Responsible Executive: Vice President for Finance and Administration

Approving Official: Vice President for Finance and Administration

Effective Date: April 8, 2019

Last Revision Date: 01/01/2014

1. INTRODUCTION
   1. This policy describes the bidding process for construction projects.
2. POLICY
   1. This document describes the bidding process, from the establishment of bid time and location to the posting of the final bid tabulation after determination of the low bidder.
      1. DETERMINATION OF PRE-BID BUDGET
         1. The Facilities Design and Construction Office (FDC) determines the pre-bid budget within which the construction award shall be made, generally reserving no less than 3% of the Approved Planned Budget (APB) as a construction contingency for new projects, and 5% for renovation projects.
      2. SCHEDULING PRE-BID MEETING, BID DATE AND LOCATION FOR STIPULATED LUMP SUM CONTRACTS
         1. The Project Manager, in consultation with the project Architect/Engineer, schedules the dates for the pre-bid meeting and the bid opening, in accordance with Section 255.0525, F.S.
         2. Determination of Bid Opening Location. The Project Manager selects a location for the opening of bids with consideration given to:
            1. Accessibility
            2. Parking facilities
            3. Room capacit
            4. Repetitive use of space
      3. PLACEMENT AND CALL FOR BIDS FOR STIPULATED LUMP SUM CONTRACTS
         1. The FDC places a Call for Bids in accordance with Florida State University Policy OP-B-11-A, Advertisements for Architect/Engineer, Design/Build and Construction Manager Services and Calls for Bid.
      4. BIDDING PERIOD
         1. In accordance with Section 255.0525, F. S., the solicitation of competitive bids for projects projected to cost more than $200,000 must be published in the Florida Administrative Register (FAR) at least 21 days prior to the established bid opening. The solicitation of competitive bids for projects projected to cost more than $500,000 must be published in the Florida Administrative Register (FAR) at least 30 days prior to the established bid opening, and at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the project is located at least 30 days prior to the established bid opening and at least five days prior to any scheduled pre-bid conference.
      5. BID TABULATION FORM
         1. The Project Manager directs the project Architect/Engineer to prepare a bid tabulation form with columns to display the following information:
            1. name of each firm submitting a bid
            2. bid package number
            3. acknowledgment of the required bid bond/security
            4. acknowledgment of receipt of all addenda (state number of addenda)
            5. base bid amount
            6. addenda
            7. each alternate bid amount
         2. The bid tabulation form also includes the construction budget and a statement at the bottom of the form which reads: "The bid results indicated hereon do not represent the final compliance review by the Owner and are subject to change. Florida State University will post notification of the successful bidder via the Facilities Purchasing website. Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Chapter 120, F. S., shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, F. S."
      6. BID CHAIRMAN
         1. The University designates an individual of sufficient authority from its staff as the Chairman for the bidding procedure. The Chairman may designate someone (usually the project Architect/Engineer) to provide assistance with opening and reading the bids.
      7. BID OPENING
         1. Sealed bids shall be opened in a public meeting.
         2. Either the Chairman for the bidding procedure or a designee should be at the appointed place no less than 30 minutes prior to the time scheduled for the opening of bids. The actual Chairman should be at the appointed place no later than 15 minutes prior to the time scheduled for the opening of bids. The Chairman should verify the accuracy of his or her timepiece prior to the bid proceedings.
         3. At two minutes prior to the closing of bids, the Chairman announces aloud and publicly, in the place designated for the receipt of bids, that:
            1. the Chairman's timepiece is the official timepiece for the closing time for the submittal of bid proposals;
            2. no bids will be considered which are incomplete or which are tendered after the closing time; and,
            3. there are precisely two minutes remaining until the closing time.
         4. The Chairman announces the closing time. Any bids submitted thereafter will not be accepted.
         5. The Chairman's assistant opens the bid proposals, verifying that each proposal contains:
            1. The bid bond/security
            2. The acknowledgment of receipt of all addenda
         6. Upon the verification of completeness of the bid proposal, the Chairman reads the bid aloud:
            1. Acknowledging receipt of the required bid bond/security
            2. Acknowledging the acknowledgment of the receipt of all addenda
            3. Reciting the proposed sum for the base bid
            4. Reciting the proposed sums for each of the alternates
         7. Non-responsive Proposals. Any obviously non-responsive proposal is not read aloud. The Chairman announces the deficiency causing the bid to be non-responsive, and its disqualification thereby. The disqualified proposal must be impounded rather than returned. When there is doubt as to the responsiveness of the proposal, it must be read aloud, with an accompanying announcement as to the apparent possible deficiency.
      8. APPARENT LOW BIDDER
         1. After a preliminary evaluation of all proposals, the Chairman may notify all persons present of the Apparent Low Bidder. The Apparent Low Bidder is the firm who submitted the low responsive aggregate bid within the predetermined construction line of the official project budget. The Chairman notes that the final determination has yet to be made and could change the outcome. The aggregate bid consists of the base bid, plus additive alternate bids applied in the order in which they are listed on the bid tabulation form, awarding as many alternates as possible within the approved budget. If the Apparent Low Bidder cannot readily be determined, the Chairman may simply announce that the determination will be forthcoming and that the bid tabulation form will be posted.
      9. CLOSE OF PROCEEDINGS
         1. The Chairman closes the proceedings and advises the bidders that the bids will be reviewed for compliance with the bidding conditions, and advises them that the intended decision will be publicly noticed.
      10. AWARD OF CONTRACT
          1. The Chairman determines the lowest responsive bidder based on the recommendation of the Committee and by determining the following:
             1. That the actual bid price for the Base Bid and alternates accepted in the best interest of the project within the pre-established construction budget.
             2. That the bid proposal is in compliance with requirements of the bid specifications and the contract documents;
             3. That the Contractor has the required current contractor's license and (a copy should be placed in the university project file);
             4. That the Contractor holds a currently active Florida Corporation Charter Number which may be verified by contacting the Department of State, Division of Corporations (if the contractor is a corporation).
             5. That the Contractor can provide bonding and insurance per the project requirements.
          2. For Major Projects, after determination of the low bidder, the University prepares an "Award of Construction Contract" for the signature of the President or designee. For Minor Projects, the Notice of Award is approved in Facilities Purchasing.
      11. NOTICE OF AWARD
          1. Upon signature of the award, the notice of intended decision is posted on the FDC Purchasing web site, with the following note: “Failure to timely file a protest or failure to timely deliver the required bond or other security in accordance with the Board of Governors’ Regulations 18.002 and 18.003 shall constitute a waiver of protest proceedings.”
3. LEGAL SUPPORT, JUSTIFICATION, AND REVIEW OF THIS POLICY
   • Sections 255.0525, 255.29, 1013.46, F. S.