(a)

(1) Except as provided in this section, the department shall enter into contracts for the administration of specific service signs. The department may, however, carry out the administration of specific service signs to provide continuity of the program in the case of default of an administrative contractor, or in the interim period between administrative contracts, and to fulfill statutory or regulatory changes made to the program during an existing administrative contract where the administrative contractor is unwilling to provide for statutory or regulatory additions to the program under the terms of the existing contract, and other terms that the department deems appropriate.

(2) Contracts for administrative services include the marketing, management, and maintenance of specific service signs. Any administrative services contract awarded must include provisions requiring an appropriate corporate surety performance bond, security or cash.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the commissioner from determining whether provision of administrative services for the entire state should be the basis for bids, or whether the provision of the services for segments of the state should be the basis for bids.

(c) Notwithstanding § 12-3-102(a)(8), any contract to perform administrative services shall be awarded to the contractor whose proposal offers the best value for the state rather than the least cost to the retail user of the signs. In determining the best value for the state, the department may consider:

(1) The quality of service offered;

(2) The contractor's overall qualifications to partner with the department. This includes determining fair market value of advertising space and establishing a fee structure that provides a combination of revenue to the department and fair pricing to the advertisers;

(3) The contractor's financial resources and ability to perform;

(4) The percentage of revenue sharing provided to the department by the contractor; and

(5) Any other factor the department considers relevant.