41-2581. Procurement of certain professional services

A. A purchasing agency may procure under this section a single contract or multiple contracts for professional services if the contract is for professional services by an architect or architect firm and the contract amount is two hundred fifty thousand dollars or less or if the contract is for professional services by a person or firm other than an architect and the contract amount is five hundred thousand dollars or less. For such procurements, the director shall encourage persons or firms engaged in the lawful practice of the profession to submit annually a statement of qualifications and experience.

B. The director or head of the purchasing agency shall initiate an appropriately qualified selection committee for each procurement, which may include one contract or multiple contracts, pursuant to rules adopted by the director or purchasing agency. The amount of each contract in a single procurement under this section shall not exceed the dollar amount limits in subsection A. The selection committee shall evaluate current statements of qualifications and experience on file with the director or purchasing agency, together with those that may be submitted by other persons or firms regarding the procurement. If possible and practicable, the selection committee shall conduct interviews regarding the procurement and the relative methods of furnishing the required services and, if possible, shall select, in order of preference and based on criteria established and published by the selection committee, one or more final lists of the persons or firms deemed to be the most qualified to provide the services required. The selection committee shall base the selection of each final list and the order of preference on demonstrated competence and qualifications only. The purchasing agency and the selection committee shall not request or consider fees, price, man-hours or any other cost information at any point in the selection process under this section, including the selection of the persons or firms to be interviewed, the selection of the persons and firms to be on a final list, in determining the order of preference of persons and firms on a final list or for any other purpose in the selection process. If the procurement is for:

1. A single contract or if the procurement is for multiple contracts to be awarded to a single person or firm, there shall be one final list of three persons or firms.

2. Multiple contracts for different professional services to be awarded to separate persons or firms, there shall be a separate final list of three persons or firms for each contract.

3. Multiple contracts for the same professional services to be awarded to separate persons or firms, there shall be one final list and the number of persons or firms on the final list shall be the number of contracts plus another number that is determined by the purchasing agency and that is not more than five.

C. After each final list is selected pursuant to subsection B, the procurement officer shall enter into negotiations with the highest qualified person or firm on each final list or, in the case of a single final list for multiple contracts for the same professional services to be awarded to separate persons or firms, the purchasing agency shall enter into negotiations with a number of the highest qualified persons or firms on the final list equal to the number of contracts that may or will be awarded. The negotiations shall include consideration of compensation and other contract terms that the procurement officer determines to be fair and reasonable to this state. In making this determination, the procurement officer shall take into account the estimated value, the scope, the complexity and the nature of the professional services to be rendered. If the procurement officer is unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with a person or firm with which the purchasing agency is negotiating at a price and on other contract terms the procurement officer determines to be fair and reasonable to this state, the procurement officer shall formally terminate negotiations with that person or firm. The procurement officer may undertake negotiations with the next most qualified person or firm on the final list in sequence until an agreement is reached or a determination is made to reject all persons or firms on the final list. If the procurement officer terminates negotiations with a person or firm on a final list and commences negotiations with another person or firm on the final list, the procurement officer shall not in that procurement recommence negotiations or enter into the single contract or multiple contracts for the professional services covered by that final list with any person or firm on that final list with whom the procurement officer has terminated negotiations.

D. If the purchasing agency does not have a procurement protest policy and procedures that have been formally adopted and published by the purchasing agency, for protests relating to procurements under this section the purchasing agency shall follow the procurement protest policy and procedures of the department. The purchasing agency shall process all protests relating to procurements under this section.