The agency may request that the appropriate chief procurement officer require any bidder or offeror who files an action protesting the intended award or award of a contract solicited under Article 5 of this code and valued at one million dollars or more to post with the appropriate chief procurement officer a bond or irrevocable letter of credit payable to the State of South Carolina in an amount equal to one percent of the total potential value of the contract as determined by the appropriate chief procurement officer. The chief procurement officer's decision to require a bond or irrevocable letter of credit is not appealable under Article 17. The bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be conditioned upon the payment of all reasonable reimbursement costs which may be adjudged against the bidder or offeror filing the protest in the administrative hearing in which the action is brought and in any subsequent appellate court proceeding. For protests of sole source or emergency procurements, the bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be in an amount equal to one percent of the requesting agency's estimate of the contract amount for the sole source or emergency procurement requested. In lieu of a bond or irrevocable letter of credit, the appropriate chief procurement officer may accept a cashier's check or money order in the amount of the bond or irrevocable letter of credit. If, after completion of the administrative hearing process and any appellate court proceedings, the agency prevails, it may request that the Procurement Review Panel allow it to recover all reasonable reimbursement costs and charges associated with the protest which shall be included in the final order or judgment, excluding attorney's fees. Upon payment of such costs and charges by the bidder or offeror protesting the intended award or award of a contract, the bond, irrevocable letter of credit, cashier's check, or money order shall be returned to the bidder or offeror. Failure to pay such costs and charges by the bidder or offeror protesting the intended award or award of a contract shall result in the forfeiture of the bond, irrevocable letter of credit, cashier's check, or money order to the extent necessary to cover the payment of all reasonable reimbursement costs adjudged against the protesting bidder or offeror. If the bidder or offeror prevails in the protest, the cost of providing the bond, irrevocable letter of credit or cashier's check may be sought from the agency requesting the bond or irrevocable letter of credit; provided that in no event may the amount recovered exceed fifteen thousand dollars.

HISTORY: 1997 Act No. 153, Section 1; 2019 Act No. 41 (S.530), Section 57, eff May 13, 2019.

Editor's Note

2019 Act No. 41, Section 80, provides as follows:

"SECTION 80. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to solicitations issued after that date."

Effect of Amendment

2019 Act No. 41, Section 57, in the second sentence, substituted "Article 17" for "Section 11-35-4210", in the fourth sentence, deleted "intended award or award of a contract of the purchasing agency's request for" following "For protests of", and in the ninth sentence, inserted "; provided that in no event may the amount recovered exceed fifteen thousand dollars".