North Dakota Administrative Code

Terms used in this chapter are as defined in North Dakota Century Code title 65, except that "employee" is limited to an employee who is employed by the state at the time the employee sustains a compensable work injury. Additionally: 1. "Employing authority" means the state entit…

1. The risk management workers' compensation program contact for the employing authority shall file a completed incident report which includes details of the employee's alleged injury, the cause, the contributing factors, and the action taken to prevent further occurrences. The c…

1. Immediately following an injury, the employing authority shall: a. Assist the employee onsite; or b. Arrange for the transport of the employee for treatment to the preferred provider or the provider selected by the employee prior to the alleged injury. 2. An employing authorit…

duty. 1. The state shall offer an employee with an alleged compensable injury transitional duty meeting the limitations or restrictions imposed on the employee's ability to work due to the alleged compensable injury. Priority must be given to offering transitional duty within the…

1. An employee who accepts transitional duty is entitled to receive the preinjury wage and the benefits of the employee's preinjury position for the number of hours the employee works or is on paid leave during the transitional duty. 2. For the duration of the transitional duty, …

1. The risk management division of the office of management and budget may impose a surcharge of twenty-five dollars per day upon an employing authority for each calendar day the employing authority fails to provide transitional duty to an employee with an alleged compensable inj…

An employee who is placed on family and medical leave by the employing authority because of an alleged compensable injury may not be required to accept transitional duty offered in lieu of continuing on family and medical leave. If, however, an employee accepts transitional duty …

An employee shall be deemed permanently unable to return to the employee's preinjury position due to a disability arising from a compensable injury on the date on which the employee's treating medical provider has informed the bureau that the employee has permanent physical restr…

1. An employee is eligible for reassignment with the employing agency under this section if: a. The employee was a regular employee; b. The employee would otherwise have continued in the regular position; c. The employee is unable to perform the essential functions of the regular…

Rules set forth in this article are promulgated by the office of management and budget, in accordance with North Dakota Century Code sections 44-08-01, 46-01-01, 46-01-02, 46-02-01, 54-44-04, and 54-44.4-04 and other laws as contained in the North Dakota Century Code. History: Ef…

The terms throughout this article have the same meaning as in North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-44.4, except: 1. "Approved vendor" means a person or business entity that has completed the registration requirements of North Dakota Century Code section 54-44.4-09 and been placed…

1. In a determination made by a state employee or official, the state employee or official making the determination shall independently examine the material facts of the procurement and independently determine whether the procurement is eligible for the procurement method request…

1. These rules apply to all procurements of commodities and services, regardless of the funding source, by each state agency and institution in the executive branch of government, except this chapter does not apply to: a. Those agencies or institutions governed by the state board…

1. When a procurement involves the expenditure of federal assistance or contract funds, the office of management and budget or purchasing agency will comply with all federal laws and regulations that are mandatory and that are not presently reflected in these rules. 2. Nothing in…

Violations of state laws, rules, and office of management and budget written directives relating to procurement will be reported to the employing agency for appropriate disciplinary action. A violation of state laws, rules, and office of management and budget written directives r…

1. The state procurement office within the office of management and budget is responsible for carrying out the duties, powers, and responsibilities involved with the operation of a centralized purchasing service. 2. The state procurement office is headed by the state procurement …

The state procurement manager or designee shall: 1. Adopt policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards consistent with the laws and rules governing the procurement of commodities and services. 2. Procure or supervise the procurement of all commodities and services needed by th…

A procurement advisory council, appointed by the director and headed by the state procurement manager, shall meet at least twice per year for the discussion of procurement practices and recommendations for improvement of the state procurement process. The committee advises the st…

The director or director's designee may delegate purchasing authority, in writing, to the head of a state agency or institution. The head of the state agency or institution may delegate that person's authority to specific individuals. The delegation will specify dollar limits for…

The head of a state agency or institution may request a special delegation of purchase authority for a specific requirement. The request must be made in writing to the state procurement office and approval obtained before the agency or institution issues a solicitation or awards …

1. Factors to consider in making the decision to delegate include: a. The procurement expertise or other specialized knowledge of the potential delegate; b. The past experience of the potential delegate in exercising similar authority; c. The degree of economy and efficiency to b…

1. Any person with delegated purchasing authority will exercise this authority in accordance with the terms of the delegation, the state laws, rules, and office of management and budget procurement written directives. 2. State agencies and institutions may adopt internal procurem…

The state procurement office conducts a procurement training and development program. The state procurement office may charge fees for training on a cost-recovery basis. History: Effective August 1, 2004. General Authority: NDCC 54-44.4-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 54-44.4-03, 54-44.…

All parties involved in the solicitation, negotiation, performance, and administration of contracts for the state shall act in good faith. History: Effective August 1, 2004. General Authority: NDCC 54-44.4-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 54-44.4-01, 54-44.4-04

Solicitations for bids or proposals will be issued in sufficient time and in a form that will permit the highest practicable degree of full and free competition. History: Effective August 1, 2004. General Authority: NDCC 54-44.4-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 44-08-01, 54-44.4-01, 54-4…

1. No state employee or official will furnish information to a prospective bidder or offeror if, alone or together with other information, it might give the prospective bidder or offeror an unfair advantage. 2. Each state employee or official will handle confidential or proprieta…

1. Each state employee or official directly or indirectly involved in procurement activities for the state will exercise caution in professional and personal activities to prevent a conflict of interest, or the appearance of conflict, regarding any vendor or contractor. 2. An emp…

1. Any vendor or contractor is prohibited from giving or offering to give, and any employee and official of the office of management and budget or a purchasing agency involved in any aspect of the procurement process is prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept…

A state employee or official involved in any aspect of the procurement process must promptly report to the state procurement manager any case of suspected collusion or suspicious bidding pattern indicating anticompetitive trade practices between actual or prospective bidders or o…

Source selection may not be based upon discrimination because of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability, or political affiliation. History: Effective August 1, 2004. General Authority: NDCC 54-44.4-04 Law Implemented: N…

Requirements may not be artificially divided to avoid requirements for obtaining competition. Fragmentation of current requirements for commodities and services must be based upon actual need by the purchasing agency. History: Effective August 1, 2004. General Authority: NDCC 54-…

1. A vendor that wants to receive notice of solicitations for bids or proposals must apply to have its name placed on the bidders list for the type of commodities or services that the vendor sells. 2. Placement on the bidders list does not guarantee a vendor will receive notice o…

1. The state procurement manager may, after consultation with the attorney general, suspend or debar any vendor from a bidders list for cause. The suspension period must be less than six months; the debarment period must be less than three years. 2. The vendor will be given writt…

1. At any time after the vendor receives notice of suspension or debarment, the vendor may submit a written explanation of the circumstances that were the cause of the suspension or debarment order, or may show that the circumstances have been corrected. 2. On the basis of the ex…

Sufficient grounds for suspension or debarment include: 1. Failing to maintain active, good-standing status with the secretary of state; 2. Delivering items that do not comply with the specifications of the vendor's contract with the state; 3. Failing to make delivery within the …

1. The purpose of a specification is to serve as a basis for obtaining a commodity or service suitable for the state's needs in a cost-effective manner. 2. Commodities and services will be specified at the proper level of utility and quality for the purpose intended in order to p…

1. Specifications should encourage competition in meeting the state's needs and may not be restrictive. Restrictive specifications are contrary to the policy of the state and should be avoided. 2. Standard commercial commodities will be specified whenever possible. 3. A specifica…

1. Specification may include brand name, make, or source of supply, but in those cases it will be clearly indicated that equivalent products may be acceptable. 1 2. If a commodity or service put forth as equivalent is rejected by an agency or institution as not being equivalent, …

1. If testing or examination of the commodities or services is desirable or necessary to best satisfy state requirements, a qualified products list may be developed with approval of the state procurement office. 2. When developing a qualified products list, a representative group…

1. Specifications for equipment leases and lease-purchases will include the total term of the lease, including all provisions for extensions or renewals of the lease agreement. If the purchasing agency will purchase insurance for the equipment being leased from the leasor, those …

1. The requirements of these rules regarding the purpose and nonrestrictiveness of specifications applies to all specifications prepared by someone other than a state employee or official. 2. When a purchasing agency has specifications prepared by someone other than a state emplo…

A noncompetitive solicitation may be issued to obtain information, data, comments, or reactions from possible vendors preceding the issuance of solicitation for bids or proposals or a multistep bidding procedure. Information obtained as a result of a request for information is su…

Prior to issuing a solicitation, the procurement officer may hold a specification meeting to seek information necessary to prepare a suitable specification and competitive solicitation. The procurement officer will provide adequate notice to potential bidders or offerors. The mee…

In preparing a solicitation or contract, the procurement officer will consider the potential risks involved in the contract for procurement of commodities or services to determine reasonable measures that can be taken to mitigate those risks, including the use of insurance, bondi…

As a result of a risk management analysis, it may be determined that the contractor will be required to acquire and maintain insurance. The insurance requirements must be stated in the solicitation. History: Effective August 1, 2004. General Authority: NDCC 54-44.4-04 Law Impleme…

1. As a result of a risk management analysis prior to the solicitation being issued, security may be required to protect the interests of the state and ensure that a vendor will not withdraw a bid or proposal prior to contract award. In this circumstance, a bid bond, certified ch…

1. As a result of a risk management analysis prior to the solicitation being issued, the successful bidder or offeror may be required to file a performance bond, certified check, or cashier's check drawn on the Bank of North Dakota or a federally insured bank, or other form of su…

1. A payment bond may be required by the purchasing agency for the protection of all persons supplying labor and material to the contractor or its subcontractors for the performance of work provided for in the contract. 2. When a payment bond is required, the bid or proposal must…

1. Commodities and services will be procured through a competitive solicitation method unless competitive solicitation is not required by state law or circumstances exist under which competition can be limited or waived in accordance with North Dakota Century Code section 54-44.4…

1. Extremely low-value purchases, including purchases made using a purchasing card, will be made using adequate procedures to ensure commodities and services are obtained at a fair and reasonable price, which may include the solicitation of only one bid or proposal. The procureme…