| (iii) Group 14, geotechnical services;
(iv) Group 15, surveying and mapping;
(v) Group 16, architecture; and
(vi) Group 17, facilities engineering.
(C) The department may exempt services other than those
indicated in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph on a case-by-case
basis. Any request for an exemption must be received by the department
by the closing date of the RFP.
(c) Consultant selection team (CST).
(1) The department shall use a CST in selecting providers
under this section.
(2) The CST shall be composed of at least three department
employees.
(3) At least one CST member must be a professional
engineer, for engineering contracts; a registered architect, for architectural
contracts; and either a professional engineer or registered professional
land surveyor, for surveying contracts.
(4) If a CST member leaves the CST during the selection
process, the process may continue with the remaining members, subject
to paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(d) Request for proposals. Not fewer than 14 calendar
days before the RFP closing date, the department will post on a web-based
bulletin board an RFP providing the contract information and specifying
the requirements for preparing and submitting a proposal.
(e) Proposal. To be considered, a proposal must comply
with the requirements specified in the RFP.
(f) Replacements.
(1) An individual may be proposed as a replacement
for the prime provider project manager prior to the department's notification
of firms short-listed for an interview or, if an interview is not
required, prior to selection.
(2) An individual may be proposed as a replacement
for a task leader prior to contract execution.
(3) A proposed replacement for the prime provider project
manager must be an employee of the prime provider. A proposed replacement
for a task leader must be an employee of the prime provider or its
subprovider. A proposed replacement for either position must satisfy
the applicable precertification and non-listed category requirements.
(g) Proposal screening and evaluation.
(1) The department may disqualify a proposal if the
department has knowledge that a firm on the project team or an employee
of a firm on the project team is the subject of a final administrative
or judicial determination that the firm or employee has violated a
statute or rule of a state licensing entity related to occupational
or professional conduct.
(2) If a proposal is not disqualified under paragraph
(1) of this subsection, the CST will screen the proposal to determine
whether it complies with the requirements specified in the RFP. Each
proposal that meets these requirements will be considered responsive
to the RFP and evaluated.
(3) The CST will evaluate the responsive proposal according
to the evaluation criteria detailed in the RFP based on factors the
department has identified as most likely to result in the selection
of the most qualified provider, including the prime provider's past
performance scores, as contained in the department's database, that
reflect less than satisfactory performance.
(h) Short list. The short list will consist of the
most qualified providers, as indicated by the proposal scores.
(1) For single contract selections, the minimum number
of short-listed prime providers is three, unless fewer than three
prime providers submitted a responsive proposal.
(2) For multiple contract selections, the minimum number
of short-listed prime providers is the number of desired contracts
plus three, unless fewer than the desired number of prime providers
submitted a responsive proposal.
(3) Notification.
(A) The department will notify each prime provider
that submitted a proposal whether it was short-listed.
(B) The department will notify each short-listed prime
provider whether a short list meeting will be held.
(i) Short list evaluation.
(1) An interview is required for any specific deliverable
contract that is $5 million or more in value or any indefinite deliverable
contract for higher-risk services as determined by the department
based on project complexity, anticipated project costs, number of
contracts, or type of services.
(2) The RFP will state whether an interview will be
required as part of the short list evaluation. The department will
issue an Interview and Contract Guide (ICG) to each short-listed prime
provider. The ICG will provide contract information and specify the
requirements for the interview.
(3) The CST will evaluate the interviews according
to the criteria specified in the ICG.
(j) Selection.
(1) Basis of final selection.
(A) If interviews are required, the CST will select
the best qualified provider, as indicated by the interview scores.
(B) If interviews are not required, the CST will select
the best qualified provider, as indicated by the proposal scores.
(2) Tie scores. The PEPS Division Director will break
a tie using the following method.
(A) The first tie breaker will be the scores for:
(i) the interview criterion with the highest RIF; or
(ii) if interviews are not required, the proposal criterion
with the highest RIF.
(B) The remaining criteria shall be compared in the
order of decreasing RIF until the tie is broken.
(C) If the providers have identical scores on all of
the criteria, the provider will be chosen by random selection.
(3) Notification. The department will:
(A) provide written notification to the prime provider
selected for contract negotiation and arrange a meeting to begin contract
negotiations;
(B) provide written notification to each short-listed
prime provider that was not selected, notifying the provider of the
non-selection; and
(C) publish the short list and the selected provider
on a web-based bulletin board.
(4) Appeal. A provider may file a written appeal concerning
the selection process with the executive director or the executive
director's designee as provided under §9.7 of this chapter (relating
to Protest of Contract Practices or Procedures).
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §9.34 adopted to be effective February 21, 2013, 38 TexReg 994; amended to be effective October 17, 2013, 38 TexReg 7122; amended to be effective April 16, 2015, 40 TexReg 2098; amended to be effective July 20, 2016, 41 TexReg 5248; amended to be effective February 15, 2017, 42 TexReg 569; amended to be effective June 20, 2019, 44 TexReg 2957; amended to be effective November 17, 2021, 46 TexReg 7806 |
