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Administrative Policies - Policy 0034

State of Vermont
Agency of Administration
Department of Buildings & General Services

Policy 0034

Title: Bidding Integrity
Date of Issue: October 27, 2004
Supersedes: Initial Policy

APPLICABILITY

This policy shall apply to all exempt, nonexempt, temporary and permanent personnel and contractors of the Department of Buildings and General Services.

AUTHORITY

Title 29 V.S.A. §152(a)(8), 29 V.S.A. §161, 29 V.S.A. §902, and 29 V.S.A. §903.

PURPOSE

To provide a procedure for avoiding conflict of interest in bidding when the Department receives assistance from contractors or vendors in drafting Requests for Proposals, Quotations, Qualifications, Information or Specifications.

POLICY

It is the policy of this Department to provide fair and equitable bidding opportunities for all potential contractors or vendors.

PROCEDURES

If the Department requires the assistance of a potential vendor(s) or contractor(s) in drafting an RFP, RFQ, RFI, or Specifications then one of the following shall occur:

  1. Ask the contractor or vendor who may be hired to assist whether they or any of their holding companies, partners, or subsidiaries intend to bid on the project or contract subject to the RFP, RFQ, RFI or Specifications that they will assist in drafting.
    1. If they do not intend to submit a proposal, qualifications, information, or a bid then their consulting contract shall include a statement that they shall not. Be sure to specify all projects that this agreement not to bid shall apply to in the consulting contract. The consulting contractor or vendor may bid on later projects even though the same form of RFP, RFQ, RFI or Specifications are used as long as the later projects were NOT subject to the initial document the contractor or vendor helped to draft.
    2. If the contractor, vendor, its holding company, partner or subsidiaries do want to submit a proposal, qualifications, information, or a bid, their contract shall include the following provision:

All the information provided by the State in addition to all other information, data, work product, formulas, models, etc. the consultant uses or generates shall be submitted to the State at no charge other than the fees agreed to in this contract and shall be made available by the State to all respondents to the project or contract for which the consultant assisted in preparing requests or specifications under this contract. Failure to provide all work product or other materials may result in disqualification from consideration or bidding on future contracts. In addition, the RFP, RFQ, RFI or Specifications shall include in the following statement on the X page: [Name of consulting vendor] consulted on the preparation of this document and all their papers and materials are available from the project contact for review by any respondent, bidder or proposer.

  1. All such consulting contracts in either event shall also include the following provision: Contractor agrees to assign to the State of Vermont the full copyright to all materials and work product used or generated by Contractor in preparation of the document subject to this contract.
  2. No exceptions to this policy shall be made without the written approval of the Commissioner.

Department Approval:  Thomas W. Torti, Commissioner