A. The state purchasing agent shall develop guidelines for central purchasing offices to use electronic media, including distribution of solicitations and acceptance of sealed bids and competitive sealed proposals that include electronic signatures. The guidelines shall include:

(1) appropriate security to prevent unauthorized access to electronically submitted bids or proposals prior to the date and time set for opening of bids or the deadline set for receipt for proposals, including the electronic bidding, approval and award process; and

(2) accurate retrieval or conversion of electronic forms of information into a medium that permits inspection and copying.

B. A central purchasing office, in an invitation for bids or a request for proposals, may require all or any part of a sealed bid or a competitive sealed proposal to be submitted electronically if the office determines that an electronic submission will be advantageous to the procurement process. If electronic submission is required:

(1) no hard copy documentation shall be submitted to the central purchasing office prior to the award of the contract, except as specifically identified in the invitation for bids or the request for proposals;

(2) the invitation for bids or request for proposals shall specify an opening date and time, a fixed closing date and time and an email account or other secure electronic location to which the electronic bid or proposal shall be submitted;

(3) sealed bids submitted electronically 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 each bid item, if appropriate, and such other relevant information as may be specified by the state purchasing agent or a central purchasing office, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded, and the record and each bid shall be open to public inspection; and

(4) for sealed proposals, the proposals shall be opened, evaluated and the contract awarded as required in the request for proposals and as otherwise provided in the Procurement Code.

History: Laws 2001, ch. 292, § 7; 2006, ch. 23, § 2.

The 2006 amendment, effective March 2, 2006, deleted the requirement in Subsection A that the state purchasing agent work with the attorney general to develop guidelines; required the state purchasing agent to develop guidelines that include distribution of solicitations and acceptance of competitive sealed proposals; added a new Subsection B to provide that a central purchasing office may require all or part of sealed bids or proposals to be submitted electronically; added Paragraph (1) to Subsection B to provide that no hard copy documentation shall be submitted prior to award of the contract; added Paragraph (2) to Subsection B to require that invitations for bids or requests for proposals shall specify the opening date and time, closing date and time, and an email account or secure electronic location for submitting bids or proposals; added Paragraph (3) to Subsection B to provide that bids submitted electronically shall be opened in the presence of witnesses at the bid opening and the bid information recorded; and added Paragraph (4) to Subsection B to provide that proposals shall be opened and evaluated and a contract awarded as required in the request for proposals or as provided in the Procurement Code.