![]() ![]() Unlike the DOC in the instant case, the Hilton Board was provided no guidelines either for assessing a "responsible" bidder or for determining an "acceptable bid." Id.ĭefendants counter that the purchasing agent's authority to reject "any and all bids" allows the agent to reject the lowest responsible bidder, and thus grants the agent very broad discretion. The Hilton Board was required to choose the "responsible bidder submitting the lowest acceptable bid." Hilton Constr. In Hilton Construction Co., the Board was vested with greater discretion than in the present case. Amdahl, 398 S.E.2d at 545 (DOAS was bound to choose bidder with lowest price-performance formula). ![]() Although the relevant guidelines in Amdahl granted less discretion to the procurers than in the instant case, the Amdahl court did not define an upper acceptable limit in discretion. Amdahl Corp., 398 S.E.2d at 545 see also Hilton Const. The Georgia Supreme Court has held that a rejected low bidder has a property interest even if the procurement agency has "some discretion" regarding the final award. The degree of discretion enjoyed by the DOC in choosing the lowest responsible bidder falls squarely within the compass of discretion that the Georgia Supreme Court has found insufficient to preclude bidders from forming an expectation of an award. 533, 266 S.E.2d 157, 161 (1980) (lowest responsible bidder's property interest was defined by the competitive bidding procedures promulgated by the State Board of Education). VIII, § 3, at 23 see also, e.g., Hilton Constr. The directive contained in the Manual represents a rule or understanding sufficient to create an entitlement: "ontracts or open-market purchases will in all cases be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder." Ga. § 1983 (1981) if that interest is acknowledged by "existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as state law." Board of Regents v. 6, 1987), at 117, 118 (agency procurement officer required to obtain competitive prices "whenever possible" for service/maintenance contracts subject to audited authority).Ī disappointed bidder may have a constitutionally protected property interest in the award of a contract under 42 U.S.C.A. Services, Agency Purchasing Manual (revised Oct. II, § 4, at 5 (competitive bidding required "whenever possible") Ga. Where, as in this case, there is no impediment to competitive bidding, the State Purchasing Act and relevant rules mandate competitive bidding. Indeed, it cannot: neither the DOAS nor its commissioner is empowered by any statutory section to determine what items will be exempt from competitive bidding requirements therefore, neither may promulgate rules or regulations to accomplish this result. 3 The APM does not attempt to exempt these items from competitive bidding when such bidding is possible. The APM simply recognizes the fact that competitive bidding may not be possible for the designated items in certain circumstances. This interpretation of the "#" symbol is deeply flawed. IV, § 3, at 10, defendants contend, and the district court concluded, that the "#" symbol exempts selected items from competitive bidding. Although the Manual explicitly assigns the competitive bidding requirement to purchases made according to audited authority, see Ga. ![]() Utilities are among many items marked with a "#" symbol, which denotes that "competitive bids are not expected or may be very difficult to obtain due to the nature of the item, purchasing circumstances, market situation or other restrictive conditions." Id. In the APM, utilities are listed as items subject to "audited authority," thereby permitting an agency procurement officer, instead of the DOAS, to purchase utilities for a specific agency. Defendants argue that the Agency Purchasing Manual (APM), which also reviews procedure for state purchases, nonetheless relieves state agencies from using competitive bidding for utility contracts. ![]()
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