Section 130238 Of Article 2. Contracts From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 12. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.
130238
. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that (1) because of
the highly specialized and unique nature of all rail transit
equipment, (2) because of products and materials which are undergoing
rapid technological changes, and (3) for the introduction of new
technological changes into the operations of the commission, it may
be in the public interest to consider, in addition to price, factors
such as vendor financing, performance reliability, standardization,
life-cycle costs, delivery timetables, support logistics, and the
broadest possible range of competing products and materials
available, fitness of purchase, manufacturer's warranty, and similar
factors in the award of contracts for these vehicles and equipment.
(b) This section applies only to the purchase by the commission of
(1) specialized rail transit equipment, including rail cars, and (2)
computers, telecommunications equipment, fare collections equipment,
microwave equipment, and other related electronic equipment and
apparatus. This section does not apply to contracts for construction
or for the procurement of any product available in substantial
quantities to the general public.
(c) The commission may, after finding by a two-thirds vote of all
of its members that a particular procurement qualifies under
subdivision (b), direct that the procurement be conducted through
competitive negotiation under this section. For purposes of this
section, competitive negotiation includes, but is not limited to, all
of the following requirements:
(1) The request for proposals shall be prepared and submitted to
an adequate number of qualified sources, as determined by the
commission, to permit reasonable competition consistent with the
nature and requirement of the procurement.
(2) Notice of the request for proposals shall be published at
least twice in a newspaper of general circulation, at least 10 days
before the date for receipt of the proposals.
(3) The commission shall make every effort to generate the maximum
feasible number of proposals from qualified sources and shall make a
finding to that effect before proceeding to negotiate if only a
single response to the request for proposals is received.
(4) The request for proposals shall identify all significant
evaluation factors, including price, and their relative importance.
(5) The commission shall provide reasonable procedures for
technical evaluation of the proposals received, identification of
qualified sources, and selection for contract award.
(6) Award shall be made to the qualified proposer whose proposal
will be most advantageous to the commission with price and all other
factors considered.
(7) If award is not made to the bidder whose proposal contains the
lowest price, the commission shall make a finding setting forth the
basis for the award.
(d) The commission, at its discretion, may reject any and all
proposals and request new proposals.
(e) A person who submits, or who plans to submit, a proposal may
protest any acquisition conducted in accordance with this section as
follows:
(1) Protests based on the content of the request for proposals
shall be filed with the commission within 10 calendar days after the
request for proposals is first advertised in accordance with
subdivision (c). The commission shall issue a written decision on the
protest prior to opening of proposals. A protest may be renewed by
refiling the protest with the commission within 15 calendar days
after the mailing of the notice of the recommended award.
(2) Any bidder may protest the recommended award on any ground not
based upon the content of the request for proposals by filing a
protest with the commission within 15 calendar days after the mailing
of the notice of the recommended award.
(3) Any protest shall contain a full and complete written
statement specifying in detail the grounds of the protest and the
facts supporting the protest. Protestors shall have an opportunity to
appear and be heard before the commission prior to the opening of
proposals in the case of protests based on the content of the request
for proposals, or prior to final award in the case of protests based
on other grounds or the renewal of protests based on the content of
the request for proposals.
(f) Provisions in any contract concerning women and minority
business enterprises, which provisions are in accordance with the
request for proposals, shall not be subject to negotiation with the
successful bidder.