N.J. Admin. Code § 17:19-6.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 17:19-6.5 - Criteria required for electronic procurement processes

(a) The electronic procurement processes employed in the advertisement, bidding, and award of contracts for State public works construction shall meet the following:

1. Allow for a business or company that creates or provides software to effectuate electronic procurement to provide those services pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:34-1et seq., if the business or company has prior experience providing electronic procurement services to the State and to other public entities including, but not limited to, experience prior to the effective date of N.J.S.A. 52:34A-1et seq.;

2. Allow State contracting units to advertise bids and distribute bidding documents, including plans and specifications;

3. Be a closed loop system that allows contractors, vendors, and bidders, to receive bid solicitations and documentation, as well as submit bids electronically;

4. Provide a digital lockbox that ensures bid information cannot be accessed by a third-party before the bid deadline, including an electronic bidding servicer or the State;

5. Allow bids to be encrypted upon submission and when in the digital lockbox;

6. Use digital signature technology and provide for identity verification;

7. Allow for electronic bid validation;

8. Allow bids to be withdrawn and resubmitted by the vendor or bidder at any point up to the published bid deadline;

9. Allow addenda and bulletins to be issued electronically with addenda and bulletins automatically applied to the online bid form;

10. Provide capabilities to create and edit templates of bid forms;

11. Provide the means for the State to require data types including, but not limited to, numeric prices;

12. Alert contractors, vendors, and bidders of missing required data;

13. Provide email notification to contractors, vendors, and bidders of issuance of bid advertisement, bulletins, and addenda;

14. Identify classification or commodity codes, as required by the contracting agency to allow for targeted notifications to contractors, vendors, and bidders;

15. Provide system implementation services and training to State contracting units at no cost; and

16. Offer scheduled training webinars for contractors, vendors, and bidders at no cost.

(b) To the extent required to implement the electronic procurement requirements set forth at N.J.S.A. 52:34A-1et seq., all current statutory, regulatory, and policy procedures related to public bidding shall be converted to an electronic procurement environment.

1. Any document that by operation of statute, rule, or policy is required to be included with a bid or proposal submitted in a public works construction procurement, the form of which requires an affidavit, notarization, or physical seal or the signature or certification of a third-party not covered by, or subject to, the identity verification process or digital signature technology in an electronic procurement process for a public works construction project, shall be submitted as a scanned electronic image or other electronic file; and shall be deemed acceptable by the State contracting unit, as long as the original document from which the electronic file is derived contains the required affidavit, notarization, physical seal, certification, and/or signature as otherwise required by law.

2. A party submitting an electronic file version of a document described at (b)1 above shall retain the original document from which the electronic version is derived, and shall produce the original document, upon request by the State contracting unit, at, or after, the time of bid opening, contract award, or other relevant time as specified in the advertisement or solicitation documents.

(c) State contracting units are hereby authorized to accept commercial standards for electronic forms of bid security.

(d) Advertising, bidding, and award of contracts for goods and services including, but not limited to, information technology services, hardware, and software, in connection with the acquisition, implementation, or maintenance of all or any part of an electronic procurement process system shall be administered under existing statues and rules governing procurement by the State for goods and services.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:19-6.5

Adopted by 53 N.J.R. 1166(a), effective 7/6/2021