General Construction Contract Provisions (September 1997) - Section 20

Section 10 - Definition of Terms
Section 20 - Proposal Requirements and Conditions
Section 30 - Award and Execution of Contract
Section 40 - Scope of Work
Section 50 - Control of Work
Section 60 - Control of Materials
Section 70 - Legal Regulations and Responsibility to Public
Section 80 - Prosecution and Progress
Section 90 - Measurement and Payment
Section 100 - Contractor Quality Control Program
Section 110 - Methods of Estimating Percentage of Material within Specifications (PWL) [pdf, 5 pages, 21kb]

Section 20 - Proposal Requirements and Conditions

20-01 ADVERTISEMENT (Notice to Bidders). A copy of the advertisement is included elsewhere in this bid package.

20-02 PREQUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS. Each bidder shall furnish the owner satisfactory evidence of his/her competency to perform the proposed work. Such evidence of competency, unless otherwise specified, shall consist of statements covering the bidder's past experience on similar work, a list of equipment that would be available for the work, and a list of key personnel that would be available. In addition, each bidder shall furnish the owner satisfactory evidence of his/her financial responsibility. Such evidence of financial responsibility, unless otherwise specified, shall consist of a confidential statement or report of the bidder's financial resources and liabilities as of the last calendar year or the Contractor's last fiscal year. Such statements or reports shall be certified by a public accountant. At the time of submitting such financial statements or reports, the bidder shall further certify whether his/her financial responsibility is approximately the same as stated or reported by the public accountant. If the bidder's financial responsibility has changed, the bidder shall qualify the public accountant's statement or report to reflect his/her (bidder's) true financial condition at the time such qualified statement or report is submitted to the owner.

Unless otherwise specified, a bidder may submit evidence that he is prequalified with the State Highway Division and is on the current "bidder's list" of the state in which the proposed work is located. Such evidence of State Highway Division prequalification may be submitted as evidence of financial responsibility in lieu of the certified statements or reports hereinbefore specified.

Each bidder shall submit "evidence of competency" and "evidence of financial responsibility" to the owner no later than 10 days prior to the specified date for opening bids.

20-03 CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL FORMS. The owner shall furnish bidders with proposal forms. All papers bound with or attached to the proposal forms are necessary parts and must not be detached.

The plans specifications, and other documents designated in the proposal form shall be considered a part of the proposal whether attached or not.

20-04 ISSUANCE OF PROPOSAL FORMS. The owner reserves the right to refuse to issue a proposal form to a prospective bidder should such bidder be in default for any of the following reasons:

1. Failure to comply with any prequalification regulations of the owner, if such regulations are cited, or otherwise included, in the proposal as a requirement for bidding.
2. Failure to pay, or satisfactorily settle, all bills due for labor and materials on former contracts in force (with the owner) at the time the owner issues the proposal to a prospective bidder.
3. Contractor default under previous contracts with the owner.
4. Unsatisfactory work on previous contracts with the owner.

20-05 INTERPRETATION OF ESTIMATED PROPOSAL QUANTITIES. An estimate of quantities of work to be done and materials to be furnished under these specifications is given in the proposal. It is the result of careful calculations and is believed to be correct. It is given only as a basis for comparison of proposals and the award of the contract. The owner does not expressly or by implication agree that the actual quantities involved will correspond exactly therewith; nor shall the bidder plead misunderstanding or deception because of such estimates of quantities, or of the character, location, or other conditions pertaining to the work. Payment to the Contractor will be made only for the actual quantities of work performed or materials furnished in accordance with the plans and specifications. It is understood that the quantities may be increased or decreased as hereinafter provided in the subsection titled ALTERATION OF WORK AND QUANTITIES of Section 40 without in any way invalidating the unit bid prices.

20-06 EXAMINATION OF PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, AND SITE. The bidder is expected to carefully examine the site of the proposed work, the proposal, plans specifications, and contract forms. He shall satisfy himself as to the character, quality, and quantities of work to be performed, materials to be furnished, and as to the requirements of the proposed contract. The submission of a proposal shall be prima facie evidence that the bidder has made such examination and is satisfied as to the conditions to be encountered in performing the work and as to the requirements of the proposed contract, plans, and specifications.

Boring logs and other records of subsurface investigations and tests are available for inspection of bidders. It is understood and agreed that such subsurface information, whether included in the plans, specifications, or otherwise made available to the bidder, was obtained and is intended for the owner's design and estimating purposes only. Such information has been made available for the convenience of all bidders. It is further understood and agreed that each bidder is solely responsible for all assumptions, deductions, or conclusions which he may make or obtain from his/her examination of the boring logs and other records of subsurface investigations and tests that are furnished by the owner.

20-07 PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL. The bidder shall submit his/her proposal on the forms furnished by the owner. All blank spaces in the proposal forms must be correctly filled in where indicated for each and every item for which a quantity is given. The bidder shall state the price (written in ink or typed) both in words and numerals for which he proposes to do each pay item furnished in the proposal. In case of conflict between words and numerals, the words, unless obviously incorrect, shall govern.

The bidder shall sign his/her proposal correctly and in ink. If the proposal is made by an individual, his/her name and post office address must be shown. If made by a partnership, the name and post office address of each member of the partnership must be shown. If made by a corporation, the person signing the proposal shall give the name of the state under the laws of which the corporation was chartered and the name, titles, and business address of the president, secretary, and the treasurer. Anyone signing a proposal as an agent shall file evidence of his/her authority to do so and that the signature is binding upon the firm or corporation.

20-08 IRREGULAR PROPOSALS. Proposals shall be considered irregular for the following reasons:

1. If the proposal is on a form other than that furnished by the owner, or if the owner's form is altered, or if any part of the proposal form is detached.
2. If there are unauthorized additions, conditional or alternate pay items, or irregularities of any kind which make the proposal incomplete, indefinite, or otherwise ambiguous.
3. If the proposal does not contain a unit price for each pay item listed in the proposal, except in the case of authorized alternate pay items, for which the bidder is not required to furnish a unit price.
4. If the proposal contains unit prices that are obviously unbalanced.
5. If the proposal is not accompanied by the proposal guaranty specified by the owner.

The owner reserves the right to reject any irregular proposal and the right to waive technicalities if such waiver is in the best interest of the owner and conforms to local laws and ordinances pertaining to the letting of construction contracts.

20-09 BID GUARANTEE. Each separate proposal shall be accompanied by a certified check, or other specified acceptable collateral, in the amount specified in the proposal form. Such check, or collateral, shall be made payable to the owner.

20-10 DELIVERY OF PROPOSAL. Each proposal submitted shall be placed in a sealed envelope plainly marked with the project number, location of airport, and name and business address of the bidder on the outside. When sent by mail, preferably registered, the sealed proposal, marked as indicated above, should be enclosed in an additional envelope. No proposal will be considered unless received at the place specified in the advertisement before the time specified for opening all bids. Proposals received after the bid opening time shall be returned to the bidder unopened.

20-11 WITHDRAWAL OR REVISION OF PROPOSALS. A bidder may withdraw or revise (by withdrawal of one proposal and submission of another) a proposal provided that the bidder's request for withdrawal is received by the owner in writing or by telegram before the time specified for opening bids. Revised proposals must be received at the place specified in the advertisement before the time specified for opening all bids.

20-12 PUBLIC OPENING OF PROPOSALS. Proposals shall be opened, and read, publicly at the time and place specified in the advertisement. Bidders, their authorized agents, and other interested persons are invited to attend. Proposals that have been withdrawn (by written or telegraphic request) or received after the time specified for opening bids shall be returned to the bidder unopened.

20-13 DISQUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS. A bidder shall be considered disqualified for any of the following reasons:

1. Submitting more than one proposal from the same partnership, firm, or corporation under the same or different name.
2. Evidence of collusion among bidders. Bidders participating in such collusion shall be disqualified as bidders for any future work of the owner until any such participating bidder has been reinstated by the owner as a qualified bidder.
3. If the bidder is considered to be in "default" for any reason specified in the subsection titled ISSUANCE OF PROPOSAL FORMS of this section.