SECTION .0300 ‑ PROCUREMENT AUTHORIZATION AND PROCEDURES
01 NCAC 05B .0301 CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS
Except where a waiver, special delegation, exemption, or an
emergency purchase is permitted by rule, all purchases involving the
expenditure of public funds made by universities and other agencies for
commodities, services and printing, not covered by statewide term contracts,
shall comply with the following delegations and procedures:
(1) Small Purchases: A small purchase is defined as
the purchase of commodities, services or printing, not covered by a term
contract, involving an expenditure of public funds of five thousand dollars
($5,000) or less. The executive officer of each agency, or his designee, shall
set forth, in writing, purchasing procedures for making small purchases. The
using agency shall award contracts for small purchases. The SPO may require a
copy of the small purchase procedures be sent to the Division of Purchase and
Contract.
(2) Purchases Governed by General Delegation or
Statute:
(a) For purchases made by a university or agency
involving an expenditure of public funds over five thousand dollars ($5,000),
up to the benchmark established for a university under the provisions of G.S.
116-31.10, and up to the general delegation limit for agencies established by
the SPO under the provisions of G.S. 143-53(a)(2):
(i) Competition shall be solicited;
(ii) Solicitation documents requesting or
inviting offers shall be issued;
(iii) Solicitation documents shall include
standard language, including terms and conditions as published by the Division
of Purchase and Contract on its home web page, unless prior written approval is
obtained from the Division for unusual requirements. If additional terms and
conditions are used, they shall not conflict with the Division's standard terms
and conditions, unless prior written approval is obtained from the Division for
unusual requirements; and
(iv) Mailing lists, if available from the
Division of Purchase and Contract, may be requested and used in addition to
mailing lists maintained by the university or agency for the purpose of
soliciting competition.
(b) Agencies and universities shall advertise
their solicitations through the Division of Purchase and Contract for the
following purchases:
(i) Agencies: For purchases involving an
expenditure of public funds exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), up to the
general delegation limit for an agency established by the SPO under the
provisions of G.S. 143-53(a)(2);
(ii) Universities: For purchases involving an
expenditure of public funds exceeding twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000),
up to the benchmark established for a university under the provisions of G.S.
116-31.10.
Agencies and universities may advertise solicitations on
smaller dollar purchases through the Division of Purchase and Contract.
(c) The using agency shall award contracts under
the statutory limit for universities and the general delegation for all other
agencies.
(3) Competitive Bidding Procedure: Where the total
requirements for commodities, services or printing jobs involve an expenditure
of public funds in excess of the expenditure benchmark established under the
provisions of G.S. 116-31.10 or the general delegations established by the SPO
under the provisions of G.S. 143-53(a)(2), the competitive bidding procedure as
defined in G.S. 143-52 shall be utilized as follows:
(a) Sealed offers for commodities and printing
shall be solicited by the Division of Purchase and Contract via advertisement;
(b) For service contracts, the universities and
other agencies shall solicit sealed offers for their university/agency in
accordance with the rules established for Sub-items (2)(a) and (b) of this
Rule. After opening and completing the evaluation of offers received, the
agency shall prepare a written recommendation for award, and if over the
benchmark established under G.S. 116-31.10 or the general delegations
established by the SPO, shall submit a copy of all offers received and their
recommendation of award or other action to the Division of Purchase and
Contract for approval or other action deemed necessary by the SPO (Examples:
cancellation, negotiation, etc.). Notice of the Division of Purchase and
Contract's decision shall be sent to the agency. The using agency shall award
contracts for services;
(c) Sealed offers for statewide term contracts
for commodities, printing and services shall be solicited by the Division of
Purchase and Contract via advertisement.
(4) For each service contract handled by the agency,
the agency shall prepare a task description of the services and desired
results. Task descriptions shall contain all of the following:
(a) The date(s) of service (The contract shall
not be for more than three years including extensions and renewals, without the
prior approval of the SPO for unusual requirements);
(b) Detailed specifications or type and level of
work required;
(c) What the State shall furnish;
(d) What the contractor shall furnish;
(e) The method, schedule, and procedures for
billing and payments; and
(f) Other subject matters bearing on the
conduct of the work.
(5) Rules applying to service and printing contracts do
not apply to local school administrative units or community colleges.
History Note: Authority G.S. 143-49; 143-52; 143-53;
143-53.1;
Eff. February 1, 1976;
Readopted Eff. February 27, 1979;
Amended Eff. February 1, 1996; January 1, 1985;
Temporary Amendment Eff. February 15, 1998;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1999.