N.J. Admin. Code § 17:9-10.10

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

Section 17:9-10.10 - Evaluation of bid proposals

(a) An evaluation committee shall be appointed by the Director prior to bid opening to evaluate bid proposals received.

(b) Prior to bid opening, the evaluation committee shall establish weights for the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP. Weights established will be date-stamped prior to bid opening. For RFPs having a negotiation component, weights established will not be made public until after the Director's issuance of the Notice of Intent to Award. For RFPs not having a negotiation component, weights established will be made public at bid opening.

(c) Bid proposals shall be reviewed by the evaluation committee to ensure that each meets the requirements for bidding set forth at 17:9-10.6 and is responsive to the material requirements of the RFP. A bid proposal not meeting the requirements for bidding set forth at 17:9-10.6 and/or not responsive to the material requirements of the RFP shall receive no further consideration.

(d) The evaluation committee may request a bidder to clarify its bid proposal. The process of clarification, however, is not an opportunity for a bidder to revise or modify its bid proposal.

(e) Responsive bid proposals in the competitive range will be evaluated by the evaluation committee on the basis of price and the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP.

(f) The evaluation committee may recommend bypassing a lower priced responsive bid proposal on the basis of:

1. The superiority of the higher priced responsive bid proposal;

2. Issues relating to the integrity of the bidder submitting the lower priced responsive bid proposal; and/or

3. The documented poor performance of the bidder submitting the lower priced responsive bid proposal.

(g) The evaluation committee shall submit a contract award recommendation, based on price and the evaluation criteria in the RFP, to the Director.

(h) The Director shall review the evaluation committee's contract award recommendation and any other documentation the Director deems relevant. The Director shall submit the evaluation committee's contract award recommendation, and any comments the Director may have relating thereto, to the Commission for consideration.

(i) The Commission shall review the evaluation committee's contract award recommendation, the Director's comments, if any, and any other documentation the Commission deems relevant. The Commission shall make a decision to award or not award the contract on the basis of price and the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP.

(j) In the event the decision of the Commission is to award a contract, the Director shall issue a Notice of Intent to Award to the selected bidder. The Director shall provide a copy of the Notice of Intent to Award to all bidders. The Notice of Intent to Award shall identify all outstanding contract documentation and the time being afforded the selected bidder to submit all outstanding contract documentation to the Director. The selected bidder's failure to provide all outstanding contract documentation to the Director within the time afforded shall constitute cause for the Commission to rescind the Notice of Intent to Award. In such instance the Commission may instruct the Director to reissue the Notice of Intent to Award to another bidder.

(k) In the event the decision of the Commission is not to award a contract, the Director shall provide written notice to all bidders.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:9-10.10