Administrative qualification is a process the Professional Engineering Procurement Services Division (PEPS) uses to verify that a provider has a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) compliant overhead. Providers must submit information to TxDOT annually to maintain Administratively Qualified (AQ) status. For federal selection processes, firms that provide engineering or design related services must be AQ on or before the solicitation closing date to be eligible to perform those services.

Issuing Work Authorizations for Indefinite Deliverable Contracts

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The contract period in which initial work authorizations may be issued may not be longer than four years after the date of contract execution, unless the Texas Transportation Commission approves a longer period to issue work authorizations prior to the solicitation posting date. 43 TAC §9.32.

The execution date is the date of the last signature or initials necessary to make the contract legally binding. Usually, the execution date is the date that TxDOT signed the contract.

If a prime contract expires, each of its ongoing work authorizations also terminates.

Specific Deliverable Contracts

: A specific deliverable contract may be extended to the extent necessary to complete all tasks specified in the project schedule.

The prime provider is required to

maintain

three policies during the life of the contract:

The provider must have a certificate of insurance on file with Contract Services before the contract is executed. Subcontractors are not required to maintain separate insurance.

A new certificate must be submitted each time a provider's insurance policies are changed or renewed during the contract period.

The insurance policies must remain current during the entire contract period.

In accordance with 43 TAC §9.41:

Supplemental agreements may be used to change the scope, schedule, or amounts payable under an indefinite or specific deliverable agreement.

The contract period of an indefinite deliverable contract may be extended with a supplemental agreement, but it may not be extended to exceed the five year maximum contract term on federally funded agreements. Extending time to complete an indefinite deliverable contract only allows for the completion of work authorizations that were issued within four years of the prime contract execution date and does not authorize issuance of new work authorizations past the four year period.

TxDOT may extend a specific deliverable contract until completion of construction to enable the managing office to keep a provider engaged to perform design revisions (not necessarily the fault of the provider) during the project’s construction phase. This action:

Additional work required because of a provider’s error or omission must be performed by the provider without any cost to TxDOT, whether or not the contract has expired.

With indefinite deliverable contracts, the managing office may not supplement a work authorization with an unrelated task, even if the contract is still open because of an unperformed deliverable on one of the original work authorizations.

Increased labor rates are not sufficient justification for an increase in the maximum amount payable. For

Specific Deliverable

contracts, the maximum amount payable may be increased only if the scope of work is increased or the time schedule is extended.

The managing office can amend the contract’s method of payment only under compelling circumstances.

A name change occurs when a provider changes its name, but not its legal identity. An individual may change their name through marriage or a court order, for example. If a provider changes its name, it must submit documentation showing that the name change has been legally implemented. For most business entities, this will involve changing the name legally through the Secretary of State.

An assignment occurs when a new provider replaces the original provider. This may result from a sale of underlying assets of the original provider or from a change in the original provider's legal identity because of a change of business form, as from a corporation to a partnership. Only TxDOT, by written consent, may authorize assignment. Therefore, the Assignment form must have the signature of an authorized representative of the original provider, of an authorized representative of the new provider (who may in some cases be the same person), and of the authorized TxDOT representative.

Contract Services reviews documents, prior to execution, related to engineering, architecture, and survey under the following circumstances:

Contract Services is the office of record for Engineering, Surveying, Commercial Laboratory, and Architectural Services contracts.

Contract Services is the point of contact concerning legal issues pertinent to procurement and management of services secured through all negotiated contracts.