Sec. 9.312. (A) If a state agency or political
subdivision | 13 |
is required by law or by an ordinance or resolution
adopted under | 14 |
division (C) of this section to award a contract to
the lowest | 15 |
responsive and responsible bidder, a bidder on the
contract shall | 16 |
be considered responsive if
the bidder's
proposal responds
to
bid | 17 |
specifications in all material respects and contains no | 18 |
irregularities or deviations from the specifications which would | 19 |
affect the amount of the bid or otherwise give
the bidder a | 20 |
competitive
advantage. The factors that the state agency or | 21 |
political
subdivision shall consider in determining whether a | 22 |
bidder on the
contract is responsible include the experience of | 23 |
the bidder,
the bidder's
financial condition,
conduct and | 24 |
performance on
previous
contracts,
facilities,
management
skills, | 25 |
and
ability
to execute the contract properly. | 26 |
For purposes of this division, the provision of a bid | 27 |
guaranty in accordance with divisions (A)(1) and (B) of section | 28 |
153.54 of the Revised Code issued by a surety licensed to do | 29 |
business in this state is evidence of financial responsibility, | 30 |
but a state agency or political subdivision may request additional | 31 |
financial information for review from an apparent low bidder after | 32 |
it opens all submitted bids. A state agency or political | 33 |
subdivision shall keep additional financial information it | 34 |
receives pursuant to a request under this division confidential, | 35 |
except under proper order of a court. The additional financial | 36 |
information is not a public record under section 149.43 of the | 37 |
Revised Code. | 38 |
An apparent low bidder found
not to be responsive and | 39 |
responsible shall be notified by the
state agency or political | 40 |
subdivision of that finding and the
reasons for it. Except for | 41 |
contracts awarded by the department
of administrative services | 42 |
pursuant to section 125.11 of the Revised Code, the
notification | 43 |
shall be given in writing and
by certified mail. When awarding | 44 |
contracts pursuant to section 125.11
of the Revised Code, the | 45 |
department may send such notice in writing by first class mail. | 46 |
(B) Where a state agency or a political subdivision that
has | 47 |
adopted an ordinance or resolution under division (C) of this | 48 |
section determines to award a contract to a bidder other than the | 49 |
apparent low bidder or bidders for the construction, | 50 |
reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, repair, | 51 |
painting, or decoration of a public improvement, it shall meet | 52 |
with the apparent low bidder or bidders upon a filing of a timely | 53 |
written protest. The protest must be received within five days
of | 54 |
the notification required in division (A) of this section. No | 55 |
final award shall be made until the state agency or political | 56 |
subdivision either affirms or reverses its earlier determination. | 57 |
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Revised Code, the | 58 |
procedure described in this division is not subject to Chapter | 59 |
119. of the Revised Code. | 60 |
(C) A municipal corporation, township, school district,
board | 61 |
of county commissioners, any other county board or
commission, or | 62 |
any other political subdivision required by law to
award contracts | 63 |
by competitive bidding may by ordinance or
resolution adopt a | 64 |
policy of requiring each competitively bid
contract it awards to | 65 |
be awarded to the lowest responsive and
responsible bidder in | 66 |
accordance with this section. | 67 |
(D) The state agency or political subdivision shall conduct | 68 |
and complete an investigation before, or within thirty days after, | 69 |
finding an apparent low bidder not to be a responsible bidder. The | 70 |
purpose of the investigation shall be to substantiate the reasons | 71 |
for which the apparent low bidder is suspected of not being a | 72 |
responsible bidder, or to determine the reasons for which the | 73 |
apparent low bidder was found not to be a responsible bidder. The | 74 |
state agency or political subdivision shall send the results of | 75 |
the investigation to the director of administrative services for | 76 |
entry on the department's web site under section 125.112 of the | 77 |
Revised Code. The state agency or political subdivision may not | 78 |
conduct more than one investigation of an apparent low bidder. | 79 |
Sec. 125.112. (A)(1) The director of administrative services, | 80 |
not later than the date that is two months after the effective | 81 |
date of this section, shall create and thereafter maintain on the | 82 |
department of administrative services web site a database that | 83 |
identifies each apparent low bidder who has been found not to be a | 84 |
responsible bidder and reports the results of the investigation | 85 |
under section 9.312 of the Revised Code. | 86 |
(2) For contracts awarded on or after January 1, 2000, and | 87 |
before the effective date of this section, in the case of a school | 88 |
district, or on or after July 1, 1999, and before the effective | 89 |
date of this section, in the case of a state agency or a political | 90 |
subdivision other than a school district, the director of | 91 |
administrative services, not later than the date that is six | 92 |
months after the effective date of this section, shall create and | 93 |
thereafter maintain on the department of administrative services | 94 |
web site a database that identifies each apparent low bidder who | 95 |
was found not to be a responsible bidder and reports the reasons | 96 |
for which the bidder was found not to be a responsible bidder | 97 |
under section 9.312 of the Revised Code. | 98 |