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 in a manner that is clear and authenticated by an authorized representative of the responder. An alteration or erasure may be crossed out and the correction printed in ink or typewritten adjacent to it and initialed by an authorized representative of the responder.
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; 2005 c 78 s 5; 2005 c 156 art 2 s 29
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes