OAR 943-060-0100: Special Procurements

(1) The Authority may award a contract as a special procurement as authorized by ORS 413.033. (2) The DPO may approve or deny special procurement requests submitted on the designated form. The special procurement request shall identify whether it is for one or more particular contracts or class of contracts. A request for a special procurement concerns the procurement process only. (3) Special procurement requests shall contain the following: (a) Reasons why the Authority has elected to use a special procurement and how it will benefit the Authority or the public. (b) 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 Authority 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 Authority shall include a description of the goods and services that are the subject of the special procurement and a procurement process, including provisions for amendment and criteria for selection. (d) The DPO may require any additional information the DPO determines reasonably necessary to evaluate the Authority's request for approval of a special procurement. (4) The special procurement approval is effective only after the DPO's approval of the findings and completion of the public notice required under section (5) of this rule. (5) The public notice process and requirements are as follows: (a) The Authority shall give public notice of the approval of its special procurement as required under ORS 279B.085(5), unless otherwise directed by the DPO, in one or more, or in any combination of, the following manners: (A) Publish notice on the Department of Administrative Services’s electronic procurement system (ORPIN); (B) Place notice on any Authority electronic procurement system which it may establish and maintain; (C) Place notice in a newspaper or trade journal of general circulation in the area where the work is to be performed; or (D) Give direct written or electronic notice to potential providers known to the Authority. (b) The public notice shall describe the goods and services or class of goods and services to be acquired through the special procurement. (c) Public notice of the approval of the proposed special procurement shall be given at least seven days before the award, unless fewer days are specified in the notice. (d) The Authority may request certain information be withheld from the public notice requirement of this rule in cases where confidentiality or security may be jeopardized only according to exception under the public records law (ORS 192.410 to 192.505). (6) An affected individual may protest the approval of a special procurement in accordance with ORS 279B.400. (7) Any solicitation or contract resulting from a special procurement approval shall contain a reference to the approved special procurement number. (8) If the DPO provides written approval of the proposed special procurement, the Authority shall award any contract under the special procurement in accordance with the conditions of the 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 DPO. (9) If the Authority competitively solicits, it shall comply with the process described in the special procurement or the rules for that method of solicitation under ORS 279B.055 to 279B.075 and 279A.200 et seq. (10) Nothing in this rule exempts the Authority from obtaining legal sufficiency approval from the Attorney General according to ORS 291.047. (11) The Authority shall comply with ORS 200.035 and related policy, despite this rule. (12) If the Authority intends to award a contract through a special procurement that calls for competition among prospective contractors, the Authority shall award the contract to the offeror the Authority determines to be the most advantageous to the Authority. (13) The Authority shall comply with Oregon Laws 2012, chapter 53, section 4, including but not limited to: (a) OAR 943-060-0100(12) that applies to all special procurements advertised or otherwise solicited on or after January 1, 2012. (b) The Authority shall maintain records about its special procurements that enable the DPO to determine and provide the following information: (A) The name of the program that conducted each special procurement; (B) The number of special procurements conducted; (C) The number of contracts awarded through each special procurement; (D) A summary of the reasons the Authority 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 Authority 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 the Authority received; and (I) A summary of the disposition of the protests or other responses described in section (13)(b)(H) of this rule.