ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4559
(By Delegates Beane, Walters and Webster
)
[Passed March 11, 2004; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §8-27-23 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating generally to the procurement of
supplies, equipment, materials and contracts for the
construction of facilities by urban mass transportation
systems.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-27-23 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 27. INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS--URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEMS.
§8-27-23. Competitive bids; publication of solicitation for sealed
bids.
(a) Any contract for the construction of facilities by any
authority, when the expenditure required exceeds the sum of ten
thousand dollars, shall be based solely on competitive sealed bids.
(b) Except as provided below, the procurement of all supplies, equipment and materials, where the expenditure required exceeds the
sum of ten thousand dollars, shall be based on the competitive
procedure that is best suited under the circumstances of the
procurement.
(c) In determining the competitive bid procedures that is best
suited under the circumstances, an authority shall conduct:
(1) Competitive sealed bidding if:
(A) Time permits a competitive bid process to be used;
(B) The award of the bid will be made primarily on price and
price-related factors;
(C) It is likely to be unnecessary to conduct discussions with
suppliers regarding bids, including discussions regarding price;
and
(D) There is a reasonable expectation of receiving more than
one sealed bid; or
(2) Competitive negotiation where competitive sealed bidding
is not best suited under the circumstances.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c)
of this section, an authority may provide for the procurement of
property or services covered by this section using other than
competitive procedures only when:
(1) The property or services needed are available only from
one responsible source and no other type of property or service
will satisfy the authority's needs;
(2) The authority's need for the property or service is
urgent, unusual and compelling because the authority would be seriously injured unless the authority is permitted to limit the
number of sources from which it solicits;
(3) It is necessary to award a contract to a particular source
or sources in order to maintain a facility, producer, manufacturer
or other supplier in case of emergency; or
(4) It is necessary to establish or maintain an alternative
source or sources of supply for the property or service to increase
or maintain competition.
(e) All sealed bids or competitive negotiated proposals
received in response to a solicitation or request for bid may be
rejected if an authority determines that the action is in the
public interest.
(f) Sealed bids shall be opened publicly at the time and place
stated in the solicitation and the authority shall evaluate the
bids without discussions with bidders and award a contract with
reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose bid conforms
to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the authority,
considering only price and other price-related factors included in
the solicitation.
(g) The evaluation of competitive proposals may include
written or oral discussions conducted with all responsible bidders
or suppliers at any time after receipt of the proposals and before
the award or may be made without discussions. In either event, the
award shall be made to the lowest responsible bidder or supplier.
(h) Adequate public notice of the solicitation of bids and
proposals shall be given. Public notice shall be given not less than seven days before the date set for bid opening or, in the case
of competitive negotiation, not less than seven days before the due
date for receipt of proposals: Provided, That bids for the
construction of facilities shall be obtained by public notice
published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, with
such publication being made at least fourteen days before the final
date for submitting bids.