Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The city of Worcester is hereby authorized to procure, in accordance with the provisions of this act, not more than twenty-three modular buildings for use as classrooms.

As used in this act, the term "modular buildings" shall mean a pre-designed building or units of a pre-designed building constructed and equipped with internal plumbing, electrical or similar systems prior to movement to the site where such units are attached to each other and such building is affixed to a foundation and connected to external utilities; or any portable structure with walls, a floor and a roof, designed or used for the shelter of persons or property, transportable in one or more sections and affixed to a foundation.

As used in this act, the term "procurement" shall mean buying, purchasing, or otherwise acquiring and installing a modular building, and all functions that pertain to the acquisition and installation of a modular building including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of the contract and all phases of contract administration.

The provisions of sections thirty-eight A 1/2 to thirty-eight O, inclusive, of chapter seven of the General Laws and sections forty-four A, forty-four B and forty-four D to forty-four J, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and forty-nine of the General Laws shall not apply to this act.

A contract awarded pursuant to this act which is for an amount or estimated amount greater than one hundred thousand dollars shall be subject to the provisions of section thirty-nine R of chapter thirty of the General Laws. The city of Worcester shall procure the modular buildings authorized by this act using competitive sealed proposals.

The request for proposals shall include the time and date for receipt of proposals, the address of the office to which the proposals are to be delivered, the maximum time for proposal acceptance by the city of Worcester; the purchase description and all evaluation criteria that will be utilized; and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement, provided that the contract may incorporate by reference a plan submitted by the selected offeror for providing the modular buildings.

The request for proposals may incorporate documents by reference, provided that the request for proposals specifies where prospective offerors may obtain the documents. The request for proposals shall provide for the separate submission of price, and shall indicate when and how the offerors shall submit the price. The city of Worcester shall make copies of the request for proposals available to all persons on an equal basis.

Every proposal shall be accompanied by either a copy of a certificate of eligibility issued by the deputy commissioner pursuant to section forty-four D of chapter one hundred and forty-nine for the fabrication of modular buildings, together with an update statement or a prequalification statement containing such information as the purchasing agent for the city of Worcester, in consultation with the deputy commissioner, shall prescribe. If the deputy commissioner determines that any offeror is not responsible or eligible, the purchasing agent shall reject such offer in writing.

Public notice of the request for proposals shall be published at least once, not less than two weeks prior to the time specified in such notice for the receipt of proposals, in the central register published by the secretary of state, and in such other newspapers and trade periodicals as the city of Worcester customarily utilizes for the advertisement of construction contracts.

The proposals shall not be opened publicly, but shall be opened in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time specified in the request for proposals. Notwithstanding the provision of section seven of chapter four, until the completion of the evaluation, or until the time for acceptance specified in the request for proposals, whichever occurs earlier, the contents of the proposals shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to competing offerors. At the opening of proposals the purchasing agent for the city of Worcester shall prepare a register of proposals which shall include the name of each offeror and the number of modifications, if any, received. The register of proposals shall be open for public inspection. The purchasing agent may open the price proposals at a later time, and shall open the price proposals so as to avoid disclosure to the individuals evaluating the proposals on the basis of criteria other than price.

The purchasing agent shall designate the individuals or individuals responsible for the evaluation of the proposals on the basis of criteria other than price. The designated individuals shall prepare their evaluations based solely on the criteria set forth in the request for proposals. Such criteria shall include all standards by which acceptability will be determined as to quality, workmanship, results of inspections and tests, and suitability for a particular purpose, and shall also include all other performance measures that will be utilized. The evaluations shall specify in writing for each evaluation criterion, a rating of each proposal as highly advantageous, advantageous, not advantageous, or unacceptable and the reasons for the rating; a composite rating for each proposal, and the reasons for the rating; and revisions, if any, to each proposed plan for providing the modular buildings which should be obtained by negotiation prior to awarding the contract to the offeror of the proposal.

The purchasing agent shall unconditionally accept a proposal except as provided by this paragraph. An offeror may correct, modify or withdraw a proposal by written notice received in the office designated in the request for proposals prior to the time set forth for the opening of proposals. After such opening, an offeror may not change the price or any other provisions of the proposal in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the city of Worcester or fair competition. The purchasing agent shall waive minor informalities or allow the offeror to correct them. If a mistake and the intended offer are clearly evident on the face of the document, the purchasing agent shall correct the mistake to reflect the intended correct offer and so notify the offeror in writing, and the offeror may not withdraw the offer. The purchasing agent may permit an offeror to withdraw an offer if a mistake is clearly evident on the face of the document but the intended correct offer is not similarly evident.

The purchasing agent shall determine the most advantageous proposal from a responsible and responsive offeror taking into consideration price and the evaluation criteria set forth in the request for proposals. The purchasing agent shall award the contract by written notice to the selected offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the request for proposals. The parties may extend the time for acceptance by mutual agreement. The purchasing agent may condition an award on successful negotiation of the revisions specified in the evaluation, and shall explain in writing the reasons for omitting any such revision from the contract.

If the purchasing agent awards the contract to an offeror who did not submit the lowest price, the purchasing agent shall explain the reasons for the award in writing, specifying in reasonable detail the basis for determining that the quality of modular buildings under the contract will not exceed the city of Worcester's actual needs or that the anticipated performance of the selected offeror justifies the additional cost.

Prior to execution of the contract, the selected offeror shall furnish to the purchasing agent a performance bond satisfactory to the purchasing agent in the sum of fifty per cent of the contract price.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.