(a) Conditions for use.--Contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in section 511 (relating to methods of source selection).

(b) Invitation for bids.--An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include a procurement description and all contractual terms, whenever practical, and conditions applicable to the procurement.

(c) Public notice.--Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given a reasonable time prior to the date set for the opening of bids. The purchasing agency shall establish written policies and may promulgate regulations regarding methods of public notice. The method of public notice may include any of the following:

(1) Electronic publication which is accessible to the general public.

(2) Advertisement as provided for in 45 Pa.C.S. § 306 (relating to use of trade publications).

(3) Issuance of invitations for bids to bidders on the solicitation mailing list of the purchasing agency.

(4) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

(5) Where prequalification is a requirement of submitting a bid, notification to all contractors who have been prequalified by the purchasing agency.

Copies of invitations to bid shall be made available to any interested person upon request to the purchasing agency. Purchasing agencies may establish procedures for the distribution of invitations to bid including the imposition of a fee to reimburse the agency for the costs of photocopying and mailing.

(d) Bid opening.--Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid and any other relevant information as may be specified by regulation, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded. The record shall be open to public inspection.

(e) Bid acceptance and evaluation.--Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or modification except as authorized in this part or in the invitation for bids. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bids.

(f) Modification or withdrawal of bids.--

(1) Bids may be modified or withdrawn by written notice or in person by a bidder or its authorized representative if its identity is made known and a receipt for the bid is signed prior to the exact hour and date set for the opening of bids. Except as otherwise provided in this part, withdrawals and modifications of bids received after the exact hour and date specified for the opening of bids shall not be considered.

(2) Withdrawal of erroneous bids after bid opening but before award based on bid mistakes shall be permitted by the written determination of the contracting officer when the bidder requests relief and presents credible evidence that the reason for the lower bid price was a clerical mistake as opposed to a judgment mistake and was actually due to an unintentional arithmetical error or an unintentional omission of a substantial quantity of work, labor, material or services made directly in the compilation of the bid. The request for relief and the supporting evidence must be received by the contracting officer within a reasonable time period after the bid opening. The time period shall be specified by the department.

(3) The contracting officer shall not permit a withdrawal of a bid if the withdrawal of the bid would result in the awarding of the contract on another bid of the same bidder, its partner or a corporation or business venture owned by or in which the bidder has a substantial interest. No bidder who is permitted to withdraw a bid shall supply any material or labor to or perform any subcontract or other work agreement for any person to whom a contract or subcontract is awarded in the performance of the contract for which the withdrawn bid was submitted without the written approval of the contracting officer.

(g) Award.--The contract shall be awarded within 60 days of the bid opening by written notice to the lowest responsible bidder or all bids shall be rejected except as otherwise provided in this section. Extensions of the date for the award may be made by mutual written consent of the contracting officer and the lowest responsible bidder. Within 30 days of the bid opening the contracting officer shall, if bid security was required by the invitation for bids, return the bid security to all but the lowest and next-to-lowest responsible bidders then under consideration for contract award.

(h) Multistep sealed bidding.--When it is considered impractical to prepare initially a procurement description to support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced bids, to be followed by an invitation for bids requesting priced bids from responsible bidders of the first solicitation.

(Dec. 3, 2002, P.L.1147, No.142, eff. imd.)

2002 Amendment. Act 142 amended subsecs. (g) and (h).

Cross References. Section 512 is referred to in sections 106, 106.1, 511, 512.1, 513, 517, 533, 561, 902 of this title.