Section 3-122-53 - Discussions with offerors(a) Before conducting discussions, a "priority list" shall be generated by the procurement officer or evaluation committee. (1) In order to generate a priority list, proposals shall be classified initially as acceptable, potentially acceptable, or unacceptable;(2) All responsible offerors who submit acceptable or potentially acceptable proposals are eligible for the priority list;(3) If numerous acceptable and potentially acceptable proposals have been submitted, the procurement officer or the evaluation committee may rank the proposals and limit the priority list to at least three responsible offerors who submitted the highest-ranked proposals;(4) Those responsible offerors who are selected for the priority list are referred to as the "priority-listed offerors".(b) Discussions will be limited to only "priority-listed offerors" and are held to: (1) Promote understanding of a state agency's requirements and priority-listed offerors' proposals; and(2) Facilitate arriving at a contract that will provide the best value to the State, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. The procurement officer shall establish procedures and schedules for conducting discussions and keep a record of the date, place, purpose of meetings, and those attending.
(c) Proposals may be accepted on evaluation without discussion.(d) Priority-listed offerors shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussions and revisions of proposals. (1) Any substantial oral clarification of a proposal shall be reduced to writing by the priority-listed offeror;(2) If during discussions there is a need for any substantial clarification or change in the request for proposals, the request for proposals shall be amended by an addendum to incorporate the clarification or change.(e) Addenda to the request for proposals shall be distributed only to priority-listed offerors. (1) The priority-listed offerors shall be permitted to submit new proposals or to amend those submitted;(2) If in the opinion of the procurement officer or the evaluation committee, a contemplated amendment will significantly change the nature of the procurement, the request for proposals shall be canceled and a new request for proposals issued.(f) The contents of any proposal shall not be disclosed so as to be available to competing offerors during the discussion process.[Eff 12/15/95; am and comp 11/17/97; am and comp MAR 21 2008] (Auth: HRS § 103D-202) (Imp: HRS § 1030-303)