Section 144-51-3.0 - Procedures3.1 Each bureau/division of the Department will inform prospective bidders about grants/contracts for which bids are being requested by placing a legal advertisement for three consecutive days in the State paper (The Kennebec Journal) and once in a paper nearest locality most affected and if desired in other state papers. Notification of announcements may also be mailed to contracting agencies currently providing the same or related service and to all parties who have submitted unsolicited written requests for funding for the same or related services.3.2 Proposals shall be reviewed and rated by agency personnel in a timely fashion following the deadline for proposal submission. Proposals received after announced deadlines shall not be considered.3.3 The proposal selection criteria shall be determined by agency personnel on the basis of generally accepted, reasonable standards of quality and effectiveness including but not limited to, (1) completeness, (2) service descriptions,, (3) cost factors, (4) applicable standards, and experience of the applicant. Incomplete proposals may be penalized by a deduction of points assigned to incomplete sections. In all cases, the Department reserves the right to refuse any and all proposals.3.4 The award of grants/contracts will be made on the basis of the rating scores assigned by agency personnel subject to the approval of the Commissioner and/or his assignee. The Department will notify all applicants of their selection or non-selection; by certified mail.3.5 The Department win accept decision appeals for 30 days following notification, of selection or non-selection. Decision appeal hearings shall be conducted by the appropriate Deputy Commissioner or his/her designee. The appealed decision shall be revised in accordance with the procedures and selection criteria articulated in the request for proposal. The review decision may be further appealed to the State Purchasing Agent at the Bureau of Purchases, Station 9, Augusta,, Maine 04333.10-144 C.M.R. ch. 51, § 3.0