(a) Purchasing and bidding procedures; criminal penalties. —

(1) Whenever an authority proposes to purchase or contract for commodities or services reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $25,000 in cost, the purchase or contract shall be based on competitive bidding. Where the purchase of particular commodities or services is reasonably anticipated to be less than $25,000, the executive director may, on behalf of the authority, solicit bids or price quotes in any manner that the executive director deems appropriate and the authority shall obtain its commodities or services by the lowest bid. In lieu of seeking bids or quotes for commodities or services in this price range, the authority may purchase those commodities and services pursuant to state prequalification agreements as provided in §5A-3-10e of this code.

(2) Where the cost for the purchase of commodities or services is reasonably anticipated to exceed $25,000, the executive director shall solicit sealed bids for such commodities or services: Provided, That the executive director may permit bids by electronic transmission to be accepted in lieu of sealed bids. Bids shall be solicited by public notice. The notice shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in all participating counties in compliance with the provisions of §59-3-1 et seq. of this code and by such other means as the executive director deems appropriate. The notice shall state the general character of the work and general character of the materials to be furnished, the place where plans and specifications therefor may be examined, and the time and place for receiving bids. After all bids are received, the authority shall enter into a written contract with the lowest responsible bidder; however, the authority may reject any or all bids that fail to meet the specifications required by the authority or that exceed the authority"s budget estimation for those commodities or services. If the executive director determines in writing that there is only one responsive and responsible bidder and that there has been sufficient public notice to attract competitive bids, he or she may negotiate the price for a noncompetitive award or the specifications for a noncompetitive award based solely on the original purpose of the solicitation.

(3) For any contract that exceeds $25,000 in total cost, the authority shall require the vendors to post a bond, with form and surety to be approved by the authority, in an amount equal to at least 50 percent of the contract price conditioned upon faithful performance and completion of the contract.

(4) The bidding requirements specified in this section do not apply to any leases for real property upon which the authority makes improvements for public access to the recreational area, information distribution, and welcome centers. This exemption does not apply to leases for offices, vehicle and heavy equipment storage, or administrative facilities.

(5) Any person who violates a provision of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not less than 10 days nor more than one year, or fined not less than $10 nor more than $1,000, or both fined and confined.

(b) Conflicts of interest in contracts prohibited. —

An authority or any of its board members, officers, employees, or agents may not enter into any contracts, agreements, or arrangements for purchases of services or commodities violating the requirements of §6B-2-5 or §61-10-15 of this code.

(c) Civil remedies. —

The county commission of a participating county in an authority may challenge the validity of any contract or purchase entered, solicited, or proposed by the authority in violation of this section by seeking declaratory or injunctive relief in the circuit court of the county of the challenging party. If the court finds by a preponderance of evidence that the provisions of those sections have been violated, the court may declare the contract or purchase to be void and may grant any injunctive relief necessary to correct the violations and protect the funds of the authority as a joint development entity.