A. Bids shall be unconditionally accepted for consideration for award without alteration or correction, except as authorized in the Procurement Code. In addition to the requirement for the prime contractor and subcontractors to be registered as provided in Section 13-4-13.1 NMSA 1978, bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which requirements may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria such as discounts, transportation costs and total or life-cycle costs that will affect the bid price shall be objectively measurable, which shall be defined by rule. 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. A bid submitted by a prime contractor that was not registered as required by Section 13-4-13.1 NMSA 1978 shall not be considered for award. A bid submitted by a registered prime contractor that includes any subcontractor that is not registered in accordance with that section may be considered for award following substitution of a registered subcontractor for any unregistered subcontractor in accordance with Section 13-4-36 NMSA 1978.

B. If the lowest responsible bid has otherwise qualified, and if there is no change in the original terms and conditions, the lowest bidder may negotiate with the purchaser for a lower total bid in order to avoid rejection of all bids for the reason that the lowest bid was up to ten percent higher than budgeted project funds. Such negotiation shall not be allowed if the lowest bid was more than ten percent over budgeted project funds.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 65, § 78; 1987, ch. 348, § 4; 2005, ch. 98, § 1.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, in Subsection A, added the requirement that prime contractors and subcontractors be registered as criteria for bid evaluation; provided that a bid submitted by a prime contractor who is not registered shall not be considered for award; and provided that a bid by a registered prime contractor that includes a bid by any subcontractor who is not registered may be considered for award after the substitution of a registered subcontractor for any unregistered subcontractor.

Evaluation of bids. — All the acts in question by the city - introducing a locality requirement after the bids were opened, awarding the contract to the fourth-ranked bidder, and rejecting the proposals after making a contract award - were arbitrary and capricious. Had the city simply rejected all proposals at any point before making an award, this matter would not be before the court. Planning & Design Solutions v. City of Santa Fe, 1994-NMSC-112, 118 N.M. 707, 885 P.2d 628.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 64 Am. Jur. 2d Public Works and Contracts §§ 64 to 65.

Authority of state, municipality, or other governmental entity to accept late bids for public works contracts, 49 A.L.R.5th 747.

72 Supp. C.J.S. Public Contracts § 15.