2006 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 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.
History: 2002 c 254 s 4; 2005 c 78 s 5; 2005 c 156 art 2 s 29