36 Miss. Code. R. 2-3-203.1
IT purchases over $5,000.00 but not over $50,000 ($25,000.00 for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) have been delegated by ITS to the purchasing entity. Purchases in this price range do not require advertisement of bids but do require at least two competitive written bids. "Competitive written bid," often referred to as a "written quote," is defined as follows: a bid submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or governing authority and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor. You must select the lowest quote.
"Competitive" means the bids are developed based upon comparable identification of the needs and are developed independently and without knowledge of other bids.
36 Miss. Code. R. 2-3-203.1