§1595. Competitive sealed proposals

            A.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, with the approval of the commissioner and the written determination by the state chief procurement officer that the best interests of the state would be served, a competitive request for proposals process as provided in this Subsection may be used in the following circumstances:

            (a) For the procurement of supplies, services, or major repairs, including but not limited to the procurement of high technology acquisitions or of complex services.

            (b) Through a contract with a group purchasing organization, for the procurement of medical and laboratory supplies and medical equipment required for the purpose of diagnosis or direct treatment of a patient by a health care provider in a hospital or clinical setting, provided the commissioner determines the total cost to be less than the state procurement prices and in the best interest of the state.

            (c) The approval and written determination requirements of this Paragraph shall not apply to a request for proposals for professional, personal, consulting, or social services.

            (2) For a contract to be let under the provisions of this Subsection, the agency shall give adequate public notice of the request for proposals by advertising in the official journal of the state at least thirty days before the last day that proposals will be accepted. In addition, the agency shall provide written notice to persons, firms, or corporations who are known to be in a position to furnish the required services at least thirty days before the last day that proposals will be accepted. The agency shall also notify the Board of Regents of the request for proposals at least thirty days before the last day that proposals will be accepted.

            B. Requests for proposals.

            (1) For consulting service contracts with a total maximum compensation of fifty thousand dollars or more, except for such contracts entered into by the Department of Transportation and Development, adequate public notice of the request for proposals shall be given by advertising in the official journal of the state and in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the state at least once. The advertisement shall appear at least thirty days before the last day that proposals will be accepted. When available, advertisements shall be placed in those national trade journals which serve the particular type of contractor desired. In addition, written notice shall be provided to persons, firms, or corporations who are known to be in a position to furnish such services, at least thirty days before the last day that proposals will be accepted. The agency shall also notify the Board of Regents of the request for proposals at least thirty days before the last day that proposals will be accepted.

            (2) For social service contracts not qualifying under R.S. 39:1619(B), adequate public notice of the request for proposals shall be given by advertising in the official journal of the state, in the official journal of the parish in which the services are to be performed and such other newspapers, bulletins, or other media as are appropriate in the circumstances. Such advertisements shall appear at least once in the official journal of the state and once in the official journal of the parish. If the services are to be performed in or made available to residents of a multiparish area, advertising in the official journal of the state and in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the state at least once shall be sufficient to meet this requirement. In all cases, the advertisement shall appear at least fourteen days before the last day that the proposals will be accepted. In addition, written notice shall be provided to persons, firms, or corporations who are known to be in a position to furnish such services, at least fourteen days before the last day that proposals will be accepted. This last requirement is subject to reasonable limitation at the discretion of the using agency. The agency shall also notify the Board of Regents of the request for proposals at least fourteen days before the last day that proposals will be accepted.

            (3) For consulting service contracts entered into by the Department of Transportation and Development with a total maximum compensation of fifty thousand dollars or more, adequate public notice of the request for proposals shall be given by advertising in the official journal of the state at least once. The first advertisement shall appear at least fifteen days before the last day that proposals will be accepted. In addition, written notice shall be provided to persons, firms, or corporations who are known to be in a position to furnish such services, at least fifteen days prior to the last day that proposals will be accepted. The agency shall also notify the Board of Regents of the request for proposals at least fifteen days before the last day that proposals will be accepted.

            (4) All requests for proposals shall be advertised through a centralized electronic interactive environment administered by the division of administration and on the electronic website accepting the electronic bids as provided in this Section. The advertisement or written notice required by this Section shall contain the name and address of the using agency and shall establish the specific date, time, and place by which the request for proposals must be received.

            (5) The requests for proposals:

            (a) For consulting, social, and professional services not otherwise exempt by law or regulation shall indicate the relative importance of price and other evaluation factors, shall clearly define the tasks to be performed under the contract, the criteria to be used in evaluating the proposals and the time frames within which the work must be completed.

            (b) For all others, it shall clearly state the technological or other outcome desired from the procurement of the supplies, services, or major repairs, if applicable, and shall indicate the relative importance of price and other evaluation factors, the criteria to be used in evaluating the proposals, and the time frames within which the work must be completed.

            (6)(a) Proposals shall be submitted in writing in accordance with the requirements set forth in the request for proposals or electronically through a uniform and secure electronic interactive environment.

            (b) Public entities shall provide, as an additional option for submission of proposals, a uniform and secure electronic interactive system for the submission of competitive sealed proposals as provided for in this Section. Any public entity providing a secure electronic interactive system shall follow the standards for the receipt of electronic bids adopted by the office of the governor, division of administration, and the office of information technology as provided for in LAC 4:XV.701. Any special condition or requirement for the submission shall be specified in the advertisement of the request for proposals required by this Section.

            (c) The requirements of Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph shall not apply to the following public entities:

            (i) Public entities that are currently without high-speed Internet access, until high-speed Internet access becomes available.

            (ii) Any parish with a police jury form of government and a population of less than twenty thousand.

            (iii) Any city or municipality with a population of less than ten thousand.

            (iv) Any public entity that is unable to comply with the electronic proposal submission provisions of this Subsection without securing and expending additional funding.

            (7) Written or oral discussions shall be conducted with all responsible proposers who submit proposals determined in writing to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award. Discussions shall not disclose any information derived from proposals submitted by competing proposers. Discussions need not be conducted:

            (a) If prices are fixed by law or regulation, except that consideration shall be given to competitive terms and conditions.

            (b) If time of delivery or performance will not permit discussions.

            (c) If it can be clearly demonstrated and documented from the existence of adequate competition or accurate prior cost experience with the particular service that acceptance of an initial offer without discussion would result in fair and reasonable prices, and the request for proposals notifies all proposers of the possibility that award may be made on the basis of the initial offers.

            (8)(a) Award shall be made to the responsible proposer whose proposal is determined in writing by the using agency to be the most advantageous to the state, taking into consideration review of price and the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals.

            (b) A request for proposals or other solicitation may be cancelled or all proposals may be rejected only if it is determined, based on reasons provided in writing, that such action is taken in the best interest of the state.

            (9) A request for proposals or other solicitation may be cancelled or all proposals may be rejected only if it is determined, based on reasons provided in writing, that such action is taken in the best interest of the state.

            (10) Each contract entered into pursuant to this Subsection shall contain as a minimum:

            (a) Description of the work to be performed or objectives to be met, when applicable.

            (b) Amount and time of payments to be made.

            (c) Description of reports or other deliverables to be received, when applicable.

            (d) Date of reports or other deliverables to be received, when applicable.

            (e) Responsibility for payment of taxes, when applicable.

            (f) Circumstances under which the contract can be terminated either with or without cause.

            (g) Remedies for default.

            (h) A statement giving the legislative auditor the authority to audit records of the individual or firm.

            (i) Performance measurements.

            (j) Monitoring plan.

            (11)(a) Upon entering into a contract, the using agency shall have full responsibility for the diligent administration and monitoring of the contract. The state chief procurement officer may require the using agency to report at any time on the status of any such outstanding contracts to which the using agency is a party. After completion of performance under a contract, the using agency shall evaluate contract performance and the utility of the final product. This evaluation shall be delivered to the state chief procurement officer or his designee or the director of purchasing at a college or university, as applicable, within one hundred twenty days after completion of performance and shall be retained in the official contract file.

            (b)(i) No contract shall be valid, nor shall the state be bound by the contract, until it has first been executed by the head of the using agency, or his designee, which is a party to the contract and the contractor and has been approved in writing by the state chief procurement officer or his designee or the director of purchasing at a college or university, as applicable.

            (ii) In cases where the head of the using agency wants to delegate authority to one or more of his subordinates to sign contracts on behalf of the agency, this delegation shall be made in accordance with regulations of the commissioner and shall be subject to the approval of the state chief procurement officer.

            (12) Requests for proposals shall not be required for "interagency contracts" as defined in R.S. 39:1556.

            (13) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter, all relevant federal statutes and regulations shall be followed by the using agency in procuring services. The burden of complying with these federal statutes and regulations shall rest with the using agency and shall be documented in the contract record submitted to the office of state procurement.

            Added by Acts 1981, No. 157, §2; Acts 1981, No. 851, §2; Acts 1985, No. 693, §1; Acts 1985, No. 880, §3, eff. July 23, 1985; Acts 1987, No. 778, §2; Acts 1990, No. 449, §2, eff. July 18, 1990; Acts 1993, No. 1032, §2, eff. July 1, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 1312, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1284, §2; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 123, §§2, 4, eff. July 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 644, §2; Acts 2001, No. 693, §2, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 744, §2, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1175, §2, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2014, No. 575, §2, eff. June 19, 2014; Acts 2014, No. 864, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2015; Acts 2015, No. 244, §1, eff. June 29, 2015; Acts 2015, No. 395, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 2015; Acts 2016, No. 420, §1.