                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PROCESS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING (§ 2.2-4302.1)

The process for competitive sealed bidding shall include the following:

1. Issuance of a written Invitation to Bid containing or incorporating by
reference the specifications and contractual terms and conditions applicable to
the procurement. Unless the public body has provided for prequalification of
bidders, the Invitation to Bid shall include a statement of any requisite
qualifications of potential contractors. Any locality may include in the
Invitation to Bid criteria that may be used in determining whether a bidder who
is not prequalified by the Virginia Department of Transportation is a
responsible bidder pursuant to &#xA7; 2.2-4301. Such criteria may include a
history or good faith assurances of (i) completion by the bidder and any
potential subcontractors of specified safety training programs established by
the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
(ii) participation by the bidder and any potential subcontractors in
apprenticeship training programs approved by state agencies or the U.S.
Department of Labor; or (iii) maintenance by the bidder and any potential
subcontractors of records of compliance with applicable local, state, and
federal laws. No Invitation to Bid for construction services shall condition a
successful bidder&#8217;s eligibility on having a specified experience
modification factor. When it is impractical to prepare initially a purchase
description to support an award based on prices, an Invitation to Bid may be
issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by an
Invitation to Bid limited to those bidders whose offers have been qualified
under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation;

2. Public notice of the Invitation to Bid at least 10 days prior to the date set
for receipt of bids by posting on the Department of General Services&#8217;
central electronic procurement website or other appropriate websites. In
addition, public bodies may publish in a newspaper of general circulation.
Posting on the Department of General Services&#8217; central electronic
procurement website shall be required of any state public body. Local public
bodies are encouraged to utilize the Department of General Services&#8217;
central electronic procurement website to provide the public with centralized
visibility and access to the Commonwealth&#8217;s procurement opportunities. In
addition, bids may be solicited directly from potential contractors. Any
additional solicitations shall include certified businesses selected from a list
made available by the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity;

3. Public opening and announcement of all bids received;

4. Evaluation of bids based upon the requirements set forth in the Invitation to
Bid, which may include special qualifications of potential contractors,
life-cycle costing, value analysis, and any other criteria such as inspection,
testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular
purpose, which are helpful in determining acceptability; and

5. Award to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. When the terms and
conditions of multiple awards are so provided in the Invitation to Bid, awards
may be made to more than one bidder.
			For the purposes of subdivision 1, &#8220;experience modification
factor&#8221; means a value assigned to an employer as determined by a rate
service organization in accordance with its uniform experience rating plan
required to be filed pursuant to subsection D of &#xA7; 38.2-1913.

HISTORY: 2013, cc. 482, 583; 2016, c. 754; 2020, cc. 176, 1089.