OAR 137-049-0450: Protest of Contractor Selection, Contract Award

(1) Purpose. An adversely affected or aggrieved Offeror must exhaust all avenues of administrative review and relief before seeking judicial review of the Contracting Agency's Contractor selection or Contract Award decision. (2) Notice of Competitive Range. Unless otherwise provided in the RFP, when the competitive Proposal process is authorized under OAR 137-049-0650, the Contracting Agency shall provide Written notice to all Proposers of the Contracting Agency's determination of the Proposers included in the Competitive Range. The Contracting Agency's notice of the Proposers included in the Competitive Range shall not be final until the later of the following: (a) 10 Days after the date of the notice, unless otherwise provided therein; or (b) Until the Contracting Agency provides a Written response to all timely-filed protests that denies the protest and affirms the notice of the Proposers included in the Competitive Range. (3) Notice of Intent to Award. The Contracting Agency shall provide Written notice to all Offerors of the Contracting Agency's intent to Award the Contract, as provided by OAR 137-049-0395. (4) Right to Protest Award. (a) An adversely affected or aggrieved Offeror may submit to the Contracting Agency a Written protest of the Contracting Agency's intent to Award within seven Days after issuance of the notice of intent to Award the Contract, unless a different protest period is provided under the Solicitation Document. (b) The Offeror's protest must be in Writing and must specify the grounds upon which the protest is based. (c) An Offeror is adversely affected or aggrieved only if the Offeror is eligible for Award of the Contract as the Responsible Bidder submitting the lowest Responsive Bid or the Responsible Proposer submitting the best Responsive Proposal and is next in line for Award, i.e., the protesting Offeror must claim that all lower Bidders or higher-scored Proposers are ineligible for Award: (A) Because their Offers were nonresponsive; or (B) The Contracting Agency committed a substantial violation of a provision in the Solicitation Document or of an applicable Procurement statute or administrative rule, and the protesting Offeror was unfairly evaluated and would have, but for such substantial violation, been the Responsible Bidder offering the lowest Bid or the Responsible Proposer offering the highest-ranked Proposal. (d) The Contracting Agency shall not consider a protest submitted after the time period established in this rule or such different period as may be provided in the Solicitation Document. A Proposer may not protest a Contracting Agency’s decision not to increase the size of the Competitive Range above the size of the Competitive Range set forth in the RFP. (5) Right to Protest Competitive Range. (a) An adversely affected or aggrieved Proposer may submit to the Contracting Agency a Written protest of the Contracting Agency's decision to exclude the Proposer from the Competitive Range within seven Days after issuance of the notice of the Competitive Range, unless a different protest period is provided under the Solicitation Document. (See procedural requirements for the use of RFPs at OAR 137-049-0650.) (b) The Proposer's protest shall be in Writing and must specify the grounds upon which the protest is based. (c) A Proposer is adversely affected only if the Proposer is responsible and submitted a Responsive Proposal and is eligible for inclusion in the Competitive Range, i.e., the protesting Proposer must claim it is eligible for inclusion in the Competitive Range if all ineligible higher-scoring Proposers are removed from consideration, and that those ineligible Proposers are ineligible for inclusion in the Competitive Range because: (A) Their Proposals were not responsive; or (B) The Contracting Agency committed a substantial violation of a provision in the RFP or of an applicable Procurement statute or administrative rule, and the protesting Proposer was unfairly evaluated and would have, but for such substantial violation, been included in the Competitive Range. (d) The Contracting Agency shall not consider a protest submitted after the time period established in this rule or such different period as may be provided in the Solicitation Document. A Proposer may not protest a Contracting Agency's decision not to increase the size of the Competitive Range above the size of the Competitive Range set forth in the RFP. (6) Authority to Resolve Protests. The head of the Contracting Agency, or such Person's designee, may settle or resolve a Written protest submitted in accordance with the requirements of this rule. (7) Decision. If a protest is not settled, the head of the Contracting Agency, or such Person's designee, shall promptly issue a Written decision on the protest. Judicial review of this decision will be available if provided by statute. (8) Award. The successful Offeror shall promptly execute the Contract after the Award is final. The Contracting Agency shall execute the Contract only after it has obtained all applicable required documents and approvals.