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Competitive sealed bidding - 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 512

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     § 512.  Competitive sealed bidding.
        (a)  Conditions for use.--Contracts shall be awarded by
     competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in
     section 511 (relating to methods of source selection).
        (b)  Invitation for bids.--An invitation for bids shall be
     issued and shall include a procurement description and all
     contractual terms, whenever practical, and conditions applicable
     to the procurement.
        (c)  Public notice.--Adequate public notice of the invitation
     for bids shall be given a reasonable time prior to the date set
     for the opening of bids. The purchasing agency shall establish
     written policies and may promulgate regulations regarding
     methods of public notice. The method of public notice may
     include any of the following:
            (1)  Electronic publication which is accessible to the
        general public.
            (2)  Advertisement as provided for in 45 Pa.C.S. § 306
        (relating to use of trade publications).
            (3)  Issuance of invitations for bids to bidders on the
        solicitation mailing list of the purchasing agency.
            (4)  Publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
            (5)  Where prequalification is a requirement of
        submitting a bid, notification to all contractors who have
        been prequalified by the purchasing agency.
     Copies of invitations to bid shall be made available to any
     interested person upon request to the purchasing agency.
     Purchasing agencies may establish procedures for the
     distribution of invitations to bid including the imposition of a
     fee to reimburse the agency for the costs of photocopying and
     mailing.
        (d)  Bid opening.--Bids shall be opened publicly in the
     presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place
     designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid
     and any other relevant information as may be specified by
     regulation, together with the name of each bidder, shall be
     recorded. The record shall be open to public inspection.
        (e)  Bid acceptance and evaluation.--Bids shall be
     unconditionally accepted without alteration or modification
     except as authorized in this part or in the invitation for bids.
     Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in
     the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine
     acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship,
     delivery and suitability for a particular purpose. Those
     criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in
     evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as
     discounts, transportation costs and total or life cycle costs.
     The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria
     to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are
     not set forth in the invitation for bids.
        (f)  Modification or withdrawal of bids.--
            (1)  Bids may be modified or withdrawn by written notice
        or in person by a bidder or its authorized representative if
        its identity is made known and a receipt for the bid is
        signed prior to the exact hour and date set for the opening
        of bids. Except as otherwise provided in this part,
        withdrawals and modifications of bids received after the
        exact hour and date specified for the opening of bids shall
        not be considered.
            (2)  Withdrawal of erroneous bids after bid opening but
        before award based on bid mistakes shall be permitted by the
        written determination of the contracting officer when the
        bidder requests relief and presents credible evidence that
        the reason for the lower bid price was a clerical mistake as
        opposed to a judgment mistake and was actually due to an
        unintentional arithmetical error or an unintentional omission
        of a substantial quantity of work, labor, material or
        services made directly in the compilation of the bid. The
        request for relief and the supporting evidence must be
        received by the contracting officer within a reasonable time
        period after the bid opening. The time period shall be
        specified by the department.
            (3)  The contracting officer shall not permit a
        withdrawal of a bid if the withdrawal of the bid would result
        in the awarding of the contract on another bid of the same
        bidder, its partner or a corporation or business venture
        owned by or in which the bidder has a substantial interest.
        No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall supply any
        material or labor to or perform any subcontract or other work
        agreement for any person to whom a contract or subcontract is
        awarded in the performance of the contract for which the
        withdrawn bid was submitted without the written approval of
        the contracting officer.
        (g)  Award.--The contract shall be awarded within 60 days of
     the bid opening by written notice to the lowest responsible
     bidder or all bids shall be rejected except as otherwise
     provided in this section. Extensions of the date for the award
     may be made by mutual written consent of the contracting officer
     and the lowest responsible bidder. Within 30 days of the bid
     opening the contracting officer shall, if bid security was
     required by the invitation for bids, return the bid security to
     all but the lowest and next-to-lowest responsible bidders then
     under consideration for contract award.
        (h)  Multistep sealed bidding.--When it is considered
     impractical to prepare initially a procurement description to
     support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be
     issued requesting the submission of unpriced bids, to be
     followed by an invitation for bids requesting priced bids from
     responsible bidders of the first solicitation.
     (Dec. 3, 2002, P.L.1147, No.142, eff. imd.)

        2002 Amendment.  Act 142 amended subsecs. (g) and (h).
        Cross References.  Section 512 is referred to in sections
     106, 511, 512.1, 513, 517, 533, 561, 902 of this title.

Last modified: November 27, 2007