Section 26:18-23 - Purchases, contracts, agreements, awarded, made, public advertisement, bidsa. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, all purchases, contracts, or agreements made pursuant to P.L.2023, c.109 (C.26:18-17 et al.) shall be made or awarded directly by the authority after public advertisement for bids, which shall be submitted in the manner provided by the authority, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary.b. A purchase, contract, or agreement may be made, negotiated, or awarded by the authority without public bid or advertising under the following circumstances: (1) When the aggregate amount involved does not exceed the amount set forth in, or the amount calculated by the Governor pursuant to, section 2 of P.L. 1954, c.48 (C.52:34-7), unless other State law sets forth a lower bid threshold in a particular case, in which case the lower threshold shall apply. The authority may not divide a contract into multiple proposed contracts in order to take advantage of this exception and shall, if invoking this exception, certify that it has not done so and maintain a record of that certification;(2) In cases of unforeseen life, safety, or health emergencies where the public exigency requires that services or products be purchased immediately;(3) To acquire subject matter which is described in section 4 of P.L. 1954, c.48 (C.52:34-9);(4) To make a purchase or award or make a contract or agreement under the circumstances described in section 5 of P.L. 1954, c.48 (C.52:34-10);(5) When the contract to be entered into is for the furnishing or performance of services of a professional or technical nature, including legal services, provided that the contract shall be made or awarded directly by the authority;(6) Where a firm has brought an innovative idea to the authority, a request for proposals cannot be constructed without communicating the new idea, and the procurement would not benefit from a competitive selection process;(7) When the authority has advertised for bids and has received no bids in response to its advertisement, or received no responsive bids. Any purchase, contract, or agreement may then be negotiated and may be awarded to any contractor or supplier determined to be responsible, as "responsible" is defined in section 2 of P.L. 1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-2), provided that the terms, conditions, restrictions, and specifications set forth in the negotiated contract or agreement are not substantially different from those which were the subject of competitive bidding; and(8) When a purchase is to be made through or by the Director of the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury pursuant to section 1 of P.L. 1959, c.40 (C.52:27B-56.1).Added by L. 2023, c. 109, s. 7, eff. 7/17/2023.