5-18A-40. Procedures applicable to reverse auctions. The following procedures apply to the use of an online reverse auction:

(1) The purchasing agency shall pre-qualify bidders to participate in the reverse auction event. The pre-qualification shall be completed by issuing an invitation to qualify. The factors used to determine a vendor qualified for the reverse auction shall be clearly stated in the invitation to qualify. No other factors may be used to qualify a vendor for the reverse auction than those stated in the invitation to qualify;

(2) Public notice shall be given pursuant to § 5-18A-14 of the invitation to qualify;

(3) The purchasing agency shall notify any responding vendor as to whether the vendor has qualified. The purchasing agency may not disclose to the public or other vendors, the name of any vendor that has been invited to the reverse auction until after the reverse auction has occurred;

(4) A bidder shall directly enter bids on the internet to participate in the reverse auction. The purchasing agency may not accept bids via any alternate method;

(5) Any clarification, negotiation, and acceptance of all specifications, requirements, and terms and conditions shall occur before the purchasing agency decides whether to invite a vendor to the reverse auction. After the reverse auction, the purchasing agency may permit changes only if the changes do not affect the justification that was used to eliminate any other vendor from being qualified;

(6) During any reverse auction, the online view of the bids presented to the bidders may not identify who has placed a particular bid. Each bidder may see only the amount of the bid;

(7) If a bidder loses the ability to place bids during an auction for any reason, the auction shall be suspended until all bidders regain the ability to place bids via the internet auction site. If no resolution to the problem is imminent, the reverse auction may be terminated and rescheduled by the purchasing agency. In addition, the auction may be suspended or terminated for any reason by the purchasing agency or the reverse auction service provider. Upon resuming an auction after a suspension, the time remaining shall be the time remaining when the auction was suspended or ten minutes, whichever is greater;

(8) In conducting a reverse auction, the agency may establish an extension activation period, which is the number of minutes before the end of the auction during which, if a bid is received, the auction will be extended by a pre-defined number of additional minutes. The minimum extension activation period that may be used is ten minutes; and

(9) After the reverse auction is completed, the award shall be made in accordance with § 5-18A-5.Source: SL 2013, ch 29, § 2.