N.J. Admin. Code § 19:9-2.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 19:9-2.7 - Procedure for prequalification and award of construction contracts

(a) All prospective bidders for construction in excess of $ 50,000 shall be prequalified annually into classifications by the Chief Engineer. Prospective bidders will be classified according to the type of work and the amount of work on which they are entitled to bid as set out in the schedule of classifications set forth at Appendix A to this chapter, incorporated herein by reference. Proposals submitted by prequalified bidders who have received classification ratings as set forth in Appendix A within 10 percent of the total price of the proposal will be considered for award by the Authority. The Chief Engineer may, from time to time, add additional specialized work categories to the schedule of classifications.

(b) In order to prequalify in classification, prospective bidders shall submit annually or at least 21 calendar days prior to bid opening of a specific contract, proof of the following:

1. As to type of work, recent satisfactory experience as a contractor on a contract involving substantially the same or similar work to the classification being sought;

2. As to amount of work, satisfactory experience within the past three years as a contractor either on a single contract performed in a single year, or several contracts performed in a single year, having the following minimum amounts of contract work for such single year, for the specified classification ratings listed below:

i. $ 90,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $ 150,000 maximum;

ii. $ 300,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $ 500,000 maximum;

iii. $ 600,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $ 1,000,000 maximum;

iv. $ 1,200,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $ 2,000,000 maximum;

v. $ 2,100,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $ 3,500,000 maximum;

vi. $ 3,000,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $ 5,000,000 maximum;

vii. $6,000,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating up to $10,000,000 maximum; and

viii. $ 10,000,000 worth of contract work in a year for a classification rating of unlimited;

3. Satisfactory financial condition of the prospective bidder. The contractor's Qualifying Statement must be accompanied by certified audited financial statements or a CPA review of financial statements. The financial statements shall be complete, with a balance sheet, related statements of income and retained earnings and cash flows. The financial statements shall be completed by a certified public accountant or public accountant, as established by N.J.S.A. 45:2B-29 et seq., who is independent of, and not an employee of, the contractor for which the financial statements are being provided.

i. The certified audited financial statements shall have an unqualified opinion. The CPA review of financial statements shall be in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Both the audited and CPA-reviewed financial statements shall be for a full one-year accounting cycle.

ii. Submission of a consolidated financial statement is acceptable. It may be submitted with the Contractor's Qualifying Statement completed in the name of the parent company. A consolidated financial statement submitted with a Contractor's Qualifying Statement and completed in the name of the subsidiary shall include a separate breakdown of the financial statements, and a separate unqualified opinion that includes balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in financial position and cash flows, all in the name of the subsidiary.

iii. Submission of a combined financial statement is not acceptable.

iv. A contractor can be pre-qualified for contract work with a classification rating up to $ 1,000,000 with submission of a CPA review of financial statements and qualifying statement; however, reliance upon such a submission will result in a reduction of the contractor's classification rating by one rating;

4. Adequate facilities, including, but not limited to, plant, equipment and experience of key personnel and officers of the prospective bidder;

5. That the bidder is not now, nor has been involved, directly or indirectly, in any proceeding, conduct, or activity adversely relating to, or adversely reflecting upon, the moral integrity of the bidder by means of sworn affidavit;

6. A satisfactory workplace safety record, including, but not limited to, records of the prospective bidder's experience modification rating for the previous three years and any other workplace safety records or information requested by the Chief Engineer; and

7. When submitting a proposal, prequalified bidders need not submit another Qualifying Statement but shall instead submit a prequalification recapitulation in such form as may be prescribed by the Chief Engineer.

(c) The Chief Engineer or his or her designee(s) shall review the statement and other information submitted by the prospective bidder and shall notify the prospective bidder of the decision as to their classification by certified mail. The classification will be valid for a period of one year from the date of the Chief Engineer's decision, and the prospective bidder will be allowed to bid on all Authority contracts within its classification limits for this one year period without the need of additional prequalification, subject to (d) and (g) below. At the end of this one year period, the prequalification of the bidder will expire, and to be renewed, the prospective bidder must meet the requirement of (b) above.

(d) The Chief Engineer shall reserve the right to require a prospective bidder to submit such additional evidence of qualifications as deemed necessary, and shall consider any evidence available of the financial, technical, and other qualifications and ability of the bidder. The Chief Engineer may change or revoke at any time the classifications of any bidder upon any evidence that said bidder does not meet the financial, technical, moral or other qualifications of the classification. The Chief Engineer may direct a Request for Qualifications Information (RFQI) process to be used in prequalifying contractors under classifications, not listed in Appendix A, but appropriate for specialized projects involving homeland security or other exigent circumstances.

(e) The Chief Engineer may deny prequalification of any bidder who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) above and, further, may recommend to the Authority rejection of any bid where the bidder, at such time, has failed to comply with the provisions of this section.

(f) The Authority reserves the right to waive the prequalification procedures and requirements in contracting in an emergency situation.

(g) Bidders on all other contracts not requiring prequalification shall, however, comply with the provisions of (b)3, 4, 5, and 6 above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 19:9-2.7

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 3236(b), effective 9/18/2017