After opening bids or proposals, the Procurement Officer may request bidders or offerors to extend the time during which the State may accept their bids or proposals, provided that, with regard to bids, no other change is permitted. The reasons for requesting such extension shall be documented.
If only one responsive bid is received in reply to an Invitation for Bid (including multi-step bidding), an award may be made to the single bidder if the Procurement Officer finds that the price submitted is fair and reasonable, and that either the other prospective bidders had reasonable opportunity to respond, or there is not adequate time for re-solicitation. Otherwise, the bid may be rejected pursuant to the provisions of Section 3-301.04 (Cancellation of Solicitation; Rejection of all Bids or Proposals) and:
If only one proposal is received in response to a Request for Proposal, the Procurement Officer may either make an award in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 3-203 (Competitive Sealed Proposals) or, if time permits, re-solicit for the purpose of obtaining competitive sealed proposals.
If no bid or proposal is received in response to an Invitation for Bid:
If alternate bids or proposals are allowed, the solicitation shall state that such bids or proposals shall be accepted and the solicitation shall specify their treatment.
Agency requirements may be fulfilled by procuring services performed incident to the State's own programs. The Agency Head shall determine in writing whether such services meet the agency's requirements and whether the price represents a fair market value for such services. When such procurements are made from other governmental entities, the private sector need not be solicited; however, these contracts shall still be submitted for approval to the PSCRB.
Contracts between two state agencies, both under PSCRB purview (see Appendix A), do not require PSCRB approval. However, the contracts should still be entered into SPAHRS.
Bid and performance bonds or other security may be required for service contracts as the Agency Head deems advisable to protect the interest of the State. Any such requirements must be set forth in the solicitation. Bid or performance bonds should not be used as a substitute for a determination of bidder or offeror responsibility. Mississippi Code Annotated § 31-5-51 (1972, as amended) sets forth bonding requirements applicable to construction contracts and may be considered when establishing any such requirements for service contracts. An agency may not specify a specific company or insurance agency from which bonds should be purchased. If the requirement for a bid or performance bond is included in the procurement, it cannot be waived.
Any bid or proposal which is conditioned upon receiving award of both the particular contract being solicited and another Mississippi contract shall be deemed non-responsive and not acceptable.
All contracts for services shall include a list of contract specifications or deliverables. These may be incorporated from the scope of work included in the solicitation of bids or proposals. This list should be used as evaluation criteria when monitoring contract performance in accordance with Section 4-102 of these regulations. The description of services to be performed should be result oriented, not procedure oriented, and should at a minimum include:
Offerors must be in compliance with Mississippi Code Annotated § 79-4-15.01 (1972, as amended) regarding authorization to transact business in Mississippi.
27 Miss. Code. R. 1-3-102