(1) Pre-proposal conferences may be conducted to explain the procurement requirements. If a chief procurement officer plans to hold such a conference, he or she shall prominently place the notification in the request for proposals or request for qualifications solicitation. The notification shall include the date, time and location of the conference. If the chief procurement officer decides to hold a pre-proposal conference after the request for proposals or request for qualifications has been sent out, then he or she shall notify all prospective offerers known to have received a request for proposals or request for qualifications.

(2) If a pre-proposal conference is held, it shall be at least fourteen (14) days after the request for proposals or request for qualifications has been issued. In setting the time for the conference, the chief procurement officer shall consider the complexity of the procurement and the potential modifications that may need to be made after the conference and any amendments to the solicitation that the chief procurement officer may need to make after the conference.

(3) The chief procurement officer issuing the request for proposals or request for qualifications shall serve as chair of the conference. Offerers attending the conference shall be required to sign an attendance sheet provided by the soliciting agency. The chair shall announce at the beginning of the conference how the conference is to be handled. The conference shall be recorded. A chief procurement officer may mandate attendance at a conference if he or she feels it is critical to understanding the solicitation. Once the conference is over, the chief procurement officer shall put the recordings from the conference and the questions and answers from the conference in writing and send them to the offerers who received the request for proposals or request for qualifications and post them on the Mississippi procurement portal and the soliciting agency’s website.