When funds are made available to the Department for a construction project, the following procedures shall be followed:   (1) The director will form a selection committee using Department employees who are knowledgeable concerning the nature, scope, project location and who have an understanding of state or federal facility design, engineering, and/or contracting procedures. The director may, with the concurrence of the Adjutant General of Texas, utilize available employees of the Adjutant General's Department or active members of the Texas National Guard to serve as members of such selection committees.   (2) The selection committee will determine from the project description a list of the minimum qualifications that a prospective architect/engineer (A/E) should posses in order to provide professional services on the project.   (3) The selection committee, where possible, will compile a list of at least three firms that meet or exceed the minimum qualifications for further consideration.   (4) The list will be drawn from a file of A/E firms which have expressed an interest in work supervised by the Department by having responded to a request for qualification or submitting adequate data on experience and capability in other formats.   (5) Firms selected for consideration will be notified and given a brief description of the project, and those interested in further consideration will be scheduled for interviews and the selection committee.   (6) Each firm interested will be rated individually by each committee member on a numeric scale. The firm receiving the highest total rating from the members of the committee will be considered the preferred firm for the project.   (7) In case of identical scores, additional qualifications of the firms will be considered and rated individually until ties are resolved.   (8) The staff will attempt to negotiate an agreement with the A/E scored the highest by the selection committee. Negotiations by the staff will be under the direction of the executive director. Should the staff be unable to reach an agreement with the A/E scored the highest by the selection committee, the staff will terminate negotiations with that A/E and attempt to negotiate an agreement with the A/E scored next highest by the selection committee. Should the commission be unable to reach an agreement with this firm, a similar procedure will be followed until an agreement is reached.   (9) After selection is completed, unsuccessful firms will be advised of the decision.   (10) Items of consideration in making the initial selection will include, but will not be limited to, the following:     (A) the A/E's experience with projects similar in nature to the one for which the firm is being considered;     (B) the location of the A/E's home office relative to the project site;     (C) compatibility between the size of the firm and the size of the project;     (D) the quality and amount of previous work done for the Department (satisfactory experience is obviously conducive to favorable consideration, but in the interest of giving as many eligible and qualified firms as possible a fair chance to obtain Department work, a substantial amount of prior Department work may be the basis for rejection);     (E) current work load and capability of proceeding with project at reasonable speed;     (F) experience with control of budgets and schedules; and     (G) the A/E status as a Historically Underutilized Business.

Source Note: The provisions of this §130.2 adopted to be effective June 7, 2011, 36 TexReg 3501