2003 Minnesota Statutes

     16C.28 Contracts; award. 

    Subdivision 1.    Lowest responsible bidder.  All state 
 building and construction contracts entered into by or under the 
 supervision of the commissioner or an agency for which 
 competitive bids are required must be awarded to the lowest 
 responsible bidder, taking into consideration conformity with 
 the specifications, terms of delivery, the purpose for which the 
 contract is intended, the status and capability of the vendor, 
 and other considerations imposed in the call for bids.  The 
 commissioner may decide which is the lowest responsible bidder 
 for all contracts and may use the principles of life cycle 
 costing, where appropriate, in determining the lowest overall 
 bid.  The head of the interested agency shall make the decision, 
 subject to the approval of the commissioner.  Any or all bids 
 may be rejected.  In a case where competitive bids are required 
 and where all bids are rejected, new bids, if solicited, must be 
 called for as in the first instance, unless otherwise provided 
 by law. 

    Subd. 2.    Alterations and erasures.  A bid containing 
 an alteration or erasure of any price contained in the bid which 
 is used in determining the lowest responsible bid must be 
 rejected unless the alteration or erasure is corrected under 
 this subdivision.  An alteration or erasure may be crossed out 
 and the correction printed in ink or typewritten adjacent to it 
 and initialed in ink by the person signing the bid. 

    Subd. 3.    Special circumstances.  The commissioner may 
 reject the bid of any bidder who has failed to perform a 
 previous contract with the state.  In the case of identical low 
 bids from two or more bidders, the commissioner may use 
 negotiated procurement methods with the tied low bidders for 
 that particular transaction so long as the price paid does not 
 exceed the low tied bid price.  The commissioner may award 
 contracts to more than one bidder in accordance with subdivision 
 1, if doing so does not decrease the service level or diminish 
 the effect of competition. 

    Subd. 4.    Record.  A record must be kept of all bids, 
 including names of bidders, amounts of bids, and each successful 
 bid.  This record is open to public inspection. 

    Subd. 5.    Preferences not cumulative.  The preferences 
 under sections 16B.121, 16C.06, subdivision 7, and 16C.16 apply, 
 but are not cumulative.  The total percentage of preference 
 granted on a contract may not exceed the highest percentage of 
 preference allowed for that contract under any one of those 
 sections. 

    HIST: 2002 c 254 s 4