| (a) Following receipt of a contractor's notice of claim,
the chief administrative officer of the commission or other designated
representative will review each claim of the contractor and each counterclaim
of the commission if any, and initiate negotiations with the contractor
to attempt to resolve each claim and counterclaim.
(b) Subject to subsection (c) of this section, the
parties must begin negotiations within a reasonable period of time,
not to exceed 60 days following the later of:
(1) the date of termination of the contract;
(2) the completion date, or substantial completion
date in the case of construction projects, in the original contract;
or
(3) the date the commission receives the contractor's
notice of claim.
(c) The commission may delay negotiations until the
180th day after the date of the event giving rise to the claim of
breach of contract by:
(1) delivering written notice to the contractor that
the commencement of negotiations will be delayed; and
(2) delivering written notice to the contractor when
the commission is ready to begin negotiations.
(d) The parties may conduct negotiations according
to an agreed schedule as long as they begin negotiations no later
than the deadlines prescribed by subsections (b) or (c) of this section,
whichever is applicable.
(e) Subject to subsection (f) of this section, the
parties must complete the negotiations that are required by this chapter
as a prerequisite to a contractor's request for contested case hearing
no later than 270 days from the date the commission received the contractor's
notice of claim.
(f) The parties may agree in writing to extend the
time for negotiations on or before the 270th day after the commission
receives the contractor's notice of claim. The agreement must be signed
by representatives of the parties with authority to bind each respective
party and must provide for the extension of the statutory negotiation
period until a date certain. The parties may enter into a series of
written extension agreements that comply with the requirements of
this section.
(g) The contractor may request a contested case hearing
before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) in accordance
with §27.99 of this title (relating to Request for Contested
Case Hearing) 270 days from the date the commission received the contractor's
notice of claim, or the expiration of any extension agreed to under
subsection (f) of this section.
(h) The parties may agree to mediate the dispute at
any time before 270 days from the date the commission received the
contractor's notice of claim or before the expiration of any extension
agreed to by the parties in accordance with subsection (f) of this
section. The mediation must be governed by Division 3 of this subchapter
(relating to Mediation of Contract Disputes).
(i) Nothing in this section prohibits the parties from
agreeing to commence negotiations earlier than the deadlines established
in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, or from continuing or
resuming negotiations after the contractor requests a contested case
hearing before SOAH.
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