Contract documents for water district construction projects
shall be prepared in general conformance with those adopted and recommended
by the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (latest
revision). The following specific requirements must apply, unless
otherwise provided by a district's special law.
(1) All contract documents shall be prepared in such
a manner as to promote competitive bidding and to ensure that all
bids are prepared on a common basis.
(2) The instruction to bidders section of the contract
documents shall give special attention to the following items.
(A) The basis of award shall be clearly defined. If
alternate proposals are to be considered, the instructions to bidders
shall clearly state in which order the alternates will be considered
in determining the most advantageous bid. If two or more contracts
are to be awarded, the instructions to bidders shall clearly indicate
if combined bids, or tied bids, will be allowed, or if each contract
will be awarded separately.
(B) The contract should clearly provide that alternate
bids will not be considered, unless specifically allowed by instructions
to bidders and requested in the proposal form.
(C) Specific notice shall be given that qualifying
statements or accompanying qualifying letters will be cause for rejection
of the bid.
(D) Provision shall be made for prospective bidders
to request additional information, explanations, or interpretations
regarding contract documents prior to the bid opening. All requests
and answers to all such requests shall be given in writing. Answers
will be in addendum form to all prospective bidders.
(3) The district shall require the bidder to whom the
district proposes to award the contract to submit a statement of qualifications.
The statement shall include such data as the district may reasonably
require to determine whether the contractor is responsible and capable
of completing the proposed project.
(4) For contracts over $50,000, the district shall
require bidders to submit certified or cashier's checks or a bid bond
issued by a surety legally authorized to do business in this state
in an amount of at least 2.0% of the total amount of the bid. For
a contract greater than $250,000, the district must accept a bid bond
if it meets all requirements. If cashier's checks are required, the
checks for all bidders except the three most qualified bidders shall
be returned within three days of the bid opening.
(5) The district shall require that bidders submit,
along with the bid, the name of the person, firm, or corporation that
will execute payment and performance bonds.
(6) The district may establish criteria for acceptability
of the surety company issuing payment and performance bonds including,
but not limited to:
(A) authorization to do business in Texas; and
(B) authorization to issue payment and performance
bonds in the amount required for the contract and:
(i) a rating of at least B from Best's Key Rating Guide;
or
(ii) if the surety company does not have any such rating
due to the length of time it has been a surety company, the surety
company must demonstrate eligibility to participate in the surety
bond guarantee program of the United States Small Business Administration
and must be an approved surety company listed in the current United
States Department of Treasury Circular 570. Such performance and payment
bonds shall meet the criteria contained in the rules and regulations
promulgated by the United States Department of Treasury with respect
to performance and payment bonds for federal jobs, including specifically
the rules related to the underwriting limitation. The district shall
satisfy itself that such surety company and bonds meet such criteria.
(7) The district shall satisfy itself that all persons
executing the bonds are duly authorized by the laws of the State of
Texas and the surety company to do so.
(8) For contracts over $75,000, a district's board
shall advertise the project once a week for two consecutive weeks.
For contracts over $25,000 but not more than $75,000, a district's
board shall solicit written competitive bids on the project from at
least three bidders. For contracts not more than $25,000, a district's
board is not required to advertise or seek competitive bids.
(9) A board of a special law district may elect to
contract in accordance with the requirements in Texas Water Code, §49.273,
even if those requirements conflict with provisions in the district's
special law.
(10) A district with a population of more than 100,000
may utilize the design-build procedure for limited projects as provided
in Local Government Code, Chapter 271, Subchapter J.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §293.63 adopted to be effective September 5, 1986, 11 TexReg 3745; amended to be effective August 5, 1988, 13 TexReg 3638; amended to be effective October 22, 1996, 21 TexReg 9905; amended to be effective July 31, 2008, 33 TexReg 5936; amended to be effective November 13, 2014, 39 TexReg 8730 |