22 CAR § 112-203. Emergency contracting

(a) Capital improvement contracting may be made pursuant to Arkansas Code § 22-9-201 where unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances occur, such as: (1) When human life, health, safety, or state property is in jeopardy; (2) To reconstruct facilities or construct new facilities and related site work due to fire, storm, riots, etc.; (3) Construction or repairs to immediately needed equipment or facilities where delay would result in overall higher expenditures or cause the department to lose revenue due to not providing the service responsible for such as medical treatment, education, and military armories; or (4) When unsuccessful bids (see 22 CAR § 112-331) occur and the Construction Section determines that additional advertising of bids would be futile. (b)(1) The department shall invite a minimum of three (3) competitive bids, unless: (A) The emergency is critical (health, life, or safety); (B) An unfair advantage of exposed bid amounts has occurred; or (C) It involves a single source provider such as a public utility. (2) In these instances, less than three (3) bids may be requested. (3) If time does not allow, bids may be submitted via quote bid instead of sealed bids upon prior approval by the Construction Section. (4) Prior to the invitation, departments shall provide the names of the proposed bidders to the Construction Section for verification of eligibility. (5) Upon request by the Construction Section, departments shall provide justification on the merits of the invited bidder. (6) Examples of justification may include: (A) The contractor is familiar with the site or type of work due to previous work performed on the site; (B) The contractor has completed several similar types of projects for the department; (C) The contractor has sufficient resources to commit to the work to provide an immediate response; (D) Due to the urgency and the scope of the emergency project, the contractor is geographically located close to the facility and will be able to provide a timely response; (E) The contractor has the expertise necessary to complete the specialized scope for the emergency project; (F) The department has sufficient favorable experience with the contractor; or (G) Given the urgency of the project, the contractor has sufficient experience to obtain and coordinate the subcontractors necessary to expedite the work for a timely completion. (c)(1) The Construction Section must be contacted in advance for prior written approval where time permits. (2) Where time does not permit prior written approval, telephone, fax, or electronic mail approval must be obtained at the earliest practical date from the Construction Section. (3) The Construction Section shall receive and record details on all telephone approvals. (4) The Building Authority Division shall provide departments notice of its determination after a review of the department’s justification is conducted. (5) All project plans and specifications must be processed through the Design Review Section. (6) Upon approval, the department, through coordination with the Construction Section, can process the bid and award the contract. (7) Bids submitted by an uninvited bidder shall be rejected and returned unopened to the bidder. (8) The following documentation is required when submitting an emergency contract for approval: (A)(i) Written justification setting forth the circumstances of the emergency. (ii) Departments may access emergency related documents on the division website; (B) Bid security, if required in the bid documents; (C) Insurance certificate; (D)(i) Performance and payment bond issued in accordance with Arkansas laws and rules. (ii) The bond must be filed in the county where the work is to be performed; (E) List of subcontractors pursuant to Arkansas Code § 22-9-204; (F) All other applicable documents required by law or rule; (G) All drawings and the project manual on engineering projects which exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and architectural projects which exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be stamped, sealed, and signed by the appropriate design professional; and (H) One (1) original of the contract and related backup documentation. (d) All contractors must be properly licensed with the Contractors Licensing Board (refer to Arkansas Code § 17-25-101 et seq.).