closing date and time specified in the solicitation.

(2)   If a supplier has already submitted a bid, the supplier shall submit an acknowledgment of receipt of the amendment by the closing date and time specified in the solicitation.

(e)   Limited contact. The State Purchasing Director may limit contact regarding a solicitation between suppliers and agency personnel during the solicitation process. The limitation of contact may be described in the solicitation. All communication between suppliers and the acquiring agency related to a solicitation shall:

(1)   be limited to the acquiring agency's designated procurement personnel;

(2)   strictly prohibited from any other acquiring agency personnel, unless otherwise stated in the solicitation; and,

(3)   be documented in writing and filed in the acquisition file.

(f)   Evaluation method. The State Purchasing Director shall ensure that an evaluation method is clearly identified in any solicitation. The method shall be one of the following:

(1)   lowest and best; or,

(2)   best value.

(g)   Specifications. Solicitations shall include specifications or a statement of work. The State Purchasing Director may reference manufacturer names, product names, or other product references as specifications to describe the type or quality of the acquisition.

(h)   Terms and conditions. The State Purchasing Director shall include all the terms and conditions for the acquisition in the solicitation.

(1)   Copyrights, patents or intellectual property. If an acquisition includes copyrights, patents or intellectual property rights pursuant to federal law, the solicitation shall request conditions of use for the acquisition. Except as otherwise provided by Section 3206.3 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes and Section 1365 of this title, any patented property or copyrighted material developed by contracts subject to the Central Purchasing Act, shall be the property of the State of Oklahoma under the sole management of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. [74 O.S. §34.3(B)]

(2)   Other terms and conditions. The State Purchasing Director may not accept supplier terms and conditions in a supplier's bid. No alterations or variations of the terms of the contract shall be valid or binding upon the state, unless made in writing and accepted by the State Purchasing Director.

(3)   Other rights and remedies. Actions of the State Purchasing Director shall not limit the rights or remedies of a state agency.

(4)   Rejection of all bids. If the State Purchasing Director finds it to be in the best interest of the State of Oklahoma, any or all bids or proposals may be rejected and a solicitation may be reissued or canceled.

(i)   Non-Collusion certification. The State Purchasing Director shall include a non-collusion certification statement in a solicitation. The non-collusion certification shall be included with any bid or proposal submitted to the agency issuing the solicitation.

(j)   Pre-bid conference. The State Purchasing Director may state in a solicitation that a supplier pre-bid conference will be held and shall state whether supplier attendance is mandatory or non-mandatory.

(k)   Shipping. Bidders shall include all costs associated with delivery of the acquisition F.O.B. destination to the receiving state agency in the solicitation response, unless otherwise specified in the solicitation.

(l)   Closing date. The State Purchasing Director shall provide notice to suppliers in the solicitation of the closing date, time and location of a bid opening. In the event it is determined that a significant error or event occurred that affected the receipt of a bid, the OMES Director may authorize OMES to accept a bid after the specified official closing date and time. Failure of the bidder's computer or electronic equipment or service is not an acceptable event.

(m)   Bid receipt. Upon receipt, a state agency shall clearly mark the outside of all envelopes or containers with the receipt date and time. Electronic submission of bids, when allowed, must be submitted in such a manner that the time and date of submission is electronically linked to the bid and cannot be changed.

(n)   Firm bid for one hundred twenty (120) days. A supplier's bid shall be considered a firm bid for one hundred twenty (120) days following the bid closing date, unless otherwise stated in the solicitation.

(o)   Sample submission. A solicitation may specify submission of samples to the State Purchasing Director for evaluation purposes. Any samples requested must be provided free of charge.

(1)   Sample tests. Whenever testing is determined necessary by the State Purchasing Director, appropriate standard testing procedures will be used.

(2)   Return of bidder samples. Samples which are not destroyed by testing will be returned at the supplier's expense if return of the samples is stipulated in the supplier's solicitation response.

(3)   Successful bidder samples. The State Purchasing Director may retain samples the successful bidder submits to ensure that acquisitions the successful bidder delivers meet specifications in the solicitation.

(4)   Samples become property of state. A sample shall become the property of the State of Oklahoma unless a bidder requests its return and will be disposed of in the same manner as surplus or salvage property.

[Source: Added at 31 Ok Reg 1526, eff 9-12-14; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 1633, eff 9-13-19]