Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 60D-5.0071 - Rejection of Bid(s)

(1) The Agency, or contract management entities in conjunction with the Agency, shall reserve the right to reject any or all bids or portions thereof under any of the following circumstances:

(a) When the bidding process, including the procedure followed by the Agency, involves a material conflict with a rule or statutory or case law;

(b) When the Agency has evidence to indicate that collusion exists among the bidders;

(c) When the base bid or the base bid minus all deductive alternates exceeds the funds available for construction;

(d) When the Agency has evidence to indicate the bidder is not in a position to perform the contract in accordance with Rule 60D-5.004, F.A.C.;

(e) When the Agency has evidence to indicate the bidder has interest in more than one proposal for the same work;

(f) When the Agency finds the unit price provided with a bid proposal is not approximately the same as the unit cost for the same work provided as a lump sum for a specified quantity in the base bid, or alternate;

(g) When the Agency determines that the bid is not valid according to the bid specifications;

(h) When the Agency determines that a conflict of interest exists.

(2) The Agency also reserves the right to reject a bid that is unreasonably low. "Unreasonably low" means that requiring the contractor to perform the contract at that price would be reasonably expected to result in unacceptable quality of performance or abandonment of the project; however, this subsection is not applicable unless the bid is at least 20% less than the next low bid. When the Agency suspects that the apparent low responsive bid is unreasonably low, the following policies and procedures apply:

(a) The Agency shall advise the bidder of why the bid is suspected of being unreasonably low and require the bidder to reconsider the bid.

(b) The bidder, upon reconsideration, within 10 working days (or longer if the parties agree) from the date the bidder received the Owner's request for reconsideration, shall inform the Agency of its position on whether the bid is unreasonably low and furnish the Agency all relevant information including the documents that pertain to the reconsideration. The bidder shall demonstrate to the Agency that its position is correct, whether the decision was affirmative or negative.

(c) If the Agency concludes that the bid is unreasonably low, the Agency shall give notice of intention to reject the bid, subject to the right of the bidder to file a bid protest. If the bidder fails to furnish evidence in support of the bid, the Agency may presume that the bid is unreasonably low.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 60D-5.0071

Rulemaking Authority 255.29 FS. Law Implemented 255.29 FS.

New 7-7-83, Formerly 13D-11.071, Amended 11-5-91, Formerly 13D-11.0071, Amended 8-28-96, Amended by Florida Register Volume 40, Number 224, November 18, 2014 effective 12/3/2014.

New 7-7-83, Formerly 13D-11.071, Amended 11-5-91, Formerly 13D-11.0071, Amended 8-28-96, 12-3-14.