Utah State Bulletin, January 15, 2012, Vol. 2012, No. 2

DAR File No. 35613NOTICES OF PROPOSED RULES(b) after any discussions have commenced under section3-116(5) (procedure for Phase One of Multi- Step Sealed Bidding,Discussion of Unpriced Technical Offers); or(c) when responding to any amendment of the Invitationfor Bids. Otherwise mistakes may be corrected or withdrawalpermitted in accordance with section 3-111.3-118 Carrying Out Phase Two.(1) Initiation. Upon the completion of phase one, theprocurement officer shall either:(a) open price bids submitted in phase one from bidderswhose unpriced technical offers were found to be acceptable;provided, however, that the offers have remained unchanged, andthe Invitation for Bids has not been amended; or(b) invite each acceptable bidder to submit a price bid.(2) Conduct. Phase two is to be conducted as any othercompetitive sealed bid procurement except:(a) as specifically set forth in section 3-114 throughsection 3-120 of these rules; and(b) no public notice need be given of this invitation tosubmit.3-119 Procuring Governmental Produced Supplies orServices.Purchasing agency requirements may be fulfilled byprocuring supplies produced or services performed incident toprograms such as industries of correctional or other governmentalinstitutions. The procurement officer shall determine whether thesupplies or services meet the purchasing agency's requirements andwhether the price represents a fair market value for the supplies orservices. If it is determined that the requirements cannot thus bemet or the price is not fair and reasonable, the procurement may bemade from the private sector in accordance with the UtahProcurement Code. When procurements are made from othergovernmental agencies, the private sector need not be solicited tocompete against them.3-120 Purchase of Items Separately from ConstructionContract.The procurement officer is authorized to determinewhether a supply item or group of supply items shall be included asa part of, or procured separately from, any contract for construction.3-121 Exceptions to Competitive Sealed Bid Process.(1) The Chief Procurement Officer, head of a purchasingagency or designee may utilize alternative procurement methods topurchase items such as the following when determined to be morepracticable or advantageous to the state.(a) Used vehicles(b) Livestock(2) Alternative procurement methods including informalprice quotations and direct negotiations may be used by the ChiefProcurement Officer, head of the purchasing agency or designee forthe following:(a) Hotel conference facilities and services(b) Speaker honorariums(3) Subject to the provisions of Section 63F-1-205,testing of new technology for a duration not to exceed themaximum time necessary to evaluate the technology may bepermitted. Public notice of the test and testing period shall beconducted under R33-3-4. Unless otherwise approved by the chiefprocurement officer or head of a purchasing agency, in no eventshall a contract entered into under this part or any testing periodexceed twelve consecutive months. Upon conclusion of the testperiod:(a) a determination has been made by the acquiringagency that the new technology is not advantageous to the acquiringagency; or(b) an open procurement shall be conducted under theserules.[(3)](4) Documentation of the alternative procurementmethod utilized shall be part of the contract file.3-130 Reverse Auctions.(1) Definition. In accordance with Utah Code AnnotatedSection 63G-6-402 a "reverse auction" means a process where:(a) contracts are awarded in a open and interactiveenvironment, which may include the use of electronic media; and(b) bids are opened and made public immediately, andbidders given opportunity to submit revised, lower bids, until thebidding process is complete.(2) Reverse auction is a two-phase process consisting of atechnical first phase composed of one or more steps in whichbidders submit unpriced technical offers to be evaluated against theestablished criteria by the purchasing agency, and a second phase inwhich those bidders whose technical offers are determined to beacceptable during the first phase submit their price bids through areverse auction.(3) Use. The reverse auction method will be used whenthe procurement officer deems it to the advantage of the purchasingagency.3-131 Pre-Bid Conferences in Reverse Auctions.Prior to the submission of unpriced technical offers, a prebidconference as contemplated by section 3-106 may be conductedby the procurement officer. The procurement officer may also holda conference of all bidders in accordance with section 3-106 at anytime during the evaluation of the unpriced technical offers, or toexplain the reverse auction process.3-132 Procedure for Phase One of Reverse Auctions.(1) Form. A reverse auction shall be initiated by theissuance of an Invitation for Bids in the form required by section 3-101. In addition to the requirements set forth in section 3-101, thereverse auction Invitation for Bids shall state:(a) that unpriced technical offers are requested;(b) that it is a reverse auction procurement, and pricedbids will be considered only in the second phase and only fromthose bidders whose unpriced technical offers are found acceptablein the first phase;(c) the criteria to be used in the evaluation of the unpricedtechnical offers;(d) that the purchasing agency, to the extent theprocurement officer finds necessary, may conduct oral or writtendiscussions of the unpriced technical offers;(e) that bidders may designate those portions of theunpriced technical offers which contain trade secrets or otherproprietary data which are to remain confidential; and(f) the manner which the second phase reverse auctionwill be conducted.(2) Amendments to the Invitation for Bids. After receiptof unpriced technical offers, amendments to the Invitation for Bidsshall be distributed only to bidders who submitted unpricedtechnical offers and they shall be allowed to submit new unpricedtechnical offers or to amend those submitted. If, in the opinion ofUTAH STATE BULLETIN, January 15, 2012, Vol. 2012, No. 2 11