Bid Opening and Tabulation

General
The bid opening is a public forum for the announcement of all bids and is the point in time where the bids are opened and read aloud. Bid tabulations provide a means of evaluating bids and a mechanism for tracking construction costs.
Bid Opening
While FHWA does not have specific policies on how a bid opening should be conducted, the competitive bidding policy relies on the phrase in
23 §CFR 635.113(a)
that “… all bids … shall be publicly opened and announced.” In common terms, “publicly opened” means being opened in front of the “public,” particularly those people who are stakeholders in the letting. The specific details of the advertisement and bid opening procedures are governed by federal and state statute.
Texas Transportation Code §223.004
requires all bids must be opened in a public meeting allowing attendance by all interested bidders. All bids must be opened in the presence of any interested bidders.
Reasons for not reading a bid include the bid itself being nonresponsive and/or the bidder is determined to not be responsible. The differences between a responsive bid and responsible bidder are:
  • a
    responsive bid
     meets all the requirements of the advertisement and proposal; and
  • a
    responsible bidder
     is physically organized and equipped with the financial wherewithal to undertake and complete the contract.
The
LGPM Guide
provides a detailed discussion of the procedures and practices associated with the bid opening.
Bid Tabulations
As a basis for tracking current construction costs and forecasting future construction costs, the LG must provide bid tabulation data to TxDOT.
Federal Requirement
  1. 23 CFR §§635.113(a) and (b)
    – For design-bid-build projects:
    1. requires all bids received be publicly opened and read (if a bid is received and not read, the bidder’s name must be identified and the reason for not reading the bid must be announced);
    2. prohibits negotiating with contractors between the bid opening and the contract award; and
    3. requires a tabulation of bids to be submitted to FHWA.
  2. 23 CFR §635.113(c)
    – For design-build projects:
    1. requires all proposals received to be opened and reviewed in accordance with the terms of the solicitation; and
    2. requires a post-award tabulation of proposal prices to be submitted to FHWA.
  3. 23 CFR §635.114
    – Requires bids shall be evaluated for conformance with the engineer’s estimate. Extreme variations and obvious unbalancing shall be thoroughly evaluated to assure good competition and the lowest possible price was received.
State Requirement
  1. Texas Local Government Code §252.041
    – Requires a municipality to publish a notice containing the time and place bids will be publicly opened and read.
  2. Texas Local Government Code §252.0415
    – Allows a municipality to receive bids electronically if the municipality adopts rules to assure confidentiality until opening.
  3. Texas Local Government Code §262.025
    – Requires a county to publish a notice containing the time and place bids will be received and opened (does not mention a public opening).
  4. Texas Local Government Code §262.026
    – Requires a county official to open bids on the date specified in the notice. All bids must be opened at the same time.
  5. Texas Local Government Code §271.026
    – Restricts a county to open bids only at a public meeting or in a county office.
  6. Texas Local Government Code §271.908(d)(3)
    – Requires design-build projects to be advertised, including the time and place of bid opening, according to any manner prescribed by law.
  7. Texas Local Government Code §271.908(d)(3)
    and
    Texas Government Code §2269.360
    – Requires the LG to select a design-build firm using a combination of technical qualifications and cost for design-build projects.
  8. 43 TAC §26.33(g)
    – Requires a RMA to use TxDOT specifications or approved alternate specifications for projects connecting to or on the state highway system.
  9. 43 TAC §27.56(c)(3)
    – Requires requestors to use TxDOT specifications or approved alternate specifications for toll projects including state funds. TxDOT may consider alternative specifications if a project is not intended to become part of the state highway system or otherwise under TxDOT jurisdiction.
  10. Texas Transportation Code §223.004
    – Requires TxDOT to open bids at a public meeting.
  11. Texas Transportation Code §223.154
    – Requires TxDOT to open proposals in a manner that does not disclose their contents to competing offerors during negotiations.
  12. Texas Transportation Code §366.185(b)
    – Requires RTAs to adopt rules governing award of contracts through competitive bidding.
  13. Texas Transportation Code §370.184
    – Requires RMAs to adopt rules governing award of contracts.
  14. Texas Transportation Code §370.185
    – Allows RMAs to award contracts using a competitive bidding.
  15. Texas Transportation Code §370.306
    – Requires RMAs to evaluate proposals for comprehensive development agreements based on criteria in the notice.
Required Practices
In general, the LG must open the bids in public and provide the post-award tabulation to TxDOT for concurrence in the award. The
LGPM Guide
describes the required practices and the LG and TxDOT respective responsibilities for bid opening and tabulation.