Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 21, May 23, 2024
Section 148-1-4 - Authority of Director; Buyer QualificationsThe Director shall:
4.1. Ensure that purchases and contracts for commodities, services or printing are based on competitive bid, unless it is determined that the purchase qualifies for another procurement method authorized by Chapter 5A, Article 3 of the West Virginia Code and that procurement method is determined to be in the best interest of the spending unit and the State. The Director may allow a direct purchase without competitive bidding as follows:4.1.1. A direct award procurement described in W. Va. Code § 5A-3-10c and Section 7.5 of these Rules;4.1.2. An emergency procurement described in W. Va. Code § 5A-3-15 and Section 7.6.1 of these rules;4.1.3. A purchase that falls below the agency's established no bid threshold described in W. Va. Code § 5A-3-11 and Section 7.2.1 of these rules;4.1.4. If the State conducts a request for quotation for a commodity or service, and all responsive bids received are higher than a publicly posted price for that same commodity or service, the State may cancel the solicitation and procure that commodity or service directly from the source of the publicly posted lower price, but may only pay the publicly posted lower price or less. A publicly posted price in this context means pricing posted on a publicly accessible website, in a vendor catalogue, or some other advertising media, and expressly excludes verbal or unpublished pricing, or any pricing sourced directly from vendors after bids have opened.4.2. Exempt transactions from the requirements of Chapter 5A, Article 3, by establishing a list of commodities or services that are not possible to submit for competitive bid. The Director shall make the list available for public review. Spending units may purchase the commodities and services on the list directly from the vendor and are not required to have contracts for purchase of those items approved by the Purchasing Division. A spending unit's request to add commodities or services to the list must be accompanied by written justification and an explanation of why competitive bids are not possible. Nothing in this section supersedes or replaces the Attorney General's authority to approve contracts as to form.4.3. Purchase or contract for, in the name of the State, the commodities, services or printing required by the spending units of State government;4.4. Prescribe the manner in which commodities, services or printing shall be purchased, delivered, stored, and distributed;4.5. Review specifications and descriptions before soliciting bids to ensure that specifications and descriptions do not favor a particular brand or vendor;4.6. Accept or reject any and all bids in whole or in part;4.7. Waive minor irregularities in bids or specifications when the Director determines such action to be appropriate;4.8. Apply and enforce standard specifications;4.9. Sell surplus, obsolete, or unused commodities, services or printing or transfer the same to or between spending units;4.10. Prescribe the amount of deposit or bond to be submitted;4.11. Prescribe in each contract provisions for liquidated damages, remedies or other damage provisions in the event of vendor default;4.12. Employ a person whose responsibilities, in addition to other duties, are to identify commodities, services or printing available for purchase from nonprofit sheltered workshops; evaluate the needs for the commodities, services or printing; coordinate workshops in their production efforts; and provide information to workshops about available opportunities within State government for the purchase of commodities, services or printing.4.13. Prescribe the manner of inspection for all deliveries of commodities, services or printing to assure compliance with specifications;4.14. Appoint inspectors to review and audit spending unit requests and purchases and other transactions and performance that fall under the authority of the Purchasing Division. Inspectors may also provide relevant training for agency personnel and shall have access at all times to personnel, records, reports, and other documents as needed.4.15. Buyer Additional Qualifications. The Purchasing Division may require additional qualifications that are more stringent than those found in statute for any of the buying positions provided that those requirements are implemented uniformly to each job title.