Article 4. Bids And Bidders of California Public Contract Code >> Division 2. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 4.

The trustees may require, and on contracts the estimated cost of which exceeds the value of a minor capital outlay project for which, pursuant to the first paragraph of Section 10108, the services of the Department of General Services are not required and a state agency or department is authorized to carry out its own project, the trustees shall require, from prospective bidders, answers to questions contained in a standard form of questionnaire and financial statement including a complete statement of the prospective bidder's financial ability and experience in performing public works projects. When completed, the questionnaire and financial statement shall be verified under oath by the bidder in the manner in which pleadings in civil actions are verified.

The trustees shall adopt and apply a uniform system of rating bidders, on the basis of the standard questionnaires and financial statements, in respect to the size of the contracts upon which each bidder is qualified to bid.

In all projects for road, street, and bridge work where federal funds are involved and where a bidder is required to be and has been prequalified pursuant to Sections 10760 and 10761, no bid submitted or contract thereafter awarded shall be invalidated by the failure of the bidder or contractor to be properly licensed in accordance with the laws of this state, nor shall any such contractor be denied payment under any such contract because of such failure; provided, however, that the first payment for work or material under such contract shall not be made by the Controller unless and until the Registrar of Contractors certifies to him that the records of the Contractors' State License Board indicate that such contractor was or became properly licensed between the time of bid opening and the making of the certification. Any bidder or contractor not so licensed shall be subject to all legal penalties imposed by such laws, including, but not limited to, any appropriate disciplinary action by the Contractors' State License Board, and the trustees shall include a statement to that effect in the standard form of prequalification questionnaire and financial statement.

The questionnaires and financial statements are not public records and are not open to public inspection.

The trustees shall furnish to each bidder a standard proposal form, which, when filled out and executed, may be submitted as the bid. Bids not presented on forms so furnished shall be disregarded. The trustees shall not furnish proposal forms to any person who is required to submit and has not submitted a questionnaire and financial statement for prequalification at least five days prior to the date fixed for publicly opening sealed bids and been prequalified for at least one day prior to that date.

(a) All bids shall be presented under sealed cover and accompanied by one of the following forms of bidder's security: cash, a cashier's check, certified check, or a bidder's bond executed by an admitted surety insurer, made payable to the trustees. The security shall be in an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the amount bid. A bid shall not be considered unless one of the forms of bidder's security is enclosed with it.
  (b) A bid described in subdivision (a) may be submitted electronically in accordance with Section 1601, but only if the bidder submits the bidder's security required by subdivision (a) within 24 hours after the opening of bids.

Whether or not bids are opened exactly at the time fixed in the public notice for opening bids, a bid shall not be received after that time.

Any bid may be withdrawn at any time prior to the time fixed in the public notice for the opening of bids only by written request for the withdrawal of the bid filed with the trustees. The request shall be executed by the bidder or his or her duly authorized representative. The withdrawal of a bid does not prejudice the right of the bidder to file a new bid. This section does not authorize the withdrawal of any bid after the time fixed in the public notice for the opening of bids.