§ 11-35-1550 — Small purchase procedures; when competitive bidding required.

(1) Authority. The following small purchase procedures may be utilized only in conducting procurements for governmental bodies that are up to the amounts specified herein, but not in excess of the authority granted pursuant to Section 11-35-1210. Procurement requirements must not be artificially divided by governmental bodies so as to constitute a small purchase pursuant to this section. (2) Competition and Price Reasonableness. (a) No Competition. Small purchases not exceeding ten thousand dollars may be accomplished without securing competitive quotations if the prices are considered reasonable. The purchasing office must annotate the purchase requisition: "Price is fair and reasonable" and sign. The purchases must be distributed equitably among qualified suppliers. When practical, a quotation must be solicited from other than the previous supplier before placing a repeat order. The administrative cost of verifying the reasonableness of the price of purchase "not in excess of" may more than offset potential savings in detecting instances of overpricing. Action to verify the reasonableness of the price need be taken only when the procurement officer of the governmental body suspects that the price may not be reasonable, comparison to previous price paid, or personal knowledge of the item involved. (b) Three Written Quotes. Written request for written quotes from a minimum of three qualified sources of supply may be made and, unless adequate public notice is provided in the South Carolina Business Opportunities, documentation of at least three bona fide, responsive, and responsible quotes must be attached to the purchase requisition for a small purchase not in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars, or for a small purchase of commercially available off-the-shelf products not in excess of one hundred thousand dollars, or for a small purchase of construction not in excess of one hundred thousand dollars. The award must be made to the lowest responsive and responsible sources. The request for quotes must include a purchase description. Requests must be distributed equitably among qualified supplies unless advertised as provided above. (c) Advertised Small Purchase. Written solicitation of written quotes, bids, or proposals may be made for a small purchase, other than a small purchase of construction, not in excess of one hundred thousand dollars. The procurement must be advertised at least once in the South Carolina Business Opportunities publication. A copy of the written solicitation and written quotes must be attached to the purchase requisition. The award must be made to the lowest responsive and responsible source or, when a request for proposal process is used, the highest ranking offeror. (3) Advertising Threshold. Except for procurements of either commercially available off-the-shelf products or construction, if conducted pursuant to item (2)(b), all competitive procurements above twenty-five thousand dollars must be advertised at least once in the South Carolina Business Opportunities publication. Governmental bodies may charge vendors the cost incurred for copying and mailing bid or proposal documents requested in response to a procurement. (4) The Division of Aeronautics of the Department of Commerce may act as its own purchasing agency for all procurements of maintenance services for aircraft and these procurements may be conducted pursuant to subsection (2)(b).

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1981 Act No. 148, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 178, SECTION 23; 1993 Act No. 164, Part II, SECTION 11A; 1997 Act No. 153, SECTION 1; 2006 Act No. 376, SECTION 29; 2011 Act No. 74, Pt V, SECTION 6, eff August 1, 2011; 2019 Act No. 41 (S.530), SECTION 25, eff May 13, 2019. Editor's Note 2019 Act No. 41, SECTION 80, provides as follows: "SECTION 80. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to solicitations issued after that date." Effect of Amendment The 2011 amendment, in subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b), in the second sentences, inserted "Except as provided in subitem (d) below,"; added subsection (2)(d) relating to institutions of higher learning and purchases not exceeding ten thousand dollars; in subsection (4), substituted "subsection (2)(b)" for "Section 11-35-1550"; and added subsection (5) relating to technical colleges and purchases not exceeding ten thousand dollars. 2019 Act No. 41, SECTION 25, rewrote the section.