THE SOLICITATION
PROCESS
POSTING, EVALUATING AND AWARDING
POSTING REQUIREMENTS
• Gov’t Code §2155.083 describes Electronic State
Business Daily (ESBD) posting requirements
• Any procurement over $25K must be posted in the ESBD.
• Posting must include:
Brief description of goods/services
Date for submission of bids/proposals
Estimated quantity of goods/services to be procured
If applicable, previous price paid by the state for the same
goods/services
• Estimated date the goods/services will be needed
• State employee responsible for the bid and their contact
information
•
•
•
•
POSTING TIME
• If the agency provides “the entire bid or solicitation
package” in the posted materials, the solicitation notice
can be posted for 14 calendar days.
• If bidders/respondents must go elsewhere to obtain
some or all of the material necessary to respond to the
bid, then the package must be posted for 21 calendar
days.
• Postings may only be placed on ESBD by authorized
purchasers and registered agents.
• IF THE POSTING TIMES ARE NOT MET . . . THE
CONTRACT/AWARD IS VOID. Gov’t Code §2155.083(j)
• Note – 2155.083 does not apply to state universities.
OTHER POSTING
TYPES/REQUIREMENTS
• Gov’t Code §2156.002 gives notice requirements for IFBs – seven
days in a “newspaper of general circulation in the state.” Best not
to use this unless you’re sure §2155.083 does not apply.
• “Consulting services” of $15,000 or more ($25K for universities)
under Gov’t Code Ch. 2254, subchapter B must be published in
the Texas Register 30 days prior to “entering the contract”. Gov’t
Code §2254.029
• Texas Counties post pursuant to Tx. Local Gov’t Code §§262.025 –
262.0255: published in a “newspaper of general circulation in the
county” for 14 days.
• Cities posting requirements governed by Tx. Local Gov’t Code
§252.041: notice must be “in a newspaper published in the
municipality” for 14 days. If no such newspaper, then it must be
posted at City Hall for 14 days.
• Universities’ notice requirements much less specific – under their
own rules or “as directed by the board” for construction projects
(Ed. Code §51.783(e)).
CENTRALIZED MASTER BIDDER’S LIST
• The CMBL is a database of vendors registered to provide
specific goods or services.
• Procurement Manual states that “the CMBL is to be used
for all available procurement processes . . . to the fullest
extent possible by state agencies that make purchases
exempt from CPA purchasing authority” and “must be
used for all procurements subject to CPA’s procurement
authority” unless exempt under other law.
• With approval from their E.D. agencies may supplement
the CMBL to enhance competition where using only the
CMBL “is not in the best interests of the state,” for
example, some showing that supplementation will
increase competition, or increase number of HUB
bidders.
RECEIVING BIDS/PROPOSALS
• Be careful to make sure proposals are logged in
and tracked to ensure compliance with submittal
timelines, etc.
• Review solicitation package for all required
elements – make sure the HUB Subcontracting Plan
is included if one was required. New HUB rules allow
minor deficiencies (absent signature, for example)
to be corrected after submission.
EVALUATION
• The time to arrive at an evaluation strategy is actually
well before bids are received, possibly even before the
RFP is posted.
• Items to consider:
• Is it a complex task to determine whether the bidders have
met the published specifications and requirements?
• Are there components where the evaluation criteria require
some exercise of judgment to determine “best value”?
• Are there multiple users/customers whose opinions could
matter as to which product or service provider should be
selected?
• If the answer to one or more of these questions is “yes”,
you might consider a team evaluation approach.
EVALUATION TEAMS
• Best approach is to pick a manageable number of
evaluators (more than two, less than ten).
• Each member of the team should be required to
sign a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”). The NDA
can be combined with the required SAO nepotism
form for signature.
• Set up the first meeting of the evaluation team make sure you get NDAs from all evaluators before
they leave with bid materials.
• At the first meeting, give evaluators guidance on
how to perform their review, and “do’s and don’ts”
of being an evaluator.
EVALUATION TEAM SCORING
• Prepare a scoring matrix that will give a fair comparison
of the RFP/RFO requirements and the bidders’ strengths
and weaknesses, and make sure the matrix matches up
well with what you said in the RFP/RFO about how
bidders would be scored.
• As part of the kickoff meeting, walk the evaluators
through the scoring matrix, give them your expectations
for scoring, and answer questions.
• Give the evaluators a timeframe when their scoring is
due, then collect and tabulate the scores.
• Make sure to track the response packages to ensure no
gaps in the process.
• If there are statistical outliers, you may want to consider
a “recalibration” meeting.
BAFO, BARFO, AND SO ON…
• It may be beneficial to the process to ask vendors to
submit a “best and final offer” or BAFO. It helps to
mention the possibility of a BAFO in the RFP/RFO, so
vendors are not surprised when they get one.
• The BAFO should only be on price. If you allow
modifications/resubmission on technical criteria, you
may not be comparing apples to apples on the
technical scores.
• Give vendors a specific timeframe and parameters for
the BAFO responses.
• It may be necessary in rare cases to ask for “best and
really final offers” or BARFO. Generally we have only
done this when we decide to drop certain criteria from
the solicitation and we want to gauge how much that
would save.
EXCEPTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS
• Respondents will often take “exceptions” to parts of the
bid/proposal specifications or the terms or conditions of
the solicitation.
• Respondents may also make “assumptions” about how
the work is to be carried out in their response.
• These issues must be worked out prior to award;
otherwise you may not be comparing the respondents
on equal proposals.
• If an exception or assumption is fundamental enough
that it affects how respondents structure their proposal,
you may need to issue a new solicitation to allow ALL
respondents to clarify their proposals consistent with the
new published specifications.
TIE BIDS & PREFERENCES
• In the unlikely event that there are two or more bids
that are equal after all the evaluation and price
scoring, the foremost method for breaking these ties
is through use of preferences.
• Preferences are listed in statute and discussed at
length in the Procurement Manual. There is even a
priority for which preferences take precedence
over others.
• Note that while some preferences are product-type
specific, and affect what you solicit for, others are
vendor-specific and those are generally used to
break tie bids.
TPASS PREFERENCE ATTACHMENT
RFP No. _________
PREFERENCES
Identify the preferences for which you qualify:
 Goods produced or offered by a Texas bidder that is owned by a Texas resident service-disabled veteran
 Goods produced in Texas or offered by a Texas bidder that is not owned by a Texas resident servicedisabled veteran
 Agricultural products grown in Texas
 Agricultural products offered by a Texas bidder
 Services offered by a Texas bidder that is owned by a Texas resident service-disabled veteran
 Services offered by a Texas bidder that is not owned by a Texas resident service disabled veteran
 Texas Vegetation Native to the Region
 USA produced supplies, materials or equipment
 Products of persons with mental or physical disabilities
 Products made of recycled, remanufactured, or environmentally sensitive materials including recycled steel
 Energy Efficient Products
 Rubberized asphalt paving material
 Recycled motor oil and lubricants
 Products produced at facilities located on formerly contaminated property
 Products and services from economically depressed or blighted areas
 Vendors that meet or exceed air quality standards
 Recycled or Reused Computer Equipment of Other Manufacturers
 Foods of Higher Nutritional Value
AWARD
• Different philosophies for award. In TPASS, all award
letters contain any final negotiated terms that differ from
the RFP.
• As specified in the RFP, the “order of priorities” listed in
the award letter controls over everything else, so any
agreed exceptions, negotiated points and the like will
be found in the award letter only.
• Award letters must always be signed by the appropriate
authorized person (CTPM or ED if required).
• Always check vendor status against EPLS before making
an award. It is rare to get a “hit” but it has happened.
EPLS has been difficult lately, but back up and operating
currently.
QUESTIONS?
David Duncan – Deputy General Counsel
Tx. Comptroller of Public Accounts
(512) 463-9482
Manuel Perez, CTPM – Technical Lead,
Statewide Procurement
Tx. Comptroller of Public Accounts
(512) 463-2469