OAR 125-247-0287: Special Procurements; Request Procedures

(1) Approval. An Authorized Agency may request approval of its new or amended Special Procurement from the State Chief Procurement Officer. The request must describe one or more particular Contracts or class of Contracts and use the form designated in OregonBuys or other Electronic Procurement System approved by the State Chief Procurement Officer. A request for a Special Procurement concerns the procurement process only, and the Authority to use the Special Procurement is determined under OAR 125-246-0170. (2) Requests. Special Procurement Requests must contain the following: (a) Request must include reason(s) why Agency has elected to use Special Procurement and how it will benefit the Agency or the public. (b) The Request must include findings, market research, or other documentation that the Special Procurement: (A) Is unlikely to encourage favoritism in the awarding of Public Contracts or to substantially diminish competition for Public Contracts, and (B) Either: (i) Is reasonably expected to result in substantial cost savings to the Agency or to the public; or (ii) Otherwise substantially promotes the public interest in a manner that could not practicably be realized by complying with requirements that are applicable under ORS 279B.055, 279B.060, 279B.065 or 279B.070 or under any related Rules. (c) The alternative process designed by the Agency must be clear and complete, including a description of the Supplies and Services that are the subject of the Special Procurement, provisions for advertisement, a procurement process, including provisions for Amendment and criteria for selection, and the proposed contract document. (d) The State Chief Procurement Officer may require any additional information deemed necessary to evaluate the Agency's request for approval of a Special Procurement. (3) Effect. The Special Procurement approval is effective only after the State Chief Procurement Officer's approval of the findings and Request and completion of the Public Notice required under section (4) of this Rule. (4) Public Notice. The Public Notice process and requirements are as follows: (a) General. The requesting Authorized Agency must give public notice of the approval of its Special Procurement as required under ORS 279B.085(5) and in accordance with this Rule, unless otherwise directed by the State Chief Procurement Officer (Public Notice). As a Written condition to approval of the Special Procurement, the State Chief Procurement Officer may require that the Department instead of the requesting Agency give the Public Notice. (b) Content. The Public Notice must at least describe the Supplies and Services or class of Supplies and Services to be acquired through the Special Procurement. (c) Time Periods. (A) Public Notice of the approval of the Special Procurement must be given at least seven (7) Days before the commencement of the Special Procurement. (B) If the Special Procurement involves one or more Solicitations, the Solicitation Document must either include the attached request and approval of the Special Procurement or incorporate the request and approval by reference with the documents easily accessible to Affected Persons. (d) An Agency may request certain information to be withheld from the public notice requirement of this Rule in cases where confidentiality or security may be jeopardized only according to an exception under the Public Records Law (ORS 192.410 through 192.505). (5) Protest. An Affected Person may protest the approval of a Special Procurement in accordance with ORS 279B.400 and OAR 125-247-0700. (6) Reference. Any Solicitation or Contract resulting from a Special Procurement approval must contain a reference to the number of the approved Special Procurement. (7) Conditions. If the State Chief Procurement Officer provides Written approval of the proposed Special Procurement (Approval), the Authorized Agency must award any Contract under the Special Procurement in accordance with the conditions of this Approval and any subsequent amendments to the Approval. The Approval may include conditions, including but not limited to expiration, Public Notice and dollar limitations, and may be revoked at any time by the State Chief Procurement Officer. (8) If an Authorized Agency competitively solicits, it must comply with the process described in the Special Procurement or the Rules for that method of Solicitation according to ORS 279B.055 through 279B.070 and 279A.200 et seq. (9) Nothing in this Rule exempts the Agency from obtaining the approval of the Attorney General for legal sufficiency according to ORS 291.047. (10) All State Contracting Agencies must comply with ORS 200.035 and applicable related Department statewide policy, despite this Rule. (11) If an Authorized Agency intends to award a Contract through a Special Procurement that calls for competition among prospective contractors, the Authorized Agency must award the Contract to the Offeror the Authorized Agency determines to be the most advantageous to the Authorized Agency. (12) Reporting. An Authorized Agency must comply with ORS 279A.165, including but not limited to: (a) Application. This section (12) applies to all Special Procurements advertised or otherwise solicited on or after January 1, 2012. (b) Records. An Authorized Agency must maintain records about its Special Procurements that enable the Agency to determine and provide to the State Chief Procurement Officer at least the following information: (A) The name of the Agency that conducted each Special Procurement; (B) The number of Special Procurements the Agency conducted; (C) The number of contracts awarded through each Special Procurement; (D) A summary of the reasons that the Agency decided to conduct each Special Procurement; (E) A descriptive summary of the procurement procedure used to conduct the Special Procurement, noting whether the procedure was competitive or not; (F) A listing of the number of Offers the Agency received if the Special Procurement procedure was competitive; (G) The Contract Price or estimated Contract Price for each Contract awarded through a Special Procurement; (H) A summary of the protests or other responses to the approval of each Special Procurement that the Agency received; and (I) A summary of the disposition of the protests or other responses described in subsection 12(b)(H). (c) Reports. Authorized Agencies must provide to the State Chief Procurement Officer the information in section (12)(b) of this Rule. (A) Form. Agencies must report on a form approved by the State Chief Procurement Officer. (B) Timing. Agencies must deliver regular reports on the approved form to the State Chief Procurement Officer no later than the dates announced by the State Chief Procurement Officer. (d) Section (12) of this Rule is effective on the date of the filing of this amended Rule.