(a) Any person desiring to provide professional services to a state agency shall submit to the agency a statement of qualifications and performance data and such other information as may be required by the agency. The agency may request such person to update such statement periodically in order to reflect changed conditions in the status of such person.

(b) For each proposed project for which professional services are required, the principal representative or his or her designee of the state agency for which the project is to be done shall evaluate statements of qualifications and performance data as required in the public notice provided for in Code Section 50-22-3 and shall conduct discussions with not less than three persons regarding their qualifications, approaches to the project, abilities to furnish the required professional services, anticipated design concepts, and use of alternative methods of approach for furnishing the required professional services. The principal representative or his or her designee shall then select not less than three nor more than five persons deemed to be most highly qualified to perform the required professional services after considering, and based upon, such factors as the ability of professional personnel, past performance, willingness to meet time requirements, project location, office location, the professional's current and projected workloads, the professional's approach, quality control procedures, the volume of work previously awarded to the person by the state agency, and the extent to which said persons have and will involve minority subcontractors, with the object of effecting an equitable distribution of contracts among qualified persons as long as such distribution does not violate the principle of selection of the most highly qualified person. In selection, as mentioned in this Code section, persons who maintain an office in Georgia shall be given preference when qualifications appear to be equal.