D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 27, r. 27-1553

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 38, September 20, 2024

Rule 27-1553 - RECEIPT AND EVALUATION OF STEP ONE PROPOSALS

1553.1

Upon receipt of proposals, the contracting officer shall:

(a) Safeguard the proposals against disclosure to unauthorized persons;

(b) Accept and handle data with restrictive disclosure procedures in accordance with chapter 31 of this title; and

(c) Remove any reference to price or cost.

1553.2

The contracting officer shall establish a time period for evaluating technical proposals. The time period may vary with the complexity and the number of proposals received.

1553.3

Proposal evaluations shall be based on the criteria specified in the request for technical proposals without consideration of responsibility.

1553.4

Proposals shall be categorized as one (1) of the following:

(a) Acceptable;

(b) Reasonably susceptible of being made acceptable; or

(c) Unacceptable.

1553.5

Any proposal which modifies or fails to conform to the essential requirements or specifications of the request for technical proposals shall be considered nonresponsive and categorized as unacceptable.

1553.6

The contracting officer may proceed directly with step two if:

(a) There are a sufficient number of acceptable proposals to ensure adequate price competition under step two; and

(b) Further time, effort and delay to make additional proposals acceptable, and thereby increase competition, would not be in the best interest of the District.

1553.7

If it is not in the best interest of the District to proceed directly with step two, the contracting officer shall request bidders whose proposals may be made acceptable to submit additional clarifying or supplemental information.

1553.8

If discussions are held, the contracting officer must identify the nature of the deficiencies in the proposal or the nature of the additional information required.

1553.9

No proposal shall be discussed with any bidder other than the submitting bidder.

1553.10

When initiating a request for additional information, the contracting officer shall fix an appropriate time for bidders to conclude discussions, if any, submit all additional information, and incorporate that additional information as part of their proposals.

1553.11

The time for completing the actions under § 1553.10 may be extended at the contracting officer's discretion.

1553.12

If the additional information incorporated as part of a proposal within the final time fixed by the contracting officer establishes that the proposal is acceptable, it shall be so categorized. Otherwise, it shall be categorized as unacceptable.

1553.13

If a technical proposal is found unacceptable, either initially or after clarification, the contracting officer shall promptly notify the bidder of the basis of the determination and notify the bidder that a revision of its proposal will not be considered.

1553.14

Upon written request, and as soon as possible after award, the contracting officer may debrief unsuccessful bidders in accordance with the provisions of chapter 16 of this title.

1553.15

If it is necessary to discontinue the two-step sealed bidding method, the contracting officer shall include a statement of the facts and circumstances in the contract file.

1553.16

Each bidder shall be notified, in writing, of a discontinuance of the two- step sealed bidding process.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 27, r. 27-1553

Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 1443 (February 26, 1988); as amended by Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 3714 (March 6, 2012)[EXPIRED]; as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 6290, 6311 (June 1, 2012)

Authority: The Chief Procurement Officer of the District of Columbia (CPO), pursuant to the authority set forth in sections 401, 402, 409, 414, 1102, and 1106 of the Procurement Practices Reform Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-371; D.C. Official Code §§ 2-354.01, 2-354.04, 2-354.14, 2-361.02 and 2-361.06 (2011 Repl.)) (Act).