A Solicitation may be canceled, or any or all responses to
the solicitation may be rejected in whole or in part as may be specified in the
solicitation, when it is in the best interest of the State. The reasons shall
be made part of the contract file.
3-301.01
Scope of this
Regulation
The provisions herein shall govern the cancellation of any
solicitations whether issued by the State under competitive sealed bidding,
competitive sealed proposals, competitive sealed qualifications, or any other
source selection method, and the rejection of bids, proposals, or statements of
qualifications in whole or in part.
3-301.02
Policy
Solicitations should only be issued when there is a valid
procurement need unless the solicitation states that it is for informational
purposes only. Preparing and distributing a solicitation requires the
expenditure of time and funds. Businesses and other entities likewise incur
expense in examining and responding to solicitations. Accordingly, although
issuance of a solicitation does not compel award of a contract, a solicitation
is to be canceled only when there are compelling reasons to believe that the
cancellation of the solicitation is in the State's best interest.
3-301.03
Cancellation of
Solicitation - Notice
Each solicitation issued by the State shall declare that the
solicitation may be canceled as provided herein.
3-301.04
Cancellation of Solicitation;
Rejection of All Bids, Proposals, or Statements of Qualifications
3-301.04.1
Prior to Opening
(a) As used in this section, "opening" means
the date set for opening of bids, receipt of unpriced technical offers in
multi-step sealed bidding, receipt of proposals in competitive sealed
proposals, or receipt of SOQs in competitive sealed qualifications.
(b) Prior to opening, a solicitation may be
canceled in whole or in part when the Agency Head determines in writing that
such action is in the State's best interest for reasons including, but not
limited to:
(1) the agency no longer requires
the services;
(2) the agency no
longer can reasonably expect to fund the procurement; or,
(3) proposed amendments to the solicitation
would be of such magnitude that a new solicitation is desirable.
(c) When a solicitation is
canceled prior to opening, notice of cancellation shall be sent to all
businesses solicited.
(d) The
notice of cancellation shall:
(1) identify
the solicitation;
(2) briefly
explain the reason for cancellation; and,
(3) where appropriate, explain that an
opportunity will be given to compete on any resolicitation or any future
procurement of similar services.
3-301.04.2
After Opening-Prior to
Award
(a) After opening but prior to
award, all bids, proposals, or SOQs may be rejected in whole or in part when
the Agency Head determines in writing that such action is in the State's best
interest for reasons including, but not limited to:
(1) the services being procured are no longer
required;
(2) ambiguous or
otherwise inadequate specifications were part of the solicitation;
(3) the solicitation did not provide for
consideration of all factors of significance to the buying entity;
(4) prices exceed available funds and it
would not be appropriate to adjust quantities to come within available funds;
(5) all otherwise acceptable bids,
proposals, or SOQs received are at clearly unreasonable prices; or,
(6) there is reason to believe that the bids,
proposals, or SOQs may not have been independently arrived at in open
competition, may have been collusive, or may have been submitted in bad faith.
(b) A notice of
rejection should be sent to all businesses that submitted bids, proposals, or
SOQs, and shall conform to Section 3-301.04.1(d).
3-301.04.3
After Opening After -
Award
After opening and after award, but prior to signing a
contract, an award may be canceled when the Agency Head determines in
writing that such action is in the State's best interest for reasons including,
but not limited to:
(a) available
funding for the contractual service has been discontinued;
(b) credible evidence has been presented that
the procurement was tainted; or,
(c) the solicitation document allows the
agency's stated reason for cancellation.
3-301.04.4
Documentation
The reasons for cancellation or rejection shall be made a
part of the agency's procurement file and shall be available for public
inspection.
3-301.05
Rejection of Individual Bids,
Proposals, or Statements of Qualifications
3-301.05.1
General
This section applies to rejections of individual bids,
proposals, or SOQs in whole or in part.
3-301.05.2
Notice in
Solicitation
Each solicitation issued by the State shall provide that any
bids, proposals, or SOQs may be rejected in whole or in part when in the best
interest of the State.
3-301.05.3
Reasons for Rejection
(a)
Bids. As used in this
section, "bid" means any offer providing pricing submitted in competitive
sealed bidding or in the second phase of multi-step sealed bidding, and
includes submissions under Section 3-205 (Small Purchases), if no changes in
offers are allowed after submission. Reasons for rejecting a bid include but
are not limited to:
(1) the business that
submitted the bid is non-responsible as determined under Section 3-401.06
(Written Determination of Non-responsibility Required) of this chapter;
(2) the bid is non-responsive;
that is, it does not conform in all material respects to the Invitation for
Bid, see Section 3-202.13.2 (Service/End Product
Acceptability) of this chapter;
(3) the supply or service item offered in the
bid is unacceptable by reason of its failure to meet the requirements of the
specifications or permissible alternates or other acceptability criteria set
forth in the Invitation for Bid. See Section 3-202.13.2
(Service/End Product Acceptability);
(4) lack of competitiveness by reason of
collusion or knowledge that reasonably available competition was not received;
(5) error in specifications or
indication that revisions would be to the State's advantage;
(6) cancellation or changes in the intended
project or other determination that the proposed requirement is no longer
needed; or
(7) limitation or lack
of available funds.
(b)
Proposals. As used in this section, "proposal" means any offer
submitted in response to any solicitation for a proposal, including an offer
under Section 3-205 (Small Purchases), except a bid as defined in Section
3-301.05.3(a). Unless the solicitation states otherwise, proposals need not be
unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, and the stated
requirements may be revised or clarified after proposals are submitted. This
flexibility must be considered in determining whether reasons exist for
rejecting all or any part of a proposal. Reasons for rejecting proposals
include but are not limited to:
(1) the
offeror that submitted the proposal is non-responsible as determined under
Section 3-401 (Responsibility of Bidders and Offerors);
(2) the proposal ultimately (that is, after
any opportunity has passed for altering or clarifying the proposal) fails to
meet the announced requirements of the State in some material respect; or,
(3) the proposed price is clearly
unreasonable.
3-301.05.4
Notice of Rejection
Vendors that have submitted bids, proposals, or SOQs which
are rejected shall be promptly notified in writing of the rejection and the
reasons therefor.
3-301.06
"All or None" Bids or
Proposals
Only when provided by the solicitation may a bid or proposal
limit acceptance to the entire bid or proposal offering; otherwise, such bids
or proposals shall be deemed to be non-responsive. If the bid or proposal is
properly so limited, the agency shall not reject part of such bid or proposal
and award on the remainder. "All or none" bids shall not be requested unless it
is determined that a multiple number of bidders can provide pricing on all
items requested. If the "all or none" requirement limits the bidding to the
point that only a single responsive bid is received, the PSCRB will not approve
the request unless ample justification is presented.
3-301.07
Disposition of Bids,
Proposals, or Statements of Qualifications
When bids, proposals, or SOQs are rejected, or a
solicitation canceled after bids, proposals, or SOQs are received, the bids,
proposals, or SOQs which have been opened shall be retained in the agency's
procurement file.
