3-101.01
Definition of Terms Used in this Chapter
(a)
Award is the acceptance by
an agency of a bid or proposal submitted by a vendor with the intention of
entering into a contract for services.
(b)
Bid shall be defined as an
offer submitted by a prospective contractor in response to an Invitation for
Bid.
(c)
Capability
as used in Section 3-101.01(w) (Definitions, Responsible Bidder, Offeror, or
Respondent), means capability at the time of award of the contract.
(d)
Competitive Bidding includes
Invitations for Bids, Requests for Proposals, Requests for Qualifications, and
any other alternative, generally accepted procurement method. See MS AG Op.,
Mosley (October 23, 2015).
(e)
Competitive Sealed Bidding is the process of inviting and
obtaining bids from competing sources in response to advertised competitive
specifications, through the issuance of an Invitation for Bids (IFB), by which
an award is made to the lowest and best bidder meeting the specifications and
does not include discussions or negotiations with bidders.
(f)
Competitive Sealed Proposals
is the process of requesting and obtaining proposals from competing sources in
response to advertised competitive specifications, through the issuance of a
Request for Proposals (RFP), by which an award is made to the offeror who
receives the highest score based on weighted evaluation criteria outlined in
the RFP and includes discussions and negotiations with offerors.
(g)
Competitive Sealed
Qualifications is the process of requesting and obtaining statements of
qualifications from competing sources in response to advertised competitive
specifications, through the issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), by
which an award is made to the respondent who receives the highest score based
on weighted evaluation criteria outlined in the RFQ and includes discussions
with respondents.
(h)
Contract Worker, for purposes of these regulations, is a worker
under contract with the State who meets the requirements for a contract worker
under the Internal Revenue Code (See Appendix B) and is compliant with the
applicable rules and regulations as stated herein.
(i)
Cost Analysis is the
evaluation of cost data for the purpose of arriving at costs actually incurred
or estimates of costs to be incurred, prices to be paid, and costs to be
reimbursed.
(j)
Cost
Data is information concerning the actual or estimated cost of labor,
material, overhead, and other cost elements which have been actually incurred
or which are expected to be incurred by the contractor in performing the
contract.
(k)
Cost-Reimbursement Contract means a contract under which a
contractor is reimbursed for costs which are allowable and allocable in
accordance with contract terms and the provisions of these regulations, and may
receive a fee.
(l)
Discussions, as used in the source selection process, means an
exchange of information or other manner of negotiation during which the offeror
and an agency may alter or otherwise change the conditions, terms, and price of
the proposed contract. Discussions may be conducted in connection with
competitive sealed proposals, competitive sealed qualifications, sole-source,
and emergency procurements; discussions are not permissible in competitive
sealed bidding (except to the extent permissible in the first phase of
multi-step sealed bidding).
(m)
Fixed Price Contract means a contract providing for a firm price,
or a price that may be adjusted only in accordance with contract clauses
providing for revision of the contract price under stated circumstances.
(n)
Invitation for
Bid means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference,
utilized for soliciting competitive or multi-step competitive sealed bids.
(o)
Net-of-Fee
Contract means a contract in which there is no expenditure of state
funds from any funding source (state, federal or other).
(p)
Prequalification for Inclusion on
Bidders Lists means determining in accordance with Section 3-402
(Prequalification of Prospective Contractors) that a prospective bidder or
offeror satisfies the criteria established for being included on the bidders
list.
(q)
Price
Analysis is the evaluation of price data, without analysis of the
separate cost components and profit as in cost analysis, which may assist in
arriving at prices to be paid and costs to be reimbursed.
(r)
Price Data is factual
information concerning prices, including profit, for supplies services, or
construction substantially similar to those being procured. In this definition,
"prices" refer to offered or proposed selling prices, historical selling
prices, and current selling prices of such items. This definition refers to
data relevant to both prime and subcontract prices.
(s)
Proposal is the document
submitted by the offeror in response to a Request for Proposal to be used as
the basis for negotiations for entering into a contract. A proposal is usually
requested in cases where the selection of a contractor is to be made on the
basis of the performance that is offered rather than on that of price alone and
may require an outline of details such as the vendor's qualifications and
experience and the identification of problems and proposed solutions in
addition to details of price.
(t)
Purchase Description means the words used in a solicitation to
describe the services to be purchased and includes the statement of work or
deliverables attached to, or made a part of, the solicitation.
(u)
Request for Proposal means
all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for
soliciting competitive proposals from potential vendors. A Request for
Proposals should contain all evaluation criteria, including price and the
weight for scoring each of the criteria. It should outline the intended
procurement process and include all information required herein.
(v)
Request for Qualifications
means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized
for soliciting statements of qualifications from potential vendors. A Request
for Qualifications should contain all evaluation criteria and the weight for
scoring each of the criteria. It should outline the intended procurement
process and include all information required herein.
(w)
Responsible Bidder, Offeror, or
Respondent means a person who has the capability in all respects to
perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability which
will assure good faith performance.
(x)
Responsive Bidder, Offeror, or
Respondent means a person who has submitted a bid, proposal, or
statement of qualifications which conforms in all material respects to the
Invitation for Bid, Request for Proposal, or Request for Qualifications.
(y)
Solicitation
means an Invitation for Bid, a Request for Proposal, a Request for
Qualifications, a request for quotations, or any other document issued by the
State for the purpose of soliciting bids, proposals, or statements of
qualifications relative to performing a state contract.
(z)
Statement of Qualifications
is the document submitted by the respondent to a Request for Qualifications to
be used as the basis for a determination that the respondent is qualified or
has specialized expertise to perform the scope of work or services required by
the agency.
3-101.04
Contract Workers
A contract worker is a worker under contract with an agency
who meets the requirements for a contract worker under the Internal Revenue
Code for federal employment tax purposes. See Appendix B. Under these
regulations, the usual common law rules are applicable to determine and require
that the contract worker is an employee and not an independent contractor,
requiring evidence of lawful behavioral control, lawful financial control, and
lawful relationship of the parties. The agency shall make a written
determination of this finding and maintain it in the procurement file. If the
selected worker is a PERS retiree, the agency must be in compliance with the
obligations outlined for the employer in Mississippi Code Annotated §
25-11-127.
The PSCRB's authority over contracts for contract workers is the same as its
authority over contracts for independent contractors.
Contract worker contracts must be competitively bid if the
total contract value exceeds the $75,000 threshold. An agency may procure
contract workers through the Alternative Competitive Procurement for Contract
Workers, a Request for Qualifications, or another generally accepted method of
competitive procurement in compliance with Section 3-201.03 (Alternative
Procurement Procedures).
3-101.04.1
Alternative Competitive Procurement for Contract Worker Contracts when
Pricing is Set by the Agency
Under this method of procurement, the agency sets the
pricing for a contract worker contract or contracts. The procurement shall be
publicized on the Mississippi Contract/Procurement Opportunity Search Portal in
accordance with Mississippi Code Annotated §
25-53-151
and in either the legal notices or employment section of a newspaper in
accordance with Section 3-202.06 (Public Notice). The posting shall include the
minimum qualifications for the contract worker position, the term and rate of
pay and the deadline and manner for submitting applications. The minimum
qualifications shall be established by the agency.
All applications received by the deadline shall be evaluated
by the Agency Head, his designee(s), or an evaluation committee appointed by
the Agency Head. For each contract worker position to be filled, or positions
if more than one is needed, the same person or committee shall evaluate all
applications.
Once evaluated, all applications shall be classified as
either acceptable or unacceptable. For applications classified as unacceptable,
the applicant shall be promptly notified in writing of the classification of
the application as unacceptable and the reasons therefor. A copy of the
notification letter shall be kept in the procurement file.
Interviews may be conducted with a number of applicants to
be specified by the Agency Head, his designee(s), or the evaluation committee,
from the list of applicants classified as acceptable. If interviews are
conducted, after all interviews are completed, the applicants interviewed shall
be evaluated based on predetermined criteria.
Recommendation(s) shall be made to the Agency Head, who may
then award the contract(s). Notification that the contract has been awarded
shall be promptly given in writing to all applicants whose applications were
classified as acceptable. A copy of each notification letter shall be kept in
the procurement file. A notice of award shall be made available to the public
in accordance with Executive Order 1362. The public notice of award must be
accompanied by an analysis as to why the personal or professional services
contract was awarded, renewed, or amended.
3-101.04.2
Procurement for Contract
Worker when the Total Contract Value is Less than $75,000
The Agency Head shall adopt operational procedures for
procuring contract workers when the total contract value is less than $75,000.
Such operational procedures shall provide for obtaining adequate and reasonable
competition and for making records to properly account for funds and to
facilitate auditing of the Purchasing Agency. No approval by the PSCRB is
required for these purchases.
3-101.04.3
Approval of WIN
Contracts
The state's accounting system routes WIN (contract worker)
contracts with the same WIN number exceeding $75,000 to the PSCRB for approval.
PSCRB staff has the authority to approve WIN contracts for which the total
contract value, including modifications, does not exceed $75,000 during any
12-month period.
