The procurement preferences and goals specified in this part 9 apply to the award of contracts under this code.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part added with relocated provisions, (HB 17-1051), ch. 99, p. 319, � 28, effective August 9.
24-103-902. Low tie bids - award procedure and determination - bid preference. (1) If low tie bids are received in response to an invitation for bids for a supply contract, the following procedures are required:
(a) If the low tie bids are from a resident bidder and a nonresident bidder, the resident bidder shall be given preference over the nonresident bidder;
(b) If the low tie bids are from resident bidders, the procurement agent shall:
(I) Use a fair and reasonable procedure for determining which bidder receives the contract award that at a minimum provides for the presence, at the time and place the determination is made, of the bidders or the bidders' representatives and an impartial witness designated by the procurement agent who is not an employee of that procurement agent's agency; and
(II) Give the bidders at least five business days' written notice by certified mail of the date the determination will be made, of the procedure for making the determination, and that the bidders or the bidders' representatives may be present when the determination is made;
(c) If the low tie bids are only from nonresident bidders, the procurement agent shall follow the procedures in subsections (1)(b)(I) and (1)(b)(II) of this section;
(d) All other applicable provisions of the code that are not inconsistent with this section shall be followed.
(2) If the procurement agent determines that compliance with this section will cause denial of federal moneys that would otherwise be available or would otherwise be inconsistent with federal law, this section shall be suspended, but only to the extent necessary to prevent denial of the moneys or to eliminate the inconsistency with federal law.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part added with relocated provisions, (HB 17-1051), ch. 99, p. 319, � 28, effective August 9.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 24-103-202.5 as it existed prior to 2017. For a detailed comparison of this section, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.
24-103-903. State purchases of recycled paper and recycled products - definitions. (1) When purchasing paper and paper products, any procurement agent shall, whenever the price is competitive and the quality adequate for the purpose intended, purchase recycled paper, as defined in section 13-1-133 (4)(d).
(2) For the fiscal year 1990-91, the executive director shall establish as a goal that at least ten percent of the total volume of paper and paper products purchased by the state shall contain recycled paper. The goal shall increase to twenty percent for the fiscal year 1991-92, to thirty percent for the fiscal year 1992-93, to forty percent for the fiscal year 1993-94, and to fifty percent for the fiscal year 1994-95, and for each fiscal year thereafter.
(3) Each agency using recycled paper may print the notation printed on recycled stock on any paper or paper product which has been certified by the division as recycled paper.
(4) For purposes of this section, paper and paper products means paper items, including but not limited to paper napkins, towels, corrugated and other cardboard, toilet tissue, high-grade office paper, newsprint, offset paper, bond paper, xerographic bond paper, mimeo paper, and duplicator paper.
(5) When purchasing any product with public funds, any procurement agent shall be authorized to purchase products or materials with recycled content, that have been source-reduced, that are reusable, or that have been composted, unless one or more of the following conditions exist:
(a) The product is not available within a reasonable period of time;
(b) The product fails to meet existing purchasing rules, including specifications; or
(c) The product fails to meet federal or state health or safety standards, as set forth in the code of federal regulations or the Colorado code of regulations.
(6) In addition to the requirements set forth in subsections (1), (2), and (5) of this section, the procurement agent shall be authorized to purchase, when cost-efficient and economically feasible, equipment that results in the reduction of paper usage.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part added with relocated provisions, (HB 17-1051), ch. 99, p. 320, � 28, effective August 9.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 24-103-207 as it existed prior to 2017. For a detailed comparison of this section, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.
24-103-904. Purchasing preference for environmentally preferable products - definitions. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Environmentally preferable products means products, including products that do not contain intentionally added PFAS chemicals, that have a lesser or reduced adverse effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products that serve the same purpose. The product comparison may consider such factors as the availability of any raw materials used in the product being purchased and the availability, use, production, safe operation, maintenance, packaging, distribution, disposal, or recyclability of the product being purchased.
(b) Intentionally added PFAS chemicals has the meaning set forth in section 25-15-603 (12).
(2) All invitations for bids for products shall include language that describes the availability of the purchasing preference for environmental products. In connection with the purchase of products, a governmental body shall award the contract to a bidder who offers environmentally preferable products subject to the conditions specified in subsection (3) of this section unless the specifications used in the solicitation contain environmentally preferable product criteria. This preference does not apply to the purchase of services, including construction services.
(3) The preference specified in subsection (2) of this section shall apply only if all of the following conditions are met and selecting an environmentally preferable product would not otherwise be disadvantageous to the state upon consideration of these conditions, singly or in combination:
(a) The quality of the environmentally preferable products meets the specification of the bid.
(b) The environmentally preferable products are suitable for the use required by the purchasing entity.
(c) Any bidder able to offer environmentally preferable products is able to supply such products in sufficient quantity, as indicated in the invitation for bids.
(d) The bid price for environmentally preferable products does not exceed the lowest bid price for products that are not environmentally preferable by more than five percent.
(e) The head of the governmental body or other official charged by law with the duty to purchase products has made a determination that the governmental body is able to purchase the environmentally preferable products out of the governmental body's existing budget without any further supplemental or additional appropriation.
(4) If the bid price for environmentally preferable products exceeds the bid price for products that are not environmentally preferable by more than five percent, a governmental body may award the contract to a bidder who offers environmentally preferable products where the governmental body demonstrates, on the basis of assessments such as the costs of ownership and a life-cycle analysis, that long-term savings to the state will result from environmentally preferable purchasing in accordance with the requirements of this section. Nothing in this section shall require that a governmental body perform an analysis of the costs of ownership or a life-cycle analysis in connection with the purchase of any products.
(5) (a) Any bidder that seeks to qualify for the preference created by subsection (2) of this section shall provide documentation to the governmental body inviting the bid that the products offered by the bidder are environmentally preferable. This requirement may be satisfied by submission of any of the following:
(I) A life-cycle analysis conducted on the applicable product that has been conducted in accordance with applicable standards as determined by the purchasing governmental body or by the international organization for standardization or any successor organization;
(II) A reference to an existing environmentally preferable product list maintained by a state or the federal government that contains the product; or
(III) A reference to a nationally recognized third-party certification entity that has certified the product as environmentally preferable on the basis of a valid life-cycle analysis. The governor's energy office or successor office shall maintain a list of certification entities.
(b) The governmental body may rely in good faith on any form of documentation that satisfies the requirement of subsection (5)(a) of this section.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if none of the forms of documentation specified in subsection (5)(a) of this section apply to the product being purchased, the requirements of this section shall not apply to the purchase of the product.
(6) In connection with any cost of ownership analysis or life-cycle analysis undertaken in connection with any purchase under this section of a product that involves the replacement of existing electrical, natural gas, or steam service, the cost analysis shall consider any stranded utility costs.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part added with relocated provisions, (HB 17-1051), ch. 99, p. 321, � 28, effective August 9. L. 2022: (1) amended, (HB 22-1345), ch. 338, p. 2433, � 2, effective June 3.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 24-103-207.5 as it existed prior to 2017. For a detailed comparison of this section, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.
24-103-905. Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses - state procurement preference - definitions. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business means a business that is:
(I) Incorporated or organized in the state or that is maintaining a place of business or office in the state; and
(II) Officially registered and verified as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business by the center for verification and evaluation within the appropriate United States agency.
(b) State agency means a principal department of the executive branch of state government as specified in section 24-1-110, including any division, office, agency, or other unit created within a principal department, including institutions of higher education and the Colorado commission on higher education; except that state agency does not include those entities that have elected to be exempt from the code pursuant to section 24-101-105 (1)(b).
(2) In awarding all contracts that are subject to this code, the state shall have the goal of awarding at least three percent of all such contracts, by dollar value, to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. To satisfy this goal, a state agency may grant a preference for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
(3) When a state agency intends to award a contract to a business in furtherance of the three percent goal specified in subsection (2) of this section, the state agency shall, prior to awarding the contract, require the business to submit to the agency documentation from the appropriate United States agency that verifies that the business is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
(4) On or before September 30, 2015, and on or before September 30 each year thereafter, the executive director shall submit a report regarding the state's progress in satisfying the three percent goal established in this section to the department of military and veterans affairs, the members of the Colorado board of veterans affairs, and to the members of the committees of the house of representatives and the senate that have jurisdiction over state affairs and veterans affairs. The report shall include the following:
(a) The total number of contracts that all state agencies awarded to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses in the prior fiscal year and the number of such contracts that each state agency awarded;
(b) The total dollar amount of contracts that all state agencies awarded to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses in the prior fiscal year and the percentage that such dollar amount bears to the total dollar amount of contracts awarded by all state agencies in the prior fiscal year; and
(c) The total dollar amount of contracts that each state agency awarded to service-disabled veteran owned small businesses in the prior fiscal year and the percentage that such dollar amount bears to the total dollar amount of contracts awarded by the state agency in the prior fiscal year.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part added with relocated provisions, (HB 17-1051), ch. 99, p. 322, � 28, effective August 9. L. 2024: (1)(a)(II) and (3) amended, (SB 24-204), ch. 306, p. 2070, � 4, effective August 7.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 24-103-211 as it existed prior to 2017. For a detailed comparison of this section, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.