Award

(1) Each contract shall be awarded by the Chief Procurement Officer on behalf of the Central Procurement Office or by a Delegated State Agency where authority has been delegated in accordance with these Rules and Central Procurement Office Policy. Notice of Intent to Award shall be communicated in writing or electronic transmission to all respondents. The Chief Procurement Officer is authorized to award a contract if doing so is in the best interests of the State. Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-56-102, 4-56-105, and 12-3-502. Administrative History: Original rule filed February 5, 1982; effective June 1, 1982. Amendment filed January 24, 1986; effective April 15, 1986. Repeal and new rule filed November 25, 1987; effective February 28, 1988. Repeal and new rule filed October 22, 2013; effective January 20, 2014. 0690-03-01.12 PROTEST PROCEDURES. (1) Objection of Technical Requirements, Scope of Services or Specifications Prior to Evaluation of Responses. (a) The State shall use technical requirements and scopes of services that are non- restrictive. Concerns regarding any defects or ambiguities involving a solicitation shall be made in writing and delivered to the Central Procurement Office no later than seven (7) calendar days after the solicitation has been posted to the website of the Central Procurement Office or the Delegated State Agency as the case may be. (2) Protest After Notice of Intent to Award. (a) Any aggrieved respondent, who has submitted a response to a solicitation subject to these Rules and applicable law, may file a written protest with the Chief Procurement COMPREHENSIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE CHAPTER 0690-03-01 CENTRAL PROCUREMENT OFFICE Officer. The protest must be received by the Central Procurement Office within seven (7) calendar days from the beginning of the Open File Period. 1. On the first day of the Open File Period, all respondents are deemed to know all facts documented in the State’s procurement files. 2. A written protest filed by a respondent with the Chief Procurement Officer shall enumerate and detail all grounds for the protest in accordance with these Rules. 3. The Chief Procurement Officer may consider the following grounds for protest and no others: (i) The contract award was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or exceeded the authority of the Central Procurement Office or the Delegated State Agency. (ii) The procurement process was conducted contrary to a constitutional, statutory or regulatory provision. (iii) The Central Procurement Office or the Delegated State Agency did not follow the rules of the procurement as set forth in the solicitation in making the contract award, and such failure to follow the rules of the procurement materially affected the contract award. (iv) The procurement process involved responses that were not independently arrived at in open competition, were collusive, or were submitted in bad faith. (v) The contract award was the result of a technical or mathematical mistake or error during the evaluation process. 4. The Aggrieved Respondent challenging the procurement process or contract award has the burden of proof and persuasion with respect to the invalidity of the procurement process or contract award. 5. All protests allowed under this Rule shall first be filed with the Chief Procurement Officer. The Aggrieved Respondent shall have the right to file a protest directly with the Protest Committee, but only in the event the Chief Procurement Officer fails to acknowledge a protest within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of a protest, fails to resolve the protest within sixty (60) calendar days, or consents in writing to a direct appeal to the Protest Committee. 6. A written protest that is filed with the Protest Committee shall: (i) Meet the requirements of T.C.A. § 4-56-103; (ii) Be delivered to the Chief Procurement Officer and the Comptroller of the Treasury; and, (iii) Raise only grounds that were raised before the Chief Procurement Officer. 7. All protests, supporting documentation and the resolution or decisions thereof, shall be filed with and maintained by the Central Procurement Office in accordance with T.C.A. § 10-7-503. COMPREHENSIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE CHAPTER 0690-03-01 CENTRAL PROCUREMENT OFFICE 8. A protester is required to exhaust his or her administrative remedies as provided by these Rules. The failure of an Aggrieved Respondent to timely raise a ground for protest in accordance with these Rules shall be deemed a waiver of the Aggrieved Respondent’s right to seek review of such ground before the Chief Procurement Officer or the Protest Committee. (i) The final determination letter of a protest before the Chief Procurement Officer shall be reported to the Protest Committee and the Comptroller of the Treasury. (ii) The final determination letter of a protest before the Protest Committee shall be reported to the Comptroller of the Treasury. Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-56-102, 4-56-103, 4-56-105, and 12-3-514 Administrative History: Original rule filed February 5, 1982; effective June 1, 1982. Amendment filed January 24, 1986; effective April 15, 1986. Repeal and new rule filed November 25, 1987; effective February 28, 1988. Repeal and new rule filed October 22, 2013; effective January 20, 2014. 0690-03-01.13 CONTRACT FINALIZATION AND NEGOTIATION. (1) In accordance with Central Procurement Office Policy, communication and negotiation shall be conducted in a manner that is in the best interests of the State, provided that any communication, clarification, or negotiation so conducted does not undermine the procurement process as set forth in the solicitation, these Rules or Central Procurement Office Policy.