8A.311 - COMPETITIVE BIDDING -- PREFERENCES -- RECIPROCAL APPLICATION -- DIRECT PURCHASING.

        8A.311  COMPETITIVE BIDDING -- PREFERENCES --
      RECIPROCAL APPLICATION -- DIRECT PURCHASING.
         The director shall adopt rules establishing competitive bidding
      procedures.
         1. a.  All equipment, supplies, or services procured by the
      department shall be purchased by a competitive bidding procedure as
      established by rule.  However, the director may exempt by rule
      purchases of noncompetitive items and purchases in lots or quantities
      too small to be effectively purchased by competitive bidding.
      Preference shall be given to purchasing Iowa products and purchases
      from Iowa-based businesses if the Iowa-based business bids submitted
      are comparable in price to bids submitted by out-of-state businesses
      and otherwise meet the required specifications.  If the laws of
      another state mandate a percentage preference for businesses or
      products from that state and the effect of the preference is that
      bids of Iowa businesses or products that are otherwise low and
      responsive are not selected in the other state, the same percentage
      preference shall be applied to Iowa businesses and products when
      businesses or products from that other state are bid to supply Iowa
      requirements.
         b.  The department and each state agency shall provide notice
      in an electronic format available to the public of every competitive
      bidding opportunity offered by the department or the state agency as
      provided in section 73.2, subsection 2.  The department may establish
      by rule requirements relating to such notice.  A competitive bidding
      opportunity that is not preceded by a notice that satisfies the
      requirements of this paragraph is void and shall be rebid.  A request
      for proposals for architectural or engineering services may be posted
      electronically by a department or state agency.
         2.  Notwithstanding section 72.3, if the competitive bidding
      procedure used by the department involves the use of a reverse
      auction or similar competitive bidding procedure requiring the
      disclosure of bid information submitted by vendors, the department
      shall disclose the bid information as necessary and appropriate.
         3.  The director may also exempt the purchase of an item or
      service from a competitive bidding procedure when the director
      determines that the best interests of the state will be served by the
      exemption which shall be based on one of the following:
         a.  An immediate or emergency need existing for the item or
      service.
         b.  A need to protect the health, safety, or welfare of
      persons occupying or visiting a public improvement or property
      located adjacent to the public improvement.
         4. a.  The director may contract for the purchase of items or
      services by the department.  Contracts for the purchase of items or
      services shall be awarded on the basis of the lowest competent bid.
      Contracts not based on competitive bidding shall be awarded on the
      basis of bidder competence and reasonable price.
         b.  Architectural and engineering services shall be procured
      in a reasonable manner, as the director by rule may determine, on the
      basis of competence and qualification for the type of services
      required and for a fair and reasonable price.
         5.  The director may enter into a cooperative procurement
      agreement with another governmental entity relating to the
      procurement of goods or services, whether the goods or services are
      for the use of the department or other governmental entities.  The
      cooperative procurement agreement shall clearly specify the purpose
      of the agreement and the method by which that purpose will be
      accomplished.  Any power exercised under the agreement shall not
      exceed the power granted to any party to the agreement.
         6.  The director may refuse all bids on any item or service and
      request new bids.
         7.  The director shall establish by rule the amount of security,
      if any, to accompany a bid or as a condition precedent to the
      awarding of any contract and the circumstances under which a security
      will be returned to the bidder or forfeited to the state.
         8.  The director shall adopt rules providing a method for the
      various state agencies to file with the department a list of those
      supplies, equipment, machines, and all items needed to properly
      perform their governmental duties and functions.
         9.  The director shall furnish a list of specifications, prices,
      and discounts of contract items to any governmental subdivision which
      shall be responsible for payment to the vendor under the terms and
      conditions outlined in the state contract.
         10. a.  The director shall adopt rules providing that any
      state agency may, upon request, purchase directly from a vendor if
      the direct purchasing is as economical or more economical than
      purchasing through the department, or upon a showing that direct
      purchasing by the state agency would be in the best interests of the
      state due to an immediate or emergency need.  The rules shall include
      a provision permitting a state agency to purchase directly from a
      vendor, on the agency's own authority, if the purchase will not
      exceed ten thousand dollars and the purchase will contribute to the
      agency complying with or exceeding the targeted small business
      procurement goals under sections 73.15 through 73.21.
         b.  Any member of the executive council may bring before the
      executive council for review a decision of the director granting a
      state agency request for direct purchasing.  The executive council
      shall hear and review the director's decision in the same manner as
      an appeal filed by an aggrieved bidder, except that the three-day
      period for filing for review shall not apply.
         11. a.  When the estimated total cost of construction,
      erection, demolition, alteration, or repair of a public improvement
      exceeds the competitive bid threshold in section 26.3, or as
      established in section 314.1B, the department shall comply with
      chapter 26.
         b.  In awarding a contract under this subsection, the
      department shall let the work to the lowest responsible bidder
      submitting a sealed proposal.  However, if the department considers
      the bids received not to be acceptable, all bids may be rejected and
      new bids requested.  A bid shall be accompanied by a certified or
      cashier's check or bid bond in an amount designated in the
      advertisement for bids as security that the bidder will enter into a
      contract for the work requested.  The department shall establish the
      bid security in an amount equal to at least five percent, but not
      more than ten percent of the estimated total cost of the work.  The
      certified or cashier's checks or bid bonds of unsuccessful bidders
      shall be returned as soon as the successful bidder is determined.
      The certified or cashier's check or bid bond of the successful bidder
      shall be returned upon execution of the contract.  This subsection
      does not apply to the construction, erection, demolition, alteration,
      or repair of a public improvement when the contracting procedure for
      the work requested is otherwise provided for in law.
         12.  The state and its political subdivisions shall give
      preference to purchasing Iowa products and purchasing from Iowa-based
      businesses if the bids submitted are comparable in price to those
      submitted by other bidders and meet the required specifications.
         13.  The director shall adopt rules which require that each bid
      received for the purchase of items purchased by the department
      includes a product content statement which provides the percentage of
      the content of the item which is reclaimed material.
         14.  The director shall review and, where necessary, revise
      specifications used by state agencies to procure products in order to
      ensure all of the following:
         a.  The procurement of products containing recovered
      materials, including but not limited to lubricating oils, retread
      tires, building insulation materials, and recovered materials from
      waste tires.  The specifications shall be revised if they restrict
      the use of alternative materials, exclude recovered materials, or
      require performance standards which exclude products containing
      recovered materials unless the agency seeking the product can
      document that the use of recovered materials will hamper the intended
      use of the product.
         b.  The procurement by state agencies of bio-based hydraulic
      fluids, greases, and other industrial lubricants manufactured from
      soybeans in accordance with the requirements of section 8A.316.
         c.  The procurement of designated biobased products in
      accordance with the requirements of section 8A.317.
         15. a.  A bidder awarded a state construction contract shall
      disclose the names of all subcontractors, who will work on the
      project being bid, within forty-eight hours after the award of the
      contract.
         b.  If a subcontractor named by a bidder awarded a state
      construction contract is replaced, or if the cost of work to be done
      by a subcontractor is reduced, the bidder shall disclose the name of
      the new subcontractor or the amount of the reduced cost.
         16.  A state agency shall make every effort to purchase those
      products produced for sale by sheltered workshops, work activity
      centers, and other special programs funded in whole or in part by
      public moneys that employ persons with mental retardation or other
      developmental disabilities or mental illness if the products meet the
      required specifications.
         17.  A state agency shall make every effort to purchase products
      produced for sale by employers of persons in supported employment.
         18.  The department shall not award a contract to a bidder for a
      construction, reconstruction, demolition, or repair project or
      improvement with an estimated cost that exceeds twenty-five thousand
      dollars in which the bid requires the use of inmate labor supplied by
      the department of corrections, but not employed by private industry
      pursuant to section 904.809, to perform the project or improvement.
         19.  Life cycle cost and energy efficiency shall be included in
      the criteria used by the department, institutions under the control
      of the state board of regents, the state department of
      transportation, the department for the blind, and other state
      agencies in developing standards and specifications for purchasing
      energy-consuming products.  For purposes of this subsection, the life
      cycle costs of American motor vehicles shall be reduced by five
      percent in order to determine if the motor vehicle is comparable to
      foreign-made motor vehicles.  "American motor vehicles" includes
      those vehicles manufactured in this state and those vehicles in which
      at least seventy percent of the value of the motor vehicle was
      manufactured in the United States or Canada and at least fifty
      percent of the motor vehicle sales of the manufacturer are in the
      United States or Canada.  In determining the life cycle costs of a
      motor vehicle, the costs shall be determined on the basis of the bid
      price, the resale value, and the operating costs based upon a useable
      life of five years or seventy-five thousand miles, whichever occurs
      first.
         20.  Preference shall be given to purchasing American-made
      products and purchases from American-based businesses if the life
      cycle costs are comparable to those products of foreign businesses
      and which most adequately fulfill the department's need.
         21. a.  The director may authorize the procurement of goods
      and services in which a contractual limitation of vendor liability is
      provided for and set forth in the documents initiating the
      procurement.  The director, in consultation with the department of
      management, shall adopt rules setting forth the circumstances in
      which such procurement will be permitted and what types of
      contractual limitations of liability are permitted.  Rules adopted by
      the director shall establish criteria to be considered in making a
      determination of whether to permit a contractual limitation of vendor
      liability with regard to any procurement of goods and services.  The
      criteria, at a minimum, shall include all of the following:
         (1)  Whether authorizing a contractual limitation of vendor
      liability is necessary to prevent harm to the state from a failure to
      obtain the goods or services sought, or from obtaining the goods or
      services at a higher price if the state refuses to allow a
      contractual limitation of vendor liability.
         (2)  Whether the contractual limitation of vendor liability is
      commercially reasonable when taking into account any risk to the
      state created by the goods or services to be procured and the purpose
      for which they will be used.
         b.  Notwithstanding paragraph "a", a contractual
      limitation of vendor liability shall not include any limitation on
      the liability of any vendor for intentional torts, criminal acts, or
      fraudulent conduct.
         c.  The rules shall provide for the negotiation of a
      contractual limitation of vendor liability consistent with the
      requirements of this section and any other requirements of the
      department as provided in any related documents associated with a
      procurement of goods and services.
         22. a.  The state, through the department, shall give a
      preference to purchasing equipment, supplies, or services from or
      awarding public improvement contracts pursuant to subsection 11 to an
      Iowa-based business as provided under paragraph "b", as
      appropriate, if the bid submitted is comparable in price to those
      submitted by other bidders and meets the required specifications.
      However, before giving the preference, the department shall confirm
      with the Iowa employer support of the guard and reserve committee
      that the requirements of paragraph "b" have been met by the
      Iowa-based business.
         b.  To receive a preference as provided by this subsection,
      the Iowa-based business employer shall have adopted policies beyond
      those otherwise required by law to support employees who are officers
      or enlisted persons in the national guard and organized reserves of
      the armed forces of the United States consistent with standards
      adopted by the Iowa employer support of the guard and reserve
      committee.  To be eligible for such preference, an employer shall
      submit to the committee a copy of the applicable policies adopted by
      the employer and shall sign and submit to the committee a statement
      of support of persons in the employ of the employer who serve in the
      national guard and the reserves, recognizing the vital role of the
      national guard and the reserves, and pledging all of the following:
         (1)  To neither deny employment nor limit or reduce job
      opportunities because of an employee's service in the national guard
      or organized reserves of the armed forces of the United States.
         (2)  To grant leaves of absence during a period of military duty
      or training.
         (3)  To ensure that all employees are aware of the employer's
      policies and the requirements of section 29A.43.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2003 Acts, ch 145, §30; 2004 Acts, ch 1101, §5; 2005 Acts, ch 52,
      §3; 2005 Acts, ch 100, §1; 2006 Acts, ch 1017, §16, 42; 2006 Acts, ch
      1072, §3; 2007 Acts, ch 115, §6, 18; 2007 Acts, ch 207, §1, 18; 2007
      Acts, ch 215, §79; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §201; 2008 Acts, ch 1104, §1
         Referred to in § 8A.317, 8A.321, 216B.3, 262.9, 303.9, 307.21,
      459.505
         Preferences; see also chapter 73, §73A.21