Section 449.16 - Contracts with vendorsAny contract with any vendor other than a sole source vendor for purchase of services or for purchase or lease of supplies and equipment related to the council's powers and duties shall be let only after a public bidding process and only in accordance with the following provisions, and no contract shall be let by the council that does not conform to these provisions:
(1) The council shall prepare specifications fully describing the services to be rendered or equipment or supplies to be provided by a vendor and shall make these specifications available for inspection by any person at the council's offices during normal working hours and at such other places and such other times as the council deems advisable.(2) The council shall publish notice of invitations to bid in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The council shall also publish such notice in at least four newspapers in general circulation in the Commonwealth on at least three occasions at intervals of not less than three days. Said notice shall include at least the following:(i) The deadline for submission of bids by prospective vendors, which shall be no sooner than 30 days following the latest publication of the notice as prescribed in this paragraph.(ii) The locations, dates and times during which prospective vendors can examine the specifications required in paragraph (1).(iii) The date, time and place of the meeting or meetings of the council at which bids will be opened and accepted.(iv) A statement to the effect that any person is eligible to bid.(3) Bids shall be accepted as follows: (i) No council member who is affiliated in any way with any bidder shall vote on the awarding of any contract for which said bidder has submitted a bid, and any council member who has an affiliation with a bidder shall state the nature of the affiliation prior to any vote of the council.(ii) Bids shall be opened and reviewed by the appropriate council committee, which shall make recommendations to the council on approval. Bids shall be accepted and such acceptance shall be announced only at a public meeting of the council as defined in section 4(e) , and no bids shall be accepted at an executive session of the council.(iii) The council may require that a certified check, in an amount determined by the council, accompany every bid, and, when so required, no bid shall be accepted unless so accompanied.(4) In order to prevent any party from deliberately underbidding contracts in order to gain or prevent access to council data, the council may award any contract at its discretion, regardless of the amount of the bid, pursuant to the following: (i) Any bid accepted must reasonably reflect the actual cost of services provided.(ii) Any vendor so selected by the council shall be found by the council to be of such character and such integrity as to assure, to the maximum extent possible, adherence to all the provisions of this act in the provision of contracted services.(iii) The council may require the selected vendor to furnish, within 20 days after the contract has been awarded, a bond with suitable and reasonable requirements guaranteeing the services to be performed with sufficient surety in an amount determined by the council, and upon failure to furnish such bond within the time specified, the previous award shall be void.(5) The council shall make efforts to assure that its vendors have established affirmative action plans to assure equal opportunity policies for hiring and promoting employees.1986, July 8, P.L. 408, No. 89, § 16, imd. effective. Reenacted and amended 1993, June 28, P.L. 146, No. 34, §1, imd. effective. Reenacted 2003 , July 17, P.L. 31, No. 14, § 7, imd. effective; 2009, June 10, P.L. 10, No. 3, §5, retroactive effective 6/29/2008.