Mississippi Administrative Code

Agencies may use the procedures set forth in this chapter to procure personal and professional services when the contract value will not exceed $75,000.00. If the Agency chooses not to use the procedures in this chapter, one of the other methods of source selection discussed in C…

The Agency Head shall adopt standard operating procedures for making small purchases which do not exceed $50,000.00. Such procedures shall provide for obtaining adequate and reasonable competition and for making records to properly account for funds and facilitate auditing of the…

13.3.1 Solicitation of Quotes Insofar as it is practical for small purchases of services greater than $50,000.00 and not exceeding $75,000.00, no less than three quotes shall be solicited. The Agency should request offerors to submit written responses which identify the offeror. …

A Notice of Contract Award shall be prepared following (1) approval by any boards or required entities, if applicable and (2) execution of the contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment. The Notice of Contract Award shall be posted publicly on the Agency website and on the…

The selection of an appropriate contract type depends on the nature of the services to be procured, the uncertainties which may be involved in contract performance, and the extent to which the Agency or the contractor is to assume the risk of the cost of contract performance. The…

For each new contract and every time a contract is modified, the Agency shall publish on the Agency website and the Transparency website an analysis describing why the personal or professional services contract was awarded, renewed, or amended. The published document shall includ…

14.11.1 Agency Responsibility 14.11.1.1 Continuous Internal Audit Required Any Agency procuring services pursuant to these rules and regulations shall maintain continuous internal audit of personal and professional service contracts affecting the Agency's revenue and expenditures…

Where an Agency intended to renew a contract under the terms and conditions therein, and a good faith administrative mistake results in the contract having expired and/or being due to expire prior to PPRB approval of a renewal term, the Agency has the following options: 14.12.1 E…

Where an Agency has determined it is in the Agency's best interest to terminate a contract procured under these rules and regulations, PPRB delegates authority to OPSCR to process and approve any such termination. OPSCR shall confirm the period of performance and contract value i…

For any contracts which have been approved by PPRB and executed by the parties, the remedies available for subsequent disputes are those available in the contract or those generally available under the common law principles governing contracts in the State of Mississippi. Notes 1…

Where the successful vendor following a competitive procurement ("the original awardee") ultimately defaults on the resulting contract, the Agency may contract with the vendor who would have been awarded the contract had the original awardee been disqualified during the competiti…

Subject to the limitations herein, any type of contract which will promote the Agency's best interests may be used. 14.2.1 Fixed-Price Contracts A fixed-price contract places responsibility on the contractor for the performance of the service at a price that may be firm or may be…

Multi-term contracts are those contracts which (1) have a period of performance lasting more than one year; (2) have a period of performance which spans two or more state fiscal years; and/or (3) have renewal clauses which, if exercised, would make the period of performance more …

Contract arrangements in which the Agency establishes contracts with multiple providers of a single service may only be used when necessary to ensure adequate provision of the personal and professional services required. An Agency shall state its intent to award a contract to mul…

All contracts for personal and professional services shall: * be in writing, * include a description of the services and deliverables to be provided, * state the period of performance, * list the price for the services, including any price adjustment allowed, * include all clause…

A contractor may assign all rights and obligations under a contract to another entity only with the express, written consent of the Agency with whom it has contracted. The Agency shall determine if the assignment is in the Agency's best interest prior to providing consent. 14.6.1…

When a contractor requests to change the name in which it holds a contract with any Agency, the Agency shall, upon receipt of a document indicating such change of name (for example, an amendment to the articles of incorporation), enter into a contract amendment to effect the chan…

14.8.1 Submission Deadlines Contracts shall be submitted 30 days prior to the PPRB meeting at which you are seeking approval. In order for the contract to be considered for placement on the PPRB Agenda, the contract, the Agency Procurement File, all forms required by OPSCR, and a…

After approval of a contract by PPRB, the contract may be fully executed. The executed contract shall be identical to the proposed contract approved by PPRB. The contract shall be executed by the Agency Head, or by an Agency official to whom the Agency Head has delegated authorit…

Where a vendor which has contracted with an Agency failed to satisfactorily perform the services required under the contract, the Agency shall have all remedies available to it under the contract. Should the vendor's performance be such that the Agency determines it is in the Age…

An Agency may petition PPRB to exclude a specific vendor from future contract awards from any or all Agencies under the purview of PPRB. 15.2.1 Request for Exclusion To initiate such a request, the Agency shall submit to the Director of OPSCR a written request for exclusion which…

Where the Agency or PPRB is considering whether a vendor should be excluded from future contract awards, the Agency or PPRB shall determine that - based on the totality of evidence presented - it is in the best interest of the Agency(ies) to exclude the vendor from future contrac…

The Agency and/or PPRB shall have the discretion to determine the parameters of the exclusion in both scope and time. PPRB shall specifically list in its order the Agencies from which the vendor has been excluded from future contract award(s). Should PPRB fail to state the Agenci…

Unless specifically stated otherwise, the words defined in this chapter shall have the meaning set forth below whenever they appear in these rules and regulations. Any words or phrases which are not defined in this chapter shall have their usual and customary meaning. * Agency: A…

As used in these rules and regulations, the following acronyms shall have the meaning set forth below: * AET: Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency (Legislative Committees) * AGO: Mississippi Attorney General's Office * BAFO: Best and Final Offer * BOB: Bureau of Building,…

3.1.1 Statutory Exemption Various service-specific and Agency-specific statutes exempt some contracts from PPRB purview. Statutorily exempt contracts are discussed in Chapter 12. 3.1.2 No Cost Contracts No cost contracts do not involve expenditure of public funds, regardless of s…

A small purchase involves a contract for personal or professional services with a total value of $75,000.00 or less. Small purchase contracts are not subject to PPRB purview. Regulations governing small purchases are in Chapter 13. > If the price of services would require PPRB ap…

3.3.1 Preapproved Vendor List: Statewide Contracts PPRB is authorized by Mississippi Code Annotated § 27-104-7(2)(i) to establish lists of preapproved vendors with whom Agencies may contract without the need to individually procure the service. Statewide Preapproved Vendor Lists …

3.4.1 Invitation for Bids An Invitation for Bids ("IFB") is the statutorily preferred method of procurement. The Agency provides a detailed scope of services and the minimally acceptable vendor qualifications. The Agency is required to contract with the responsive and responsible…

All non-competitive procurements are reported to the PPRB and to the AET Chairs. 3.5.1 Sole Source Procurement Sole Source Procurement may only be used in two circumstances: (1) when there is a single personal or professional service which will meet the needs of the Agency and on…

An RFI is used by a procuring Agency to gather information relevant to an upcoming procurement of personal or professional services. It is an information request and is not binding on the Agency or any party who participates. The purpose of an RFI is to gain familiarity with the …

Agencies shall ensure that any potential offeror and, where applicable, any potential stakeholder has the same opportunity to participate and respond to the RFI as incumbent vendors and other vendors and stakeholders which have a pre-existing relationship with the procuring Agenc…

The Public Notice of the RFI shall contain, at minimum, the following information: * The personal or professional services the Agency needs; * The subject(s) on which the Agency is seeking information; * The parties from whom information is sought (vendors, specific stakeholders)…

To the extent no potential offeror or stakeholder would be precluded from participation, an Agency may conduct an RFI in any manner it chooses. Traditional methods for conducting an RFI include written responses, meetings, and telephone or video conferences. Notes 12 Miss. Code. …

Any Agency issuing an RFI shall make a written determination that it provided fair access for participation to all potential offerors and, where applicable, all potential stakeholders to the best of the Agency's ability. The written determination shall include an explanation of h…

Vendors who participate in the RFI process are not precluded from responding to the resulting solicitation. Vendors shall neither be rewarded nor penalized during the evaluation process for their participation in or lack of participation in the RFI process. Notes 12 Miss. Code. R…

An IFB shall include information which is sufficient to put prospective bidders on notice of the means of and requirements for submitting a bid. This includes, but is not limited to: * bid submission requirements; * a bid form and any other forms the bidder is required to submit;…

5.2.1 Manner of Providing Public Notice Issuance of the IFB shall be advertised in the newspaper in the county or municipality in which the Agency is located and/or the county or municipality where the services will be performed once a week for two consecutive weeks. The IFB shal…

5.3.1 Letters of Intent Agencies may choose to require prospective bidders to submit a letter stating their intent to submit a bid as a pre-requisite to submitting a bid. The date for submission of a letter of intent, if required in the procurement, shall not be less than 14 cale…

5.4.1 Receipt and Register of Bids Each bid received, in any manner so received, shall be date-stamped but not opened, and shall be stored in a secure place until the time and date set for bid opening.9 The Agency shall create a register of the bidders and the time and date their…

Only objectively measurable criteria set forth in the IFB shall be applied in bid evaluation. Criteria not set forth in the IFB may not be used to evaluate the bids. Contract(s) may only be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder(s). In order to determine which bi…

5.6.1 Notice of Intent to Award Following evaluation and determination of the intended awardee, but prior to submission of the contract for PPRB approval, a Notice of Intent to Award shall be prepared, explaining the basis for determining the successful bidder. The Notice shall: …

At the Agency's sole discretion, an IFB may be canceled, all bids may be rejected, or individual bids may be rejected when the Agency determines that it is in the Agency's best interest to do so. A memorandum stating the reasons for the cancellation or rejection shall be made par…

The Mississippi Legislature codified the Best Practices for Soliciting Requests for Proposals or Requests for Qualifications at Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 31-7-401 through 31-7-423 ("the best practices statutes"). The expressed intent of the best practices statutes was to "ens…

At the Agency's sole discretion, an RFP or RFQ may be canceled or any or all responses to the solicitation may be rejected when the Agency determines that it is in the Agency's best interest to do so. A memorandum stating the reasons for the cancellation or rejection shall be mad…

6.2.1 Requests for Proposals An RFP is issued to solicit proposals. Use of this procurement method communicates to potential respondents that the Agency is seeking various ideas and approaches as to how to provide the required personal or professional services. The aim of an RFP …

An IFB is the preferred method of procurement. See Chapter 5. When it is not practicable or advantageous for an Agency to use an IFB as the procurement method, the Agency shall seek approval from PPRB to use an RFP or RFQ. Approval is sought by filing a petition for relief from t…