P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 930e
Secretaries of departments, heads of agencies and instrumentality chiefs and the mayors, shall over see that the professional and technical personnel in charge of the drafting of specifications of articles to be purchased by the Government, and of the acquisition of goods and services, perform their work taking into consideration the availability of goods and services provided by enterprises that operate in Puerto Rico and that when establishing the bidding specifications, terms, conditions and general instructions, they do not eliminate said articles and services from the bidding for the purpose of avoiding any advantage for any specific bidder. Every purchase made under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to strict supervision and follow-up pursuant to the provisions of this section to ensure the most faithful compliance with the representations, terms and conditions for the purchase.
It shall be the duty of these heads of government entities and of the municipalities of Puerto Rico to adopt all the regulatory, administrative and operational measures needed to ensure that unfair advantage is not granted to any specific bidder, manufacturer or distributor in the formulation of the specifications, and that true and effective participation is granted to the bidders in the final formulation of the specifications, as well as a genuine opportunity in recommending and providing to the adjudicating body, alternatives for improvement, adjusting and correcting any limitation or deficiency of the specifications, or to avoid the exclusion of the local goods and services industry, because of unreasonable design or formulation of the specifications.
At the time of formulating the specifications, flexibility of time shall also be observed in the process of requiring environmental certifications, so as to grant a reasonable opportunity for every bidder to obtain environmental certifications for their product or service.
It is herein provided that the agencies shall ensure that the specifications of the product or service to be acquired are formulated by independent bodies with expert knowledge and extensive experience in the design of such products or services and which do not represent a conflict of interest with any of the participating bidders or with the procurement mechanism selected by the agency.
Moreover, it is herein provided that the personnel entrusted to formulate the specifications of the procurement of services or products by the government shall comply with the following conditions and requirements as an essential condition for the validity of their official participation in the representation of the adjudicating body:
(a) They shall have express authorization from the appointing officer to work in matters or tasks related to the formulation of specifications.
(b) They shall be able to accredit, through documentation or accrediting information, the technical knowledge, or the specific professional experience that enables them to design or establish the procurement specifications.
(c) They shall be compelled to notify to their superiors of the need to hire additional advice, whether external or internal, when the nature or repercussions of the purchase or the specifications thereof are of such a complexity or specificity that it is required that the Commonwealth make the most sensible decision for the treasury in order to protect the public interest.
(d) They shall declare under oath that their function of formulating the specifications has been conducted in an unbiased, objective manner and in accordance with the best interest of the adjudicating entity, and that under no circumstances have the specifications been designed for the benefit of the model or specific offering of a private manufacturer or of any party with personal interest, direct or indirect, in the adjudication for which the specifications have been formulated.
(e) They shall fulfill and comply with any other functions and duties that are necessary to enforce the aforementioned provisions of this section.
History —Jan. 8, 2004, No. 14, § 9; Dec. 12, 2007, No. 184, § 7, eff. 3 months after Dec. 12, 2007.