(a) If the division finds that a state agency has submitted
specifications or conditions of purchase which are proprietary to
one vendor and do not permit an equivalent good or service to be supplied,
the division may require the state agency to provide written justification
before processing the procurement. Within 10 days thereafter, it will
notify the agency of the need for a written justification. An agency
may submit a written justification along with its requisition if it
chooses to do so.
(b) A written justification for the use of proprietary
specifications or conditions shall:
(1) contain an explanation of the need for the specifications
or conditions;
(2) state the reasons why any competing or equivalent
products identified by the division are not satisfactory, addressing
each such product individually;
(3) contain any other information requested by the
division; and
(4) be signed by the agency head, the chairman of its
governing body, or a person to whom such signature authority has been
properly delegated in the agency's procurement plan, or in the case
of an institution of higher education, by a person properly designated
as a purchasing officer for the institution.
(c) When a state agency submits a written justification
meeting the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, the division
shall make the requested purchase.
(d) If a review of the state agency's proposed specifications
or conditions by the division shows that competition will be unduly
limited and are not proprietary to one vendor, the division shall
inform the state agency of the limiting effect caused by the specification
or condition and its possible economic effect.
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