§ 11-17-115. Reverse auction bidding – Procedure – Public disclosure - Remedies.

A.  A municipality or any public trust of which the municipality is beneficiary or any nonappropriated governmental agency or instrumentality of the state is authorized to use a reverse auction bidding procedure to obtain bids for the purchase of goods or services of any type of kind.  The reverse auction shall be a real-time bidding process taking place at a previously scheduled time and Internet location and for a previously established duration, in which multiple suppliers, anonymous to each other, submit bids to provide the goods or services.  The reverse auction procedure may be used as an alternative to any state law applicable to the purchase of the goods or services.

B.  The procedure shall provide:

1.  A bid opening and bid closure.  At the opening date and time, the municipality or public trust shall begin accepting reverse auction electronic bids.  Reverse auction bids shall be accepted until the bid closure, except as provided by paragraph 6 of this subsection, unless the municipality or public trust determines it is in the best interest of the municipality or public trust to extend the closing time and notifies the reverse auction bidders of the extended closing time by public announcement at the Internet location at least fifteen (15) minutes prior to the original closing time;

2.  The posting of all reverse auction bids electronically and updating of bids on a real-time basis by the municipality or public trust;

3.  The authorization for the municipality or public trust to require bidders to register before the opening date and time and, as part of that registration, require bidders to agree to any terms, conditions or other requirements of the solicitation or applicable acts;

4.  The authorization for the municipality or public trust to also require potential bidders to prequalify as bidders and to restrict solicitations to prequalified online and reverse auction bidders;

5.  The retention of the authority of the municipality or public trust to determine the criteria that will be used as the basis for making awards; and

6.  The authorization for the municipality or public trust to determine it is in the best interest of the municipality or public trust to allow it to accept an electronic bid after the specified official closing date and time, in the event the municipality or public trust determines that a significant error or event occurred that affected the electronic receipt of any reverse auction bid by the municipality or public trust.

C.  All bids submitted electronically through the reverse auction bidding process pursuant to this section are subject to the same public disclosure laws that govern bids received pursuant to any other law of this state governing procurement procedures for a municipality or public trust.

D.  All remedies available to the municipality or public trust and suppliers through a bid process pursuant to any other law of this state are also available to the municipality or public trust reverse auction bidders in a reverse auction bidding process.

Added by Laws 2004, c. 514, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2004.  Amended by Laws 2005, c. 459, § 5, eff. July 1, 2005.