N.J. Admin. Code § 17:12-2.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 17:12-2.2 - Requirements for bidding and contract award

(a) In order to be eligible for consideration for award of contract, the bidder's proposal shall conform to the following requirements or be subject to designation as a non-responsive proposal for non-compliance:

1. Be enclosed and sealed, which for electronic format submissions shall be as described in the RFP document. Faxed or e-mailed proposals shall not be accepted when the submission of a sealed proposal is a requirement;

2. Be submitted on or before the due date and time and at the place specified in the RFP;

3. Be signed by a representative of the bidding entity in accordance with the provisions for such signature as set forth in the RFP;

4. Contain all RFP-required certifications, forms, and attachments, completed and signed as required. An RFP may designate certain forms and/or certifications that need not be included in the bidder's proposal but that must be provided by a successful bidder upon request prior to an award of contract;

5. Be accompanied by bid security in the amount and form specified, when required by the RFP;

6. Include all RFP-required pricing information;

7. Be preceded by the bidder's attendance and registration at any pre-proposal conference and/or site inspection for which attendance and registration is mandatory pursuant to the RFP. However, the Director reserves the right to waive this requirement upon terms the Director deems acceptable, if doing so is in the State's best interest;

8. Contain initials adjacent to any actual or apparent price alterations. If a unit price in a bidder's proposal has been altered or appears to be an alteration, the bidder's initials shall appear adjacent to the alteration. However, in the event that there is at least one duplicate copy of the proposal included in the bidder's sealed proposal packet, and if during the immediately subsequent proposal review process it is noted that there is an uninitialed price alteration and that the copy reflects the same alteration, the copy shall be placed with the original and maintained as part of the official record. The uninitialed price change or changes would then be accepted as eligible for further evaluation. Examples of alterations include, but are not limited to, crossouts, erasures, white-outs, writeovers, and strikeovers, with re-entered prices. If the alteration has not been initialed, that particular item only shall be rejected, except if the extended price is verifiably correct and does not contain an alteration or if the extended total price is verifiably correct and does not contain an alteration, it shall be considered the offered price. In the event of a rejection of a single line of a proposal responding to a request for multiple prices for multiple items, the remainder of the proposal shall be evaluated, unless otherwise stipulated in the RFP;

9. Be prepared in ink or typewritten or, as applicable, in the electronic format specified by the RFP. If information essential for an effective evaluation, including, but not limited to, price, terms, and product description, is submitted in pencil, the proposal shall be rejected unless that same essential information appears elsewhere in the proposal, or in the copies thereof, either typewritten or printed, and provided that the information is entirely consistent with the information submitted in pencil and does not invite any other interpretation; and

10. If the RFP contains set-aside program provisions for a specified category or specified categories of businesses, be submitted by a business properly approved by and registered with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury unit responsible for administering the State's small business registration program in accordance with the administrative rules at N.J.A.C. 17:13, governing the State's set-aside programs.

(b) Any proposal failing to comply with the provisions of (a) above shall be subject to automatic rejection.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:12-2.2

New Rule, R.1999 d.407, effective 11/15/1999.
See: 31 N.J.R. 2301(a), 31 N.J.R. 3742(b).
Former N.J.A.C. 17:12-2.2, Bid Security, recodified to N.J.A.C. 17:12-2.4.
Amended by R.2005 d.128, effective 4/18/2005.
See: 36 N.J.R. 5230(a), 37 N.J.R. 1218(a).
Rewrote (a).
Amended by R.2012 d.074, effective 4/2/2012.
See: 43 N.J.R. 3308(a), 44 N.J.R. 1143(b).
Section was "Requirements for bidding". Rewrote (a).