Idaho

Key Agency(ies):  

• The Department of Administration, specifically the State Division of Purchasing (DOP), is the central procurement office for the state of Idaho. The DOP is responsible for established state procurement policy and procuring goods and services for most Executive agencies in the state.

Key Statute:

• State Procurement Act, Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 92
• Link

Key Regulations:

• Rules of the Division of Purchasing Idaho Admin. Code r. 38.05.01.
• Link

Procurement Types/Highlights:

• Competitive solicitation
• Request for Quotes
• Request for Proposals
• Sealed, Formal Bid
• Sole source procurement
• Noncompetitive procurement
• Multiple awards
• Cooperative Purchasing Agreement/Group Discount Purchasing
• Small Purchases (< $10,000)
• Reverse auctions

Bid Protests:

Regs Governing Bid Protests:

• Idaho Code § 67-9232

Eligible Protesters:

• Any vendor may file a specification protest.
• Only a bidder whose offer was found nonresponsive may file a nonresponsive protest.
• Only a bidder whose bid was responsive but who lost the award may file an award protest.
• Any vendor capable of supplying the goods or service subject to a sole source procurement may challenge the sole source determination.
• Idaho Code § 67-9232(1)(a) – § 67-9232(4)(a)

Timeliness Rules:

• Challenges to Bid Specifications
• There shall be, beginning with the date of receipt of notice, a period of no more than 10 working days in which any vendor, qualified and able to sell or supply the items to be acquired, may notify the administrator in writing of their intention to challenge the specifications. Idaho Code § 67-9232(1)(a).
• Appeals of Nonresponsive Bids
• There shall be, beginning with the day following the receipt of notice of rejection, a period of five working days in which a bidder whose bid was found nonresponsive may appeal such decision to the director of the department of administration. Idaho Code § 67-9232(2)(a).
• Review of Lowest Responsible Bidder Determination
• A vendor whose bid is considered may, within five working days following receipt of notice that they are not the lowest responsible bidder, apply to the director for appointment of a determinations officer. Idaho Code § 67-9232(3)(a).
• Challenges to Sole Source Procurement
• There shall be a period of not more than five working days from the last day of public notice in which any vendor able to sell or supply the property to be acquired may notify the administrator in writing of their intention to challenge the sole source procurement. Idaho Code § 67-9232(4)(a).

Protest Process:

• The protester must notify the administrator (or director, as applicable) in writing of their intention to challenge or appeal the procurement. The notification must include the exact nature of the challenge or appeal and, for specification challenges, describe the location and reason for the challenge.
• For nonresponsive bid protests, no bid may be awarded until the director’s final decision. In other cases, the director may allow the award before or after the decision if in the best interest of the state.
• Upon receipt of the challenge or appeal, the administrator or director will either deny the challenge/appeal (which becomes the final agency decision) or present the matter to the director for appointment of a determinations officer.
• If the director appoints a determinations officer, all vendors invited to bid may be notified and may indicate agreement or disagreement with the challenge. The determinations officer will review the record, may refer the challenge for rewriting, rewrite the specification, or reject all or any part of the challenge.
• The determinations officer reviews the record and submits a recommended order to the director to affirm or reverse the administrator’s decision. For contested cases, the determinations officer conducts a hearing and prepares findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a recommended order.
• The director will sustain, modify, or reverse the administrator’s decision based on the determination of the officer’s recommendation. The director may also impose penalties; enjoin activities; direct that bids or specifications be rejected, sustained, or modified; and direct further legal action.
• Hearings are allowed only at the discretion of the director and only for award protests.

Appeals:

• Judicial review of final decisions rendered by the director is permissible under Idaho Code § 67-9232(3), specifically regarding the selection of the lowest responsible bidder.
• A petition for judicial review must be filed within 28 days of any final decision rendered by the director.

Claims: 

• Idaho’s procurement statutes do not outline a general claims settlement process for contract disputes; either party may bring an action in state court for breach of contract.

Suspension & Debarment:

• The Administrator may disqualify a vendor for any of the following:
  • Failure to perform according to terms of any contract.
  • Attempts by whatever means to cause specifications to be drawn so as to favor a specific vendor.
  • Use of the provisions of Chapter 67 to obstruct or unreasonably delay acquisitions by the state.
    • “Obstruction” means a lack of success in more than 50% of the specification challenges made in each of three different acquisitions during any 24-month period.
  • Perjury in a vendor disqualification hearing
  • Knowingly violating the provisions of Chapter 67
  • Debarment, suspension, or ineligibility from federal contracting of the vendor, its principals, or its affiliates.
• A vendor shall be notified by registered mail within 10 days of the vendor’s disqualification by the administrator.
• The vendor may, within 30 days of receipt of such notice, request a hearing, which shall be held in accordance with chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.
• In lieu of disqualification, the determinations officer at a hearing may recommend to the director specific conditions of the vendor’s continued participation by the state.
• Disqualification or conditions may be imposed for a period of not less than six months or more than five years.

Interesting/Distinctions: 

• In Idaho, the Administrator may disqualify a vendor not only for contract performance issues or legal violations, but also for abusing the protest process to repeatedly and unsuccessfully challenge state acquisitions.