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

DAR File No. 35613NOTICES OF PROPOSED RULES(2) Determinations.(a) Except as provided in Section 63G-6-408 of the UtahProcurement Code, before a solicitation may be issued forcompetitive sealed proposals, the procurement officer shalldetermine in writing that competitive sealed proposals is a moreappropriate method for contracting than competitive sealed bidding.(b) The procurement officer may make determinations bycategory of supply, service, or construction item rather than byindividual procurement. Procurement of the types of supplies,services, or construction so designated may then be made bycompetitive sealed proposals without making the determinationcompetitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or notadvantageous. The officer who made the determination may modifyor revoke it at any time and the determination should be reviewedfor current applicability from time to time.(3) Professional Services. For procurement ofprofessional services, whenever practicable, the competitive sealedproposal process shall be used. Examples of professional servicesgenerally best procured through the RFP process are accounting andauditing, court reporters, x-ray technicians, legal, medical, nursing,education, actuarial, veterinarians, and research. The procurementofficer will make the determination. Architecture and engineeringprofessional services are to be procured in compliance with R33-5-510.3-202 Content of the Request for Proposals.The Request for Proposals shall be prepared in accordancewith section 3-101 provided that it shall also include:(a) a statement that discussions may be conducted withofferors who submit proposals determined to be reasonablysusceptible of being selected for award, but that proposals may beaccepted without discussions; and(b) a statement of when and how price should besubmitted.3-203 Proposal Preparation Time.Proposal preparation time shall be set to provide offerors areasonable time to prepare their proposals. A minimum of 10calendar days shall be provided unless a shorter time is deemednecessary for a particular procurement as determined in writing bythe procurement officer.3-204 Form of Proposal.The manner in which proposals are to be submitted,including any forms for that purpose, may be designated as a part ofthe Request for Proposals.3-204.1 Protected Records.The following are protected records and will be redactedsubject to the procedures described below. From any publicdisclosure of records as allowed by the Governmental RecordsAccess and Management Act (GRAMA) Title 63G, Chapter 2 ofthe Utah Code. The protections below apply to the variousprocurement records including records submitted by offerors andtheir subcontractors or consultants at any tier.(a) Trade Secrets. Trade Secrets, as defined in Section13-24-2, will be protected and not be subject to public disclosure ifthe procedures of R33-3-204.2 are met.(b) Certain commercial information or nonindividualfinancial information. Commercial information or nonindividualfinancial information subject to the provisions of Section 63G-2-305(2) will be a protected record and not be subject to publicdisclosure if the procedures of R33-3-204.2 are met.(c) Other Protected Records under GRAMA. There willbe no public disclosure of other submitted records that are subject tonon-disclosure or being a protected record under a GRAMA statuteprovided that the requirements of R33-3-204.2 are met unlessGRAMA requires such nondisclosure without any preconditions.3-204.2 Process For Requesting Non-Disclosure. Anyperson (firm) who believes that a record should be protected underR33-3-204.1 shall include with their proposal or submitteddocument:(a) a written indication of which provisions of thesubmittal(s) are claimed to be considered for businessconfidentiality (including trade secret or other reason for nondisclosureunder GRAMA; and(b) a concise statement of reasons supporting eachclaimed provision of business confidentiality.3-204.3 Notification. The person who complies withR33-3-204.2 shall be notified by the governmental entity prior tothe public release of any information for which businessconfidentiality has been asserted.3.204.4 Non-Disclosure and Dispute Process. Except asprovided by court order, the governmental entity to whom therequest for a record is made under GRAMA, may not disclose arecord claimed to be protected under R33-3- 204.1 but which thegovernmental entity or State Records Committee determines shouldbe disclosed until the period in which to bring an appeal expires orthe end of the appeals process, including judicial appeal. This R33-3-204-4 does not apply where the claimant, after notice, has waivedthe claim by not appealing or intervening before the recordscommittee. To the extent provided by law, the parties to a disputeregarding the release of a record may agree in writing to analternative dispute resolution process.3-204.5 Timing of Public Disclosure. Any allowedpublic disclosure of records submitted in the competitive sealedproposal process will only be made after the selection of thesuccessful offeror(s) has been made public.3-205 Public Notice.Public notice shall be given by distributing the Requestfor Proposals in the same manner provided for distributing anInvitation for Bids under section 3-104.3-206 Pre-Proposal Conferences.Pre-proposal conferences may be conducted in accordancewith section 3-106. Any conference should be held prior tosubmission of initial proposals.3-207 Amendments to Request for Proposals.Amendments to the Request for Proposals may be madein accordance with section 3-107 prior to submission of proposals.After submission of proposals, amendments to the Request forProposals shall be distributed only to offerors who submittedproposals and they shall be allowed to submit new proposals or toamend those submitted. An amendment to the Request forProposals may be issued through a request for submission of Bestand Final Offers. If, in the opinion of the procurement officer, acontemplated amendment will significantly change the nature of theprocurement, the Request for Proposals shall be canceled and a newRequest for Proposals issued.3-208 Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals.Proposals may be modified or withdrawn prior to theestablished due date in accordance with section 3-108. For thepurposes of this section and section 3-209, the established due dateUTAH STATE BULLETIN, January 15, 2012, Vol. 2012, No. 2 13