PART VI. LEGAL AND CONTRACTUAL REMEDIES

SUBPART A. PRE-LITIGATION RESOLUTION

OF CONTROVERSIES

§1671. Authority to resolve protested solicitations and awards

            A. Right to protest. Any person who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract issued by the applicable chief procurement officer shall protest to the chief procurement officer. Protests with respect to a solicitation shall be submitted in writing at least two days prior to the opening of bids on all matters except housing of state agencies, their personnel, operations, equipment, or activities pursuant to R.S. 39:1643 for which such protest shall be submitted at least ten days prior to the opening of bids. Protests with respect to the award of a contract shall be submitted in writing within fourteen days after contract award.

            B. Authority to resolve protests. The chief procurement officer or his designee shall have authority, prior to the commencement of an action in court concerning the controversy, to settle and resolve a protest of an aggrieved person concerning the solicitation or award of a contract. This authority shall be exercised in accordance with regulations.

            C. Decision. If the protest is not resolved by mutual agreement, the chief procurement officer or his designee shall, within fourteen days, issue a decision in writing. The decision shall:

            (1) State the reasons for the action taken.

            (2) Inform the protestant of its right to administrative and judicial review as provided in this Chapter.

            D. Notice of decision. A copy of the decision under Subsection C of this Section shall be mailed or otherwise furnished immediately to the protestant and any other party intervening.

            E. Finality of decision. A decision under Subsection C of this Section shall be final and conclusive unless one of the following applies:

            (1) The decision is fraudulent.

            (2) The person adversely affected by the decision has timely appealed administratively to the commissioner in accordance with R.S. 39:1683.

            F. Protest bond to stay procurement during protest. (1) A protester who has timely protested a solicitation or an award may only apply for a stay during the time period provided in Subsection A of this Section to protest a solicitation or an award.

            (2) A protester may obtain a stay of an award upon posting a bond during the protest period with a good and solvent surety authorized to do business in this state or submit other security, in a form approved by the office of state procurement by rule or regulation, to the office of state procurement, who shall hold the bond or other security until a final determination is made on the protest. A bond posted or other security submitted with a protest shall be in an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the maximum amount of the protested awarded contract. If the total value of the awarded contract cannot be determined because the total requirements for the contract are estimated as of the date of the award, a bond posted or other security submitted with a protest shall be in an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the estimated total value of the contract. Upon request, the state chief procurement officer shall provide the estimated total value of the contract or the method for determining the estimated total value of the contract, based on records of past experience and estimates of anticipated requirements furnished by the using agency.

            (3) If the protest is upheld and the award is cancelled, the bond posted or other security submitted with the protest shall be returned to the person who posted the bond or submitted the security. If the protest is rejected and the award is upheld, a claim may be made against the bond or other security by the using agency to the office of state procurement in an amount equal to the expenses incurred and other monetary losses suffered by the state resulting from the unsuccessful protest. The state chief procurement officer shall hold an informal hearing on the claim. Any money not awarded by the state chief procurement officer shall be returned to the person who posted the bond or submitted the security.

            G. Award of costs to protestants. In addition to any other relief, when the protest is administratively or judicially sustained and the protesting bidder or proposer should have been awarded the contract but is not, the protesting bidder or proposer shall be entitled to the reasonable costs incurred in connection with the solicitation, including bid or proposal preparation costs other than attorney fees, provided that any administrative determination of such costs shall be subject to the written concurrence of the attorney general.

            H. Promulgation of regulations. The state chief procurement officer is hereby authorized to promulgate regulations relative to protests, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, to implement the provisions of R.S. 39:1600(D).

            Added by Acts 1979, No. 715, §1, eff. July 1, 1980. Amended by Acts 1984, No. 344, §1; Acts 1985, No. 52, §1; Acts 1988, No. 694, §1, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 2011, No. 210, §2, eff. July 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 864, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2015; Acts 2025, No. 5, §1, eff. June 11, 2025.