§ 54-44.4-05 — Competitive, limited competitive, noncompetitive, and negotiated purchases - Exempt records

North Dakota § 54-44.4-05

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 54: State Government
• Ch. 54-44.4: State Purchasing Practices

Text

purchases - Exempt records.
1. Except as otherwise provided in sections 12-48-03.1 and 44-08-01, chapter 25-16.2,
and this chapter, purchasing contracts must be awarded through a competitive bidding
process to the lowest responsible bidder considering conformity with specifications
and terms of delivery, unless it is advantageous to the state to select a contractor
through a request for a competitive proposal process pursuant to section 54-44.4-10.
Notwithstanding this section, the director of the office of management and budget or
the director's designee may determine a different procurement process is in the best
interest of the state and shall document the circumstances, procurement process, and
basis for contract award in the procurement file.
2. The procurement officer may reject any or all bids or proposals or negotiate for a lower
price with a successful bidder or offeror. Each bid or proposal received, with the name
of the bidder or offeror, must be recorded. The office of management and budget may
enter into term contracts for the acquisition of commodities or services and may make
multiple awards for term commodity or service contracts when it deems a multiple
award to be in the best interests of the state.
3. All bids and proposals received under this chapter pursuant to a competitive
solicitation are exempt records under subsection 5 of section 44-04-17.1 except as
otherwise provided under subsection 6 of section 44-04-18.4.
4. The office of management and budget shall adopt rules specifying the circumstances
under which competition may be waived or limited, when negotiation may be used,
and specifying the required justifications and procedures for using those methods of
purchasing. The office of management and budget shall adopt rules related to sending
notice of intent to make limited competitive, noncompetitive, and negotiated purchases
in accordance with this chapter. The notice must describe the needed commodity or
service and the intended procurement method and must state that persons are
permitted to submit bids or proposals for contracts to be awarded under this section.
The circumstances that may permit limited competitive, noncompetitive, or negotiated
purchases include:
a. The commodity or service is available from only one source.
b. The commodity or service is to be purchased for experimentation or trial.
c. No acceptable bid or proposal was received pursuant to a competitive bidding or
competitive proposal process.
d. Commodities are being purchased for over-the-counter resale.
e. Acceptable commodities or services produced or provided by prison industries
under section 12-48-03.1, other government agencies, or a work activity center
as defined in section 25-16.2-01.
f. The anticipated cost of purchasing specified commodities or services is less than
an amount determined by the office of management and budget which would
justify the expense of a competitive bidding or competitive proposal process.
g. A used commodity is advantageous to the state and the commodity is available
only on short notice.
h. The commodity is a component or replacement part for which there is no
commercially available substitute and which can be obtained only from the
manufacturer.
i. Compatibility with equipment currently owned by the state is essential to the
proper functioning of that equipment.
j. The agency provides documentation indicating that the services or the
circumstances are of such a nature that deviation from the procurement
procedure is appropriate.
k. Recurring support costs associated with implemented information technology
solutions, including licensing, service agreements, maintenance, and
subscriptions for software as a service, platform as a service, and infrastructure
as a service. This includes recurring costs for software or firmware required for
proper functioning of currently owned equipment.

l. Contracts for specialized equipment, machinery, and materials required for
manufacturing, production, and distribution by the North Dakota mill and elevator
association under section 54-18-02 or prison industries under section 12-48-03.1.
m. Purchases of copyrighted printed and electronic books, periodicals, subscriptions
to publications, subscriptions to information services, prerecorded audio and
video materials, state library materials, and state library online resources,
including purchases for libraries operated by state agencies, institutions of higher
education, and other public libraries.